As a member-owned cooperative, GreenStone is governed by members who have a vested interest in seeing GreenStone continue its successful mission of serving rural communities and agriculture. In that role, six committees have been established within the Board of Directors to apply adequate focus on critical functions of the organization.
These committees work with the leadership team to ensure the cooperative remains financially strong, adaptive to trends and industry advancements, aligned with regulations, and responsible to both members and employee expectations.
GreenStone’s Board of Directors now has six committees: Audit, Finance, Technology, Executive, Compensation, and Legislative and Public Policy. The first trio of committees are further highlighted here through the perspective of the committee chairs to bring awareness to our members on the strategic structure and focus of your cooperative’s governance and leadership.
Audit Committee: By Paul Lindow, Appointed Director and Committee Chair
GreenStone’s Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is a required Board Committee by the Farm Credit Administration (FCA). The primary function of Audit Committee is to provide oversight and assurance of the financial reporting process, the system of internal control, the audit process (internal audit and external audit), along with the process for monitoring compliance with laws and regulations, the standards of conduct, and their code of ethics.The committee consists of four directors, one of which must be an outside (appointed) director. While each committee member must be financially literate with knowledge in either finance, financial reporting or accounting procedures, one member shall be designated by the board as the “financial expert”.
In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Audit Committee provides immense value by ensuring financial integrity, managing risk and strengthening corporate governance. In my role as the Chair of the Audit Committee, I also serve as the financial expert and in leading this committee, act as a crucial link between management, external auditors, and the board. Additionally, I work closely with the other committees to establish agenda topics and areas of focus - including any emerging issues related to risk, controls, and financial reporting. As part of our periodic meetings, GreenStone management from internal audit, credit review, credit administration, technology, information security, and finance regularly attend to provide detailed updates on their activities.
Given the importance of the Audit Committee for GreenStone, the FCA, and across the System, the responsibilities and areas of focus will continue to evolve as well as the expectations of the members serving in the committee.
Finance Committee: By Trent Hilding, Montcalm County Director and Committee Chair
The purpose of the Finance Committee is to give the board updates on the status of the economy, interest rates, trends, financial results, health of GreenStone’s finances, budget, and balance sheet. We play a vital role in reviewing the health of the organization and continuing to ask important questions on the financial numbers and results in the business. Our role is to keep the board and members informed of changes, risks, and trends that impact the overall business so we can plan healthy growth.The Finance Committee has an important role, which is complimented by the Audit Committee with their role on validating the business financials and regulatory scrutiny. In addition to the responsibility of the Finance Committee, the members also serve on the newly established Technology Committee. Although two separate committees with split tasks for each, the members are consistent for each to ensure transparency and alignment between the two.
The board tends to ensure members can rotate to get a full vision and understanding of each committee’s responsibility and to get a feel for the executive staff involved in each committee, while aligning board members with committees they have appropriate talents to contribute to. Committees play a vital role for the board and executive leadership within GreenStone. The Committee Structure helps keep organization and flow for the tasks that need to be completed.
Technology Committee: By Rick Snyder, Appointed Director and Committee Chair
The Technology Committee is a brand-new board committee. Our inaugural meeting was just held this December. Why? Technology continues to grow in importance in all of our lives and how GreenStone operates. It often creates new and better ways to do things; but
it also comes with significant issues
and risks.
There are four main responsibilities for the committee. First, monitoring and providing input on GreenStone’s technology strategy with an emphasis on encouraging innovation. Second, information security and risk oversight. Historically, GreenStone has had strong cybersecurity practices; but threats are only becoming more sophisticated, and we need to keep up with a fast-changing threat environment. Third, monitoring the organization’s information technology operations and performance. Fourth, helping ensure that GreenStone is following regulatory requirements and ethically using technology. This last
point is critical with the growth of
artificial intelligence. Given this list, this committee needs to work in close coordination with the Audit Committee.
It was an honor to be elected Chair of the Technology Committee. As a newly appointed director, I appreciated the board adding me so I could bring many years of technology experience to GreenStone. I look forward to working with three great elected directors on making this committee another important contributor to a stronger and better GreenStone.
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