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Vice Chairman Hood Highlights Role of Accounting in Strengthening America’s Credit Unions

October 25, 2006, Alexandria, VA- National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice Chairman Rodney E. Hood addressed the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) National Credit Union Conference in Orlando, Florida.

The Vice Chairman provided the audience of accountants serving in the credit union industry with a summary of his regulatory philosophy, legislative updates, and discussed issues common to credit unions and accountants. In addition, the Vice Chairman cited mid year data compiled through June 30, 2006 to highlight the strength of the credit union system.

Among the issues affecting credit unions and accountants, Vice Chairman Hood noted the positive benefit of the progress made in enterprise risk management. “I was pleased to learn that the AICPA initiated change in the area of enterprise risk management through their involvement with COSO, a private sector organization devoted to improving the quality of financial reporting. While many organizations were engaging in some aspects of enterprise risk management, there had never been a common base of knowledge and principles to enable boards and senior management to evaluate their approach. I commend AICPA for helping create an integrated framework that now provides a clear roadmap for identifying risks, avoiding pitfalls, and seizing opportunities to grow stakeholder value.”

Throughout his speech, Vice Chairman Hood praised the accountants for their role in strengthening the credit union system. “The accounting profession is one that constantly strives to learn more, to do better, and to keep up with change. I commend them for the tremendous role that they play in providing understandable, reliable and transparent information which helps our credit union managers and leaders run safe and sound institutions.”

The National Credit Union Administration is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, also operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of nearly 85 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the majority of state-chartered credit unions.