Member Spotlight: Elevate Your Mind

​Credit professionals are first and foremost risk mitigators. They have to make credit decisions based on risk factors and must be knowledgeable about business and credit law to minimize risk. By earing the Credit Business Fellow (CBF) designation through NACM's six-level Professional Certification Program, credit professionals can display their competence in business and credit law as well as establish their credibility in the credit profession.

Heather Spencer, CBF, senior district financial manager at The Sherwin-Williams Company (Lenexa, KS) recently earned her CBF designation as part of continuing her credit education. "I moved to a new area and joined our local Credit & Financial Development Division (CFDD), which prompted me to further my education in business and credit law," she said. "Although I've been in credit for some time, I gained a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of like I always knew what I was doing, especially since my college degree is not in finance or accounting at all."

The course was a straightforward, positive experience for Spencer. She learned about the nuances in business and credit law that as well as negation tactics she could apply in her daily work in commercial manufacturing. The biggest challenge in earning her designation was time management given that fact that it was remote. "Luckily, I did it without trying to rush," she said. "I did not let too much time go in between when I was doing classes that would cause me to forget everything."

💡Study tips from Spencer: Take one thing at a time. "Focus on completing each chapter and quiz and don't let the final exam overwhelm you. Also, if I'm doing something else with my hands, I retain the information better than if I just sat and listened to it. So, when I was listening to the lectures, I would build a Lego so that I could listen better."

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