ACL is committed to assisting its customers in starting their own User Group within their area. To help you get started, we have outlined below the basic User Group structure, as well as provided boilerplate bylaws that you can use to build your own. As more resources become available, we will add them to this page.

ACL can help you start the process and get the word out to the user community. We can send an email on your behalf to other users in your area to help you jump start the process. After interested parties contact you, you can arrange a planning meeting for organizing and maintaining a Group.

Your plan should have the following elements:

Objectives of the User Group.

• Why are you organizing a Group? Possible objectives include networking amongst ACL users and sharing best practices and knowledge around ACL technology.

Organization of the User Group.

• Who will be the User Group president? What are other roles and responsibilities that need to be defined? What are the functions critical to the success of your Group?

Financing the User Group.

• Is the Group going to charge membership dues/fees? If so, how would the fee collection be executed?

Day-to-day operations of the User Group.

• How do I recruit members on an ongoing basis? How do I promote the User Group?

User Group Structure

Common practice in the formation of independent User Groups call for the establishment of Officers and, Committees dedicated to various areas of interest. Officers of the Group are typically:

• President
• Vice-President
• Secretary and Treasurer

Committees of the Group are typically:

• The Oversight Committee
• Communications Committee
• Membership Committee
• Best Practices Committee
• Product Committee

Independent User Group structure is up to the User Group itself and its duly approved bylaws.

Bylaws

To assist you in getting started with your own User Group, ACL has created boilerplate bylaws which you can use as a guide to build your own. These are sample bylaws only. You will need to amend these to conform to the laws of your jurisdiction and for your particular circumstances.

• Download the boilerplate bylaws

Things to consider for your first meeting

After you have drafted the plan, it is time to schedule your first meeting. Think about what you will be presenting. What are the Group members interested in learning about? Conduct a survey or a short discussion with the Group to determine topics of interest. Select a central, well-known and affordable location that will be available for extended periods of time. Determine the frequency of the User Group meetings. Attempt to standardize time and date for all meetings (e.g. 6 pm every first Wednesday of the month). Again, conduct a short discussion with the Group members to select the most appropriate time.

Day-to-day operations

• Develop an email database with members contact information.
• Create a calendar of events which highlights User Group meeting times and other events of interest. These can include industry conferences, trade shows, etc.

• Appoint one of your Group members as a meeting coordinator. This person will be responsible for sending invitations and reminders for meetings, updating the website calendar of events page and posting any presentations on the site.
• Appoint a Group member as the minute-taker. This person will be responsible for taking notes during the meeting, summarizing them and distributing them to all members after each meeting. 

Example of a User Group Meeting agenda

Welcome

• Greet and welcome each member at the door. Give each member a name tag and any other materials for the meeting.

Introduction

• Get each member to introduce themselves, where they work and why they joined the Group. Introduce any speakers you might have invited.

Feature Presentation

• Introduce any speakers you might have invited. Articulate the objectives the presentation, its scope and duration. Allow ample time for questions and answers.

Discussions

• Introduce the topics that will be covered in the meeting. Articulate the meeting agenda, explaining how much time will be allocated for each topic. Execute discussions.

Housekeeping (held at the beginning or end of each meeting)

• For your first meeting, it will be beneficial to have a discussion on topics of interest, when the best time is for members to meet, expectations, etc.
• Before the end of each meeting, allow for 30 minutes brainstorming on next meeting’s topics.

Continuously Recruiting Members

• Encourage your members to recruit. Your members will most likely know ACL users from other organizations.
• Participate in local industry events (i.e. IIA Chapter conferences, tradeshows, etc.).
• Advertise in trade publications. If your Group has an established advertising budget, you might want to consider advertising in Internal Auditor magazine and other industry magazines.
• Utilize trade blogs and the ACL User forums to advertise your User Group.

Stay in Touch

When you establish your Use Group or when changes occur in your Group’s leadership or status, email us at user_groups@acl.com to let us know. And again, contact us whenever you have a question, concern or issue that we can assist with.