When it comes to the credit profession, there's more than meets the eye. You're working with the credit team, senior management, sales, vendors, suppliers, customers and other departments in order to maximize profit and minimize risk. But that can get overwhelming without the proper preparation and training. That's where NACM's Professional Certifi...

NACM's Designation of Excellence Awards were created to honor designation holders at four distinct levels: the CBA, CBF, CCRA and CCE. Each recipient must have an unrelenting pursuit of excellence through enhanced and improved knowledge. Equally important is the desire to share that knowledge through speaking, teaching or mentoring. Mike Hill, CCE,...

What makes a credit professional stand out amongst the crowd? One great example is late leader and visionary O. D. Glaus, who embodied vision, energy, commitment and love for the credit profession. He blazed such a trail that NACM honored him by creating the NACM Credit Executive of Distinction, awarded to those who embodied that same spirit as exe...

There are specific qualities that come to mind when it comes to leadership. Vision. Confidence. Strength. Independence. Ownership. But what makes one a leader? And what makes them memorable? That is why NACM created the Emerging Leader Award. The Emerging Leader Award is awarded to those with vision, strength of purpose, intellect, energy, ethics, ...

NACM's motto throughout the years has been driving results. It's what B2B credit is all about. One of the ways we do that is by giving our members the chance to educate themselves and earn respective designations. A designation we offer that drives amazing results is the Credit Business Fellow (CBF) designation.The CBF designation is an academic, p...

More and more credit professionals are based in or working with customers overseas. In order to keep up with the pace, credit professionals must expand their knowledge of international trade. Wesley Belleville, CCE, CICP, director of credit at Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC (Collierville, TN) earned his CICP (Certified International Credit Profession...

More and more credit professionals are based in or working with customers overseas. In order to keep up with the pace, credit professionals must expand their knowledge of international trade. Scott Woitas, CBF, CICP, credit manager at Donaldson Company, Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) did just that by earning his CICP designation just last week. "...

This is my last week of FCIB's International & Credit Risk Management (ICRM) course. Not only am I working on finishing the last chapter of the course (Compliance and Legal), but I'm also expected to complete the course evaluation before starting the final exam.In preparation for the exam, I've attended the final review session, studied the pre...

As I wrap up module 10 for FCIB's International Credit Risk & Management (ICRM) course, I'm amazed at how far I've come starting with limited knowledge of international credit. From learning about the three extra C's of credit (country, culture and currency), establishing credit lines in payment terms and letters of credit, I still can't believ...

This week has been the busiest and most insightful so far for me at NACM. Not only am I working on the ninth module of FCIB's International Credit Risk & Management (ICRM) course, but I just completed my first Graduate School of Credit & Financial Management (GSCFM) course through NACM.The two-day course covered ​Advanced Negotiations​ with...

I'm still in the process of finishing module 8 of FCIB's International & Credit Risk Management (ICRM) course. As I mentioned in my last post, this module covers letters of credit, guarantees and bonds. I just answered one of the discussion post questions, "Your customer in Ethiopia has just placed a large order and has offered payment through ...

I'm back again with insights on FCIB's International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) course. I just wrapped up module 7 on global payment mechanisms and started module 8 on letters of credit, guarantees and bonds.I learned that letters of credit (LCs) are one of the most versatile and secure payment instruments to use in international sales. Th...

💰 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings increased 70% year-over-year and Subchapter V filings are up 49%. With post-pandemic era financial aid no longer available, its time to leverage every possible risk mitigation tool both before and after a bankruptcy filing.🎙We've brought in some of the best experts for this week's episode of NACM's #ExtraCredit podca...

As I enter my sixth week of the International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) course, I'm gaining a deeper understanding about international trade credit, specifically the innerworkings of currency. Module 6 in particular, focuses on banking and currency terms and concepts. This is possibly the most anticipated module for me because it delves d...

​I'm officially finished with the fifth module of International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) course! In this module, I learned about establishing credit lines and payment terms. I used information I learned from the previous modules to formulate my answers for the discussion posts. I received support from ICRM Instructor, Val Venable, C...

​As I continue my journey through the International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) course, I'm gaining more knowledge about international trade. I'm currently working through the fourth module on risk mitigation. I'm looking forward to starting module five later this week on establishing credit lines in payment terms with the hopes of getting ...

I am going on my fourth week of the International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) online course and I am slightly behind. Not only was I struggling with some aspects of the discussion posts but I also had a six-day family vacation in Puerto Rico. Luckily the instructor was very understanding and let me enjoy my trip while helping me with my que...

I've just completed my second week of FCIB's International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) online course and it's been nothing short of a very pleasant experience. Although I've only brushed the surface of international trade credit, I've already learned so much.In the two modules I've completed so far, I've learned about the basics of how inte...

​Economic data shows that U.S. economic growth remained steady in the last quarter of 2022. In December, payrolls rose by $223,000 while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% and average hourly earnings eased by 0.3%, per Wells Fargo. Job openings fell to 10.46 million in November. Not only that, "ISM manufacturing fell to 48.4 in December, while the ...

Despite the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes and stubborn inflation, the labor market remains tight. The unemployment rate is sitting at a historical low of 3.7% and average hourly earnings rose 5% year-over-year, "well above a pace that would be consistent with the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation goal," reads an article from Bloomberg.However, ...