Professional certification offers new lens to understand day-to-day work 

Earning a designation through one of NACM and FCIB’s six Professional Certification Programs is a testament to not only deepening your understanding of the tenets of business credit, but a critical step in any credit professional’s career. For MacKenzie Bogart, CBA, billing supervisor at SAIF Corporation (Salem, OR), earning her Credit Business Associate (CBA) designation is an important step of her career journey. 

For Bogart, preparing for the designation offered a refresher on her previous studies, allowing her to refine skills and learn new concepts simultaneously. “It had been a really long time since I had taken any accounting course, so I was a little bit out of practice,” Bogart said. “If nothing else, taking the course really helped me better understand the concepts that I apply in my day-to-day role and see policies through a new lens.”  

Quickly Bogart was able to apply what she learned to her daily work in credit while also allowing her to help more in different areas of the collections process. “Broadening my understanding of credit has helped me assist some of my peers with their own credit work,” Bogart said. “The class was really eye-opening, and I will be a better asset to my team moving forward because of it.”  

A professional certification is more than just a sign that you’ve completed a series of courses, but a big step in a larger career journey. To prepare yourself for promotions and prove yourself in the credit field, you need the knowledge and skills earned and refined through professional certification courses.  

“Considering how the certification course fit into my larger career goals helped me prioritize earning my designation,” Bogart said. “We all have busy lives, between our work and personal life, but considering how the designation fit into the big picture of my future goals really helped me set aside the time to achieve it.”  

💡Study tip: Finding ways to fit studying time into your daily life doesn’t always meeting setting aside time to cram with a textbook.  

“I would listen to my courses as though they were podcasts while doing things around the house,” Bogart said. “That really helped me in the weeks leading up to the exam.”