Certified Credit Executive (CCE)

Certified Credit Executive (CCE) is a professional designation issued by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM). It is an executive level designation. The CCE designation validates that a person is capable of managing credit.

Individuals who wish to obtain the CCE certification are required to sit an exam to prove they have sufficient knowledge of the credit, financial and legal topics studied. Renewing the certification involves paying a fee once every three years and completing continuing education and participation points.

There are four ways an applicant can qualify for the CCE exam. Plan A requires applicants to hold the Credit Business Associate (CBA) and Credit Business Fellow (CBF) designations and 125 Career Roadmap points. This plan applies to individuals who have minimal credit experience but want to gain the fundamental skills and knowledge of the field. Plan B requires applicants to have 10 years of business, credit or financial management experience along with a four-year college degree and 125 Career Roadmap points.

Plan C applies to applicants who have 15 years of credit or financial management experience, are age 57 or older and have 125 Career Roadmap points. This plan is suitable for applicants who don't hold a four-year college or university degree. Plan D includes successfully completing the second year of the Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management (GSCFM) program.

The CCE exam has a duration of four hours and comprises two sections, each worth 50 points. The exam's first section requires applicants to complete short answer and essay questions about credit, legal and management topics. Applicants complete a case study in the second section, where business credit knowledge gets applied to real-world examples. Both parts of the exam evaluate knowledge in accounting, finance, domestic and international credit concepts, credit management and credit and commercial law.

The NACM does not provide a practice exam. However, it does recommend that applicants review the following publications in preparation:

• “Credit Management: Principles and Practices” third edition, by Dr. Charles Gahala CCE
• “Understanding Financial Statements” ninth edition, by Lyn M Fraser
• “Manual of Credit and Commercial Laws” 101^st edition, published by National Association of Credit Management
• “Antitrust, Restraint of Trade and Unfair Competition: Myth vs. Reality” by Wanda Borges
• “How to Write a Credit Policy” by Cliff Miller

NACM member applicants are required to pay an application and exam fee of $385. Nonmember applicants pay $585. NACM requires CCE recertification every three years; recertification costs members $175, and nonmembers $300. Recertification discounts are available for members who renew three months before certification expiration.