It doesn't matter if you're a big reader or if you can barely concentrate through a dinner menu...

You need to read the NCUA examiner’s guide. It's not the most exciting page-turner out there, but it certainly is a reliable source of insight and direction.

If you’re preparing for your next NCUA audit or examination, the NCUA examiner’s guide is your best resource. Read on to see why.

Understanding NCUA Regulations with the NCUA Examiner’s Guide

One of the hardest parts of preparing for an audit or exam is knowing how to study. What some people forget is that the NCUA actually lets you know what they’ll be looking for before they show up.

The NCUA gives credit unions a head start two ways. First, they keep the NCUA examiner’s guide on their website. The guide can be a reference of audit and exam proceedings, and it may help you understand what your examiner will be looking for, and why.

You can access the information from the NCUA examiner’s guide online here. The material in the updated guide has been updated as of July 2022.

The second way the NCUA helps credit unions understand their areas of focus is in the annual supervisory priorities letter.

NCUA Supervisory Priorities Letter

The NCUA examiner’s guide is a great resource, but it’s big. You’re not expected to be an expert on all the material therein. Not only that, but your examiners won’t run an exhaustive test of every subject in the book.

Fortunately, the NCUA examiner’s guide isn’t your only resource. Every year, the NCUA releases its supervisory priorities letter in January, which comes out in January. The letter outlines their high-priority focus areas. You can read the 2025 NCUA Supervisory Priorities Letter online here.

If you reference the supervisory priority letter, you can see to which areas of the NCUA examiner’s guide you’ll need to devote extra time. You can think of the letter as a study guide to the examiner’s guide.

Next Steps

Preparing for your next audit or exam doesn’t have to be difficult. By consulting the NCUA examiner’s guide in conjunction with the NCUA supervisory priorities letter, you’ll have a clearer idea of what you’ll need to focus on come audit season.

If you want to improve your audit management process, book a quick assessment to see if Redboard can help you here.

For other great content that will help you prepare for your next audit, check out these articles below:

Tracking Data Through your Internal Audit Process
Using the NCUA Examiner's Guide for an Internal Control Audit