NACM Business Credit Compensation Survey results: certifications help drive credit professional salaries higher.(selected topic)(Survey)

NACM's Business Credit Compensation Survey covering nearly 2,000 members nationwide has provided valuable information regarding the compensation practices for 16 distinct credit-related job classifications. Since the publication of the survey results in May of this year, Cascade Employers Association, the third party who conducted the survey on behalf of NACM, has continued to mine the survey database for additional valuable insights regarding the compensation of credit professionals. Rather than focus on salaries for credit-related jobs, this article focuses on Cascade's findings regarding relationships between the salaries paid to business credit professionals, certifications earned and highest education level achieved.

Cascade's continuing research has revealed some intriguing relationships between these three variables. When focusing on those who have earned one or more certifications (e.g., CBA, CBF and/or CCE), salaries average 5.6% higher than for those professionals with no certifications. Of the nearly 1,500 usable responses to the survey, 25.6% had at least one of these three certifications (Table A). The CCE certification (13.8% of responses) apparently has the greatest impact on salaries. The salaries for those with the CCE designation average 8.7% higher than for those survey respondents with no certifications.

When the certification versus salary relationship was narrowed to the credit manager position (54.4% of respondents indicated their position matched to this job), the salaries of those with one or more certifications (29.2% of job respondents) averaged 8.7% more than for those with no professional certifications. Furthermore, credit managers with the CCE designation are paid salaries averaging 10.1% higher than credit managers with no certifications.

Whereas certifications clearly impact salary levels for credit professionals, education level achieved and work experience also play a role. Based on the data collected through the survey, salary differences appear to be better explained when the combination of respondent education and certifications earned are considered. Tables B through D indicate that, whereas certifications have the greatest impact on salaries for individuals at lower education levels (high school and some college), education level has the greatest impact on salaries for those individuals at higher levels of education (four year degree and masters or higher).

Cascade's conclusions that certifications impact salaries more at lower education levels, and that education has a greater impact on salaries at higher education levels, appears to be validated in Tables E and F below. The salary comparisons in the second column of both tables clearly reinforce this point with the reduced salary differences at the "Four Year Degree" and "Masters Degree or Higher" education levels. However, for those who currently have certifications, the upward impact on salaries for earning additional certifications is evident in the third column of both tables.

Whereas work experience and performance will continue to impact salaries long after you have completed your education and earned your certifications, we believe the above tables demonstrate that the more you learn, the more you can earn. For more information about the professional certifications offered by NACM, contact us at www.nacm.org.

Jerry Bumgarner, CCP