Member Spotlight: Dedication Through Designations

Earning a designation is not only a great accomplishment that sets you apart, but it shows how dedicated you are in your career. And depending on the designation you earn, you can become an asset and help advance your company. The NACM Professional Certification Program has a variety of designations that credit professionals can earn in order advance in their career and showcase their level of dedication.

"Pursuing designations shows seriousness of intent and makes you a subject matter expert that lends credence and conversations with others outside the industry," said Marc Greenberg, CCRA, credit supervisor at Mansfield Service Partners South, LLC (Gainesville, GA) who just earned his CCRA designation. "It helps to facilitate certain conversations, particularly when you have to have conversations that lead into the C-suite."

Greenberg earned his designation during a shift in his career. "I was in logistics and inventory management for 25 years and reached a point where I wasn't as fascinated with it," he said. Soon after, he resigned and got his BBA in Accounting from the University of North Georgia. In the meantime, he came across a credit analyst internship and learned more.

His biggest challenge in earning the designation was the age gap between him and his peers. "I was the oldest one by 20 or so years, so there was a culture gap there," Greenberg said. "The schooling also drastically changed since I attended school about 30 years ago." But he managed to apply his business and accounting knowledge in the course.

Greenberg learned how his company's perception of credit is company and industry specific. "I learned how your tolerances are going to vary based upon the product or service that you're selling or the market that you're selling into," he said.

In the end, Greenberg treated his designation journey as a professional endeavor rather than a course. He focused on time management and planning out what he needed to produce for the professors. It's a great accomplishment but it's not his last. "You rest on that feeling but then you're eyeballing the next designation," he said. "I'm planning to pursue by CBA to continue my path in credit." 

For more information about each designation within NACM's Professional Certification Program, visit our website.