Credit Business Associate (United States)
The Credit Business Associate (CBA) is a professional designation for a credit manager. This designation was created by the National Association of Credit Management, a nonprofit organization based in Columbia, MD (USA) that promotes standards for the business-to-business credit profession, serving as an advocate in addition to providing education and services.
The CBA is an academic-based designation that signifies mastery of three business credit-related disciplines: basic financial accounting, business credit principles and introductory financial statement analysis. The coursework needed to qualify for this designation can be obtained through colleges, local NACM Affiliate programs, self-study or nationally-sponsored programs. There are two plans from which to choose to achieve this designation, Plan A or Plan B.
Ways to Achieve a CBA Certification
CBA: Plan A Plan A is best suited for those who wish to complete the required courses at a college, through self-study, at an NACM nationally-sponsored program or who already have a college degree. CBA-Plan A applicants must show evidence of having successfully completed (with a C average or better for each course) the following three courses:
- Basic Financial Accounting
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Business Credit Principles
The Basic Financial Accounting course can be fulfilled three ways:
- College: Either one full semester of college financial accounting or two quarters of financial accounting.
- Online Self-Study: NACM-National offers an online self-study accounting course. The online accounting course is an appropriate method of study for those with some accounting experience or a basic working knowledge of accounting. This method of study is not recommended to those with little or no accounting experience.
- Credit Administration Program (CAP): Successfully completing the NACM Affiliate-sponsored course, Basic Financial Accounting.
The Financial Statement Analysis 1 (FSA1) course can be completed four ways:
- College: Either one full semester or two quarters of college financial statement analysis.
- Self-Study: NACM-National offers an independent study course through its Credit Learning Center.
- FSA1 Certificate Session: A six-day course offered onsite at NACM-National. To earn course equivalency, all parts of the course must be attended in addition to a passing grade on the required exam given on the last day of the course.
- CAP: Successfully completing the NACM Affiliate sponsored course, FSA1, will fulfill this requirement. See CAP below.
The Business Credit Principles (BCP) course can be completed three ways:
- Self-Study: NACM-National offers an independent study course through its Credit Learning Center.
- BCP Certificate Session: A five-day course offered onsite at NACM-National. To earn course equivalency, all parts of the course must be attended in addition to a passing grade on the required exam given on the last day of the course.
- CAP: Successfully completing the NACM Affiliate sponsored course, BCP. See CAP below.
CBA: Plan B (CAP) Many NACM Affiliated Associations sponsor the Credit Administration Program (CAP), which is a series of courses designed to prepare candidates for the CBA exam. Similar to plan A, CAP comprises
- Basic Financial Accounting
- Financial Statement Analysis I
- Business Credit Principles
The local CAP sponsor furnishes student the end-of-course grades, grade transcripts or certificates of completion.
Basic Financial Accounting topics include:
- Credit in the Business World
- Credit in the Company
- Organizing the Credit Department
- Credit Policy and Procedures
- Legal Environment of Credit
- Terms and Conditions of Sales
- Negotiable Instruments
- Legal Forms of Business
- Uniform Commercial Code
- Credit Investigations
- Know Your Customer
- International Trade
- Financing and Insurance
- Business Credit Fraud
- Making Credit Decisions
- Customer Visits
- The Credit and Sales Partnership
- Out-of-Court Settlements
- Bankruptcy Code Proceedings.
Financial Statement Analysis 1 course outline:
Course Outline:
Chapter 1: Financial Overview
- Financial Accounting Standards Board
- Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures
- Security and Exchange Commission
- Management and Discussion and Analysis
- Proxy Statement
- Discretionary Issues
Chapter 2: Balance Sheet
- Accounting Equation
- In-depth Review of Balance Sheet Accounts
- Stockholders’ Equity Accounting
Chapter 3: Income Statement
- In-depth Review of Income Statement Accounts
- Statement of Stockholders’ Equity
- Segmental Accounting
- In-depth Review of Income Statement Accounts
- Statement of Stockholders’ Equity
- Segmental Accounting
Chapter 4: Statement of Cash Flows
- Preparing a Statement of Cash Flows/Indirect Method
- Cash Flow-Operating Activity
- Cash Flow-Investing Activity
- Cash Flow-Financing Activity
- Analysis Using Statement of Cash Flows
- Preparing a Statement of Cash Flows/Indirect Method
- Cash Flow-Operating Activity
- Cash Flow-Investing Activity
- Cash Flow-Financing Activity
- Analysis Using Statement of Cash Flows
Chapter 5: Guide to Earnings and Financial Reporting
- Revenue Recognition
- Financial Checklist
- Earning Recognition
Chapter 6: The Analysis of Financial Statements
- Common Size Analysis
- Ratio Analysis
- Common Size Analysis
- Ratio Analysis
- Analyze the Data
Business Credit Principles topics include:
- Credit in the Business World
- Credit in the Company
- Organizing the Credit Department
- The Legal Environment of Credit
- Credit Policy and Procedures
- Terms and Conditions of Sale
- Negotiable Instruments
- The Uniform Commercial Code
- The Legal Forms of Business
- Credit Investigations
- Know Your Customer
- International Trade
- Financing and Business Insurance
- Business Credit Fraud
- Making Credit Decisions
- Customer Visits
- The Credit and Sales Partnership
- Out-of-Court Settlements
- Bankruptcy Code Proceedings
- Financial Statements
- Financial Analysis Fundamentals
- Analysis and Forecasting of Credit and Receivable Information
External links