In person customer visits, face-to-face meetings between a representative from your company and your customer at their location, are becoming less common. Video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have reshaped how businesses interact with customers, providing more convenient and cost-effective solutions.

When considering the work of a credit manager, it is impossible to overstate the importance of interdepartmental communication, especially when it comes to the relationship between credit and sales. While the two departments work in tandem, with the sales team securing customers the credit team will then manage, in some offices, the two can be a bit isolated. 

To advance in any field, you must be willing to learn. Earning a designation through NACM’s six-level Professional Certification Program, credit professionals gain the skill set and knowledge base needed to grow professionally. 

The journey towards earning a designation is different for everyone. Whether you spread your courses out over a few months or finish it all in a shorter period, earning a designation is a testament to your dedication to learning and understanding the complicated field of credit management. For Lindsey Purks, CBA, credit manager at Carpenter Company (Richmond, VA), earning her Credit Business Associate (CBA) designation was a long but rewarding journey, which instilled a newfound confidence in her work.  

With steady growth throughout the year despite a slight deceleration towards year’s end, the Mexican economy appears steady. However, increasingly fraught relations with the United States and the promise of tariffs from President-Elect Donald Trump, threaten the nation’s continued economic growth in the coming year.

Anyone can benefit greatly from joining an association, yet 56% of associations admit they have trouble engaging young professionals, according to Naylor’s Association Communications Benchmarking Survey. However, many factors that millennials and Gen Z value most—such as networking, collaboration and educational opportunities—are abundantly available through associations.

Retirement is one of the most significant decisions in a professional’s life, and for credit managers, it comes with its own set of unique challenges. The transition from an active career to retirement requires careful planning and thoughtful consideration of numerous factors—from financial stability to passing the torch to the next generation of leadership.

With a weary economy, political anxieties and inflation abound, it is no surprise that 2024 saw fewer people voluntarily leaving their jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the quitting rate dropped to a low 2.2%, with many Americans opting to stay in their current positions. The trend, dubbed the Great Stay, comes only two years after the peak of the Great Resignation, when a whopping four million people were quitting each month. 

As the construction industry prepares for the effects of Present-elect Donald Trump’s economic policies—such as tariffs on imported materials, reduced tax rates and deregulation—credit managers face both opportunities and risks. While these measures could stimulate industry growth, they also have the potential to drive inflation, increase interest rates and escalate government debt.