The article is based on research conducted under the project titled “Developing an innovative decision support system based on Controlling Data Warehouse technology (CSW)”  financed by the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR). The paper aims to give an understanding of the field of managing financial institutions’ operations and banking risks with the help of controlling systems in Poland’s banking industry with special focus on the current situation of credit unions. For years credit unions’ operational results have remained noticeably worse than those of commercial banks. The thesis is that credit unions do not have or do not fully make use of professional and customized controlling tools. Improvement in this regard would increases their chances to successfully compete with commercial banks. The Article presents key characteristic elements of an information technology system tailored to the specific needs of credit unions.