Member Spotlight: A Leap of Faith
As a professional in any career path, change is inevitable and necessary to grow. NACM's Professional Certification Program gives credit professionals the exact tools they need for growth. With six levels of certification including in-house courses, online courses and exams, this program is designed to contribute to a credit professional's well-roundedness and expertise in credit management.
The Credit Business Fellow (CBF) is the third certification level out of six. The CBF is an academic and participation-based designation which illustrates that achievers are knowledgeable about and have contributed to the field of business credit by first having earned the Credit Business Associate (CBA) designation, as well as having completed additional course work. The CBF signals competence in business law and credit law.
Nikki Davis, CBF, is a credit assistant at Ferguson Enterprises (Euless, TX). She said her designation journey was a rewarding experience. "My favorite part was using what I learned in my day-to-day responsibilities," Davis said. "When I would have had a question about certain tasks at first, it was like a lightbulb moment. I thought that it was pretty cool to be able to say, 'Oh I just learned this!'"
Though it can be hard to balance work, additional education and life outside of both, Davis was able to stay motivated throughout her CBF journey. "Finding the time to get it done was an important skill I had to master," Davis added. "I have two kids and I always try to balance my work and home life working from home. I had to do most of the lessons at night once everyone was asleep or on the weekends—but it feels so good to have completed it."
💡Designation journey tip from Davis: "I would suggest earning designations after you've been a credit manager for a little bit. Having hands-on experience helps when doing the lessons and I felt some lessons were easier because I already had the basic knowledge of the why."
For more information about each designation within NACM's Professional Certification Program, visit our website.
