LAS VEGAS — More than 400 people have convened here for NACUSO's annual conference, which has a full agenda on issues ranging from NCUA's evaluating third-party relationships to consumer trends in 2009 and beyond to how CUSOs can influence the political climate.

Guy Messick, general counsel for NACUSO, along with Brian Lauer, associate at Messick & Weber P.C., spoke yesterday on CUSO 101. Included in the session was a discussion of current regulatory topics such as NCUA's Supervisory Letter regarding evaluating third-party relationships and the impact of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, which allows consumers to dispute inaccuracies in their credit reports. Messick and Lauer also provided the latest updates on unrelated business income tax.

Dan Clark, New York Times best selling author and contributing author to the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, will give the keynote address this morning on "thinking outside of the box." This afternoon, NACUSO will announce the winners of its 2008 CUSO Collaboration & Innovation Award.