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 Professional) designation just two weeks ago!

Before taking the course, Belleville didn't sell internationally as much. But he has run into international issues more frequently over the last few years. "We're dealing with a lot more international companies and have had discussions about international credit," Belleville said. Instead of guessing and doing research for questions that came up, he thought it would be best to become an expert and earn his CICP designation. "For me, it was a chance to continue to learn in the field of credit and help my company as they become more involved with international trade." 

Belleville started the FCIB's International Credit & Risk Management (ICRM) course after year-end for his company. "It wasn't our busy season when I started," he said. "As we moved closer to the end, we started entering our busy season."

He applied the concepts he learned during daily work. He even got a refresher on topics he had forgotten. Belleville's biggest takeaways were Letters of Credit (LC) and trade credit insurance. "Those concepts helped the most when it came to the international issues I encountered," he said. "I can see international credit help my company with supply chain challenges, product sourcing and deciding on who to sell to abroad."

After receiving his designation, he felt proud and satisfied. "It was a great sense of accomplishment given the difficulty level," Belleville said. "It was fulfilling and well worth my time and effort. ICRM Instructor Val Venable, CCE, CICP, ICCE was a great resource and encouraged us to interact with other classmates."