22 BARBADOS PUBLIC WORKERS’ CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT UNION LIMITED | SEPARATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2022 infrastructure that allowed for such continuity of electronic access. Our new MasterCard debit card replaced the proprietary Co-Optima cards and provided new enhanced features such as the ability to be used worldwide wherever MasterCards are accepted, including online which has been particularly well received. Thanks to you and the cooperation received during the transition we surpassed the target set for activated cards as at the end of the reporting period. The success of the transition from CarIFS to MasterCard cards notwithstanding, we accept that this transition like most other major technology infrastructure transitions also had some challenges, particularly some higher than expected decline rates in the initial stages. We fully understand how important it is for our members to have guaranteed access when using their card and sincerely apologise to those of you who have been negatively impacted in any form or fashion. We assure you that ensuring you have a smooth and seamless experience whenever you interact with us remains our primary objective and we will continue to aggressively work on closing all challenges made known to us. To achieve this, CAPITA Financial Services Inc., service providers to your credit union as well as to the Barbados Workers’ Union Credit Union, has been mandated to improve the quality of their service provision by making the changes required to ensure your use of the product is seamless and without issues. We will continue to follow this matter through to resolution to ensure your debit card experience is a pleasant one that meets your expectations. Corporate Governance In our last report we updated you about our engagement of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct an assessment and provide guidance on the enhancement of our governance framework. We also reported that work on this project had been initially delayed for but we anticipated this process being well underway or concluded at our next reporting. We are pleased to advise that despite the challenges presented by the Covid environment over the past year we have been able to restart the review process and anticipate full completion in time for reporting at our next AGM. The review will provide guidance in three workstream areas – • Workstream 1- Corporate Governance System Analysis - an analysis of the existing corporate governance system to assess the current operating model and identify strengths and weaknesses and formulate recommendations for the enhancement of the various processes, through technology and automation. The output will be a comprehensive report on the credit union’s Corporate Governance framework, benchmarking such framework against the World Council of Credit Unions’ International Credit Union Principles, best practice standards and principles recommended and established by the International Credit Union Regulator’s Network (ICURN) and the Basel Committee, and against general Corporate Governance best practice. • Workstream 2 - Policy Mapping – an assessment of the existing corporate governance and compliance policy library to determine and identify any deficiencies. A selection of critical policies will be assessed and recommendations will be made to address any deficiencies detected. All findings and observations will be presented in a comprehensive report outlining the determined deficiencies and associated recommendations. • Workstream 3 - Risk and Compliance Framework High Level Analysis - a high-level analysis of the BPWCCUL risk and compliance function. This will entail the following: - Conducting a current state assessment and gap analysis including, but not be limited to, consideration of the following: • Governance and organization structure • Risk assessment • Policies and procedures • Monitoring, reporting and measurement • Regulatory inventory and change management • Risk register • Culture and awareness and training • Technology solutions and systems • Compliance with WOCCU and best practice standards and principles recommended and established by the International Credit Union Regulator’s Network (ICURN) and BASEL The results of the assessment will be compiled in a report that will identify gaps and provide future state design recommendations along with a high-level roadmap to achieve the best practice future state. We believe the recommendations that will arise from this review will place us on a path to being better able to manage the increasing risks we face as a financial services provider, and look forward to sharing key findings with you following our receipt and review. Board of Directors’ Report (Continued)
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