ECCU Blog

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)

Some of my best work experiences have revolved around collaboration and partnership, when I have been able not only to bring my own talents but also benefit from others bringing theirs. Through partnership, I have experienced greater productivity and more creativity, which in turn has led to greater engagement and satisfaction with my work.

For example, a key leader I work with enjoys detailed problem solving. I, by contrast, am always anxious for action and enjoy learning by doing. In the world of banking operations, we are always crafting solutions and growing with the opportunities technology affords. In this endeavor, our partnership has led to some creative problem solving. She helps me seek root causes while I encourage her to try a course of action. It is iron sharpening iron. We challenge, we test, we expand, and we deliver. Knowing we both want the best for ECCU’s members is important. Equally important is that we respect and trust one another in the process.

Research shows that our experience isn’t isolated. According to the Gallup organization, “In the workplace, employees with just one collaborative relationship are 29% more likely to say they will stay with their company for the next year and 42% more likely to intend to remain with their current employer for their entire career, compared to those with no partnerships.” Here, from a recent book titled Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller, are the eight crucial elements of a successful partnership that Gallup has uncovered from their research (and others’) on collaboration. As you read them, consider this question: How have partnerships—and these elements of them—strengthened your ministry and made your work more satisfying?

 The Eight Elements of a Powerful Partnership

“Great partnerships don’t just happen,” the authors say. “Whether your joint mission is to build a successful company, coach a team, improve the government, do something spectacular for a charity, or any other worthy goal, all successful partnerships share the same crucial ingredients.” When all these elements combine, partnerships become not just effective in accomplishing the mission, but also personally rewarding, sometimes intensely so.

• Complementary Strengths: Everyone has weaknesses and blind spots that create obstacles to reaching a goal. One of the most powerful reasons for teaming up is working with someone who is strong where you are weak, and vice versa. Individuals are not well-rounded, but pairs can be.
• A Common Mission: When a partnership fails, the root cause is often that the two people were pursuing separate agendas. When partners want the same thing badly enough, they will make the personal sacrifices necessary to see it through.
• Fairness: Humans have an instinctive need for fairness. Because the need for fairness runs deep, it is an essential quality of a strong partnership.
• Trust: Working with someone means taking risks. You are not likely to contribute your best work unless you trust that your partner will do his or her best. Without trust, it’s easier to work alone.
• Acceptance: We see the world through our own set of lenses. Whenever two disparate personalities come together, there is bound to be a certain friction from their differences. This can be a recipe for conflict unless both learn to accept the idiosyncrasies of the other.
• Forgiveness: People are imperfect. They make mistakes. They sometimes do the wrong thing. Without forgiveness, the natural revenge motives that stem from friend-or-foe instincts will overpower all the reasons to continue a partnership, and it will dissolve.
• Communicating: In the early stages of a partnership, communicating helps to prevent misunderstandings; later in the relationship, a continuous flow of information makes the work more efficient by keeping the two people synchronized.
• Unselfishness: In the best working relationships, the natural concern for your own welfare transforms into gratification in seeing your comrade succeed. Those who have reached this level say such collaborations become among the most fulfilling aspects of their lives.

What’s your experience. How have partnerships made you and your ministry more effective?

“Your account appears to have an unauthorized transaction. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.”

Sound familiar? That message is from a recent phishing attempt I received via email. In the act of phishing, Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages in hopes of gaining access to your personal information (credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information). The email looks official and raises concern and may even threaten dire consequences if you do not respond. They include a link to a website that looks official, but isn’t, and captures any personal information you enter so they may steal your identity. 

Now, the same type of scam is finding its way to you via your cellular phone. In a smishing attempt, identity thieves send a similar message to your mobile phone using an SMS text. The text relays that an urgent matter needs to be discussed and provides a toll free number where a fake automated voice-response system records account number and password information. Smishing relies on the tendency for individuals to be more trusting of text messages than email messages. 

In a world where fraudsters are looking for any opportunity to gain access to our private information, how do we defend ourselves? The American Bankers Association suggests financial institutions share tips and remind customers that socially engineered schemes rely on methods financial institution would never employ.

They state,

“To avoid fraud, banks and credit unions should remind customers to”:

• Never give out personal or financial information in response to an unsolicited phone call, fax, e-mail or text.
• Contact the financial institution to confirm the legitimacy of any e-mail that asks for the submission of personal or banking account information.
• Check credit card and bank account statements regularly for unauthorized transactions…even small ones.
• Make sure websites are secure when submitting financial information online. Check for padlocks or key icons at the bottoms of Internet browsers. Most secure Web addresses also use “https.”
• Report suspicious activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center.
• Contact your financial institution immediately if a phishy link may have been clicked or a suspicious communication responded to.

What have you done to prevent identity theft?

Employee education is one of the strongest tools in our arsenal to fight cybercrime.  NACHA, the Electronic Payments Association, suggests that one simple question can make the difference between an infected network and a protected one. Teaching our employees to always ask, “Does this email make sense?” before responding to it, opening an attachment, or clicking on a link, can make all the difference.   

Regularly remind your staff that financial institutions, government agencies, and associations will not request personal identification numbers (PINs), user names, passwords, or account verification via an email. Should they receive such a request, it is best to delete the email rather than risk infecting your network. 

Emails from family and friends may include links to sites that also may infiltrate the network. Asking, “Does this email make sense” includes considering whether or not it makes business sense to open an attachment or link to an unknown site. 

When in doubt, NACHA suggests: 

Using a lock up service such as “whois.net” to view domain registration information of an email sender.

Contacting the sender to determine legitimacy, but never use the phone number included in the email.

Deleting the email. 

How have you been educating your staff about the perils of cybercrime?

It’s easy to understand why ministries believe they are less likely to become a victim of a financial crime. This is because of the great trust they have for their staff. And while that trust may have been earned or even warranted because of their common Christian bond, internal controls are still necessary. Proper controls don’t say “We don’t trust you.” Instead, they say, “We want to protect you.” Not only do they remove the opportunity for any misappropriation of funds, they also catch errors and protect staff from innuendo and false accusation if a loss is incurred.

Here are six key elements of internal controls for churches and ministries:

1. Maintain clear organizational structure, including proper channels for reporting suspected improprieties.

2.  Keep policies and procedures that are clearly written, current, and accessible. This leaves no question about authority, and helps part-time and volunteer staff carry out activities and continue them during periods of turnover.  

3.  Implement separation of duties. Some of the most important separation of duties for ministries include handling donations and being responsible for recording the receipts in the accounting records. A key component is the routine review and reconciliation by someone other than the preparer or transactor to determine that transactions have been properly processed.  

4. Practice dual control over all cash donations. Two persons should be assigned counting responsibility for all cash and for deposit preparation. The cash counters should not also prepare the deposits, and all positions should be rotated periodically.

5.  Require dual control of cash until it is delivered to the bank or a courier. A locked safe that requires two distinct individuals to remove the cash keeps it secure.

6.  Implement dual control for online banking systems. Individuals who create files should be different from those who release files for processing. 

What other financial controls has your ministry found helpful?

Most everyone knows that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This adage is certainly true when combating banking fraud. Prevention is especially important when dealing with a type of fraud known as “corporate account takeover.” Ignore prevention and your ministry could end up dealing with financial loss, negative publicity, and recovery efforts that divert time from kingdom work.

Corporate account takeover occurs when cyber criminals gain control of an organization’s bank account. This commonly happens when malicious software (malware) infects the organization’s computers. This malware is often delivered through very legitimate looking emails with infected links or attachments. Once embedded in a computer, this malware captures personal information and log-on credentials to online banking applications, allowing fraudsters to electronically pilfer money from the unsuspecting organization. It is because of threats like this that ECCU incorporated state-of-the-art security into its new online banking system.

When the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) conducted a survey in 2010, 14 percent of the respondents had experienced corporate account takeover fraud. While only 2 percent suffered a financial loss, the time wasted to investigate and restore security diverted those organizations from the work they are called to do.

To prevent this kind of fraud, NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association, recommends the following steps:

1. Require dual control for ACH and wire transfer payments. This means that if one person authorizes creation of a payment file, a second person must authorize release of that file.
2. Ensure that all antivirus and security software and hardware for all computers (including laptops) used for online banking and payments are up-to-date.
3. Require that any computers used for online banking and payments are dedicated solely to those activities. This means they are not used for web browsing or social networking and are not connected to an internal network.
4. Monitor and reconcile accounts daily so you can spot fraudulent activity in time to take action.
5. Utilize routine and “red-flag” reporting (i.e., alerts about unusual activity) for transactions.

If your ministry’s bank account falls victim to corporate account takeover, contact your financial institution immediately so they can:

• Disable online access to accounts
• Change online banking passwords
• Open new account(s) as appropriate

Your financial institution should also review all recent transactions and any authorizations on file. Anything suspicious should be cancelled immediately.

What steps has your ministry taken to prevent fraud like corporate account takeover?