The diagram below is the organizational structure of ACCU depicting the chain of command and various committees and their mandates.

MEMBERSHIP

The society By-Law provides that the credit union is owned and controlled by members; as such the supreme authority of the union shall vest in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which shall be constituted by all members. They elect from among themselves, Board of Directors, Supervisory committee and loans committee who are accountable to members at AGM and other stakeholders periodically.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board is established in accordance with the following guiding mandate, as set out by the ByLaws.

■ The Board of seven (7) members, all of whom are elected by and from members, who in turn elect other positions at the Board.

■ The board meets at least twelve (12) times in a financial year.

■ Quorum at meeting of the Board in four (4) members. In case the chairman and the vice are absent, a chairman for the meeting is elected from among those present.

■ Decisions at the Board meetings are made on consensus, voting is however applicable when consensus cannot be reached. In case of a tie in such a vote, the chairman has a casting vote.

■ Members of the Board who fails to attend three consecutive meetings, without reasons acceptable to the Board, may be suspended.

■ The By-laws also further defines the function and responsibilities of the Board as follows:

■ Establishing strategic and business plans to guide the society growth and monitoring progress in the implementation of the plans.

■ Establishing appropriate policies for the governance management and smooth running of the society’s affairs. Such policies include but are not limited to credit policies, investment policies. Savings policies, liquidity policies, products pricings policies dividend policies, risk management policies human resources policies among others.

■ Ensuring that true and accurate records and accounts are kept of the society’s money, and its properties, Capital reserves Liabilities, income and expenses.

■ Ensure that the society makes adequate provisions for known and probable losses likely to occur as required by the law and prudent accounting practice.

■ Presenting before the Annual General Meeting (AGM) a balance sheet and final account and budget for the ensuing year.

■ Recommending to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) the dividend and interest rates to be paid on shares and deposits.

SEPARATION OF BOARD AND MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is appointed by the Board of Directors and becomes the head of management and is responsible to the Board for the day-to-day management affairs of the union. The CEO is supported by a management team to whom various business functions have been delegated.

SUPERVISORY / AUDIT COMMITTEE

The committee assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities in relation to:

■ The integrity of the society’s financial statements and financial reporting processes.

■ The society’s systems of internal, financial and management controls:

■ The performance of the internal audit functions

■ The annual independent audit of the society’s financial statements

■ Evaluation of management’s processes to assess and manage the society’s risk exposures

■ Evaluation of the society’s corporate governance structures and practices vis-à-vis best practice

■ Fulfillment of the other fiduciary related responsibilities as delegated by the Board.

LOANS / CREDIT COMMITTEE

The loans committee plays a vital role in the union. Among other things, the committee grants loans to the members to improve the quality of their life or for the successes of their business. The committee also offers financial counseling to members.