The Extension Connection

Roger Ginder conducts the co-op director training session on understanding and interpreting financial statements — one of four phases of the Extension-delivered certification program.

2003 FALL ISSUE

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Last update: October 2003

A quarterly publication of Iowa State University Extension

Co-op directors trained for the world of big business

Iowa State University and University of Nebraska can tangle on the football field. But when it comes to fields of crops and the cooperatives that buy and sell those crops, ISU and Nebraska join their Extension forces to create an education team that makes a huge economic and social impact in both states.

In cooperation with the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives, Roger Ginder, ISU Extension agriculture economics professor, and Nebraska’s Darrell Mark team up to offer a Director Certification Program (DCP). Ginder, who has a 25-year history with the program, brings in law and financial experts to assist in the four-phase training of cooperative directors.
The certification has gained a strong following and good reputation.

“Our cooperative has established a policy requiring directors to participate in and complete the four-phase DCP training within their first three-year term of office,” said Jim Magnuson, general manager of Sully Cooperative Exchange. “ISU Extension brings a trusted and unbiased approach to complex and difficult issues. This information and the sharing between participants are extremely important to support the work of our directors.”

Phases I and II of the certification, geared for newly elected directors, cover basic cooperative principles, legal responsibilities, the difference between board and management responsibilities and business planning. Phases III and IV deal with analysis and interpretation of financial statements and the evaluation of management performance and compensation.

“The training is well put together,” said Gary VanGenderen, Sully Cooperative Exchange board president.

“The training helps new directors realize the full responsibilities of being a board member,” he said. “It covers all areas of the director job and responsibilities — one of the biggest is understanding the financials.”

The director certification is not mandated by law, but many cooperatives are recognizing benefits of the certification. They are finding that having all directors certified gives a knowledge base and common working terms for their board, an outgrowth of a shared experience. The training broadens the set of business skills individuals bring from their personal business, creating a person with good board skills that are applicable in other community positions. And bottom-line, the training improves the way cooperatives perform for their members.

“In a time of challenge and merger, acquisition and working relationships, it is important to have the best educated and qualified directors at the local cooperative,” said Jim Carlson, general manager of the 3,000-member First Cooperative Association in Cherokee. New people need to feel comfortable and become effective board members, he said. “Our directors with the Director Certification have benefited and improved as directors and have a much better understanding of the cooperative and its structure.”

Certification training will be offered this fall and winter. Contact the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives at (515) 292-2667 or info@iowainstitute.coops for dates and place.