These are challenging times for credit union chief financial officers (CFOs). The most immediate challenge CFOs face is the implementation of the Current Expected Credit Loss Model (CECL).

“It's the one topic CFOs continue to gravitate toward, especially in the short-term given that CECL's going to be implemented in just a couple of years,” Bryanna Tapley, chief operations officer for Flint (Mich.) Area School Employees Credit Union and chair of the CUNA CFO Council Executive Committee, says during a CUNA News Podcast episode.

In the podcast, recorded at the 2017 CUNA CFO Council Conference, Tapley discussed a number of other hot topics for credit union CFOs. The one commonality through all of the topics is people, Tapley notes.

She stresses the need for talent development and leadership—two disciplines to which she has personally dedicated herself.

Today’s CFO position is often associated with regulation and technology. And, of course, it’s always been associated with numbers. But Tapley also prioritizes human capital.

Being a people person isn’t often associated with CFOs, but Tapley turns that notion upside down. Her way with people has enabled her to take the unlikely path from the lending department to human resources to her credit union's top finance post, she says.

You can listen and subscribe to the CUNA News Podcast in Apple's iTunes Store, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio.