Certified in Credit Management (CICM)

General Information:

Educational Requirement: Associate Degree in any Financial Related Field.

Minimum Age: 19 Years

Experience: 1 Year in the field in any Financial Related Field

Administration

CPE Hours: 10 Annual Hours

Examination Pass Rate: 75%

Conditional Requirement: 1 part

Application Process:

1. Complete application form, (include nonrefundable Examination Fee)
2. Two 2" x 2" passport photos
3. Official Transcripts
4. Two Letters of reference
5. Current Resume

Why Become Certified in Credit Management?

As a professional, Certified in Credit Management (CICM), you would have distinguished yourself amongst the best in the field of Credit Management. The passing of a recognized examination is an indication that you are proficient and have the ability, capability and articulation in the art of Credit Management. Your certification acknowledges your attainment in the areas of: Financial Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, General Business Law, and Credit & Risk Management.

Being Certified in Credit Management will influence your promotion in areas where you can perform at a great degree of competency and proficiency. The CICM designation, moreover, will showcase your professional ability to interpret general financial data, as well as the ability to promote an understanding of financial and credit information for decision-making purposes and to focus on the role of financial and credit risk in communicating business results.

The CICM designation further demonstrates your understanding of the management of credit risk, with a view to upholding the elements and the applicability of general business law provisions.

Examination Dates and Time:

Each of the four-parts of the examination is two and one-half hours in duration. The exam is a combination of paper format and computerization, offered as follows:-

• The last Friday and Saturday in each month commencing at 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Candidates should schedule their preferred time early to ensure the availability of space and a computer terminal. International candidates can take the exam at an approved location with an approved proctor. All results are mailed out on the third Wednesday after the examination.

Examination Board:

There is a five member examination board, all of whom are Credit Management Professionals.

Program Overview:

What is Credit Risk: Credit risk is defined as the potential that a debtor will fail to meet its obligations as agreed to in a contract. The objective of the Credit Risk manager is to maximize a creditor’s risk-adjusted rate of return by maintaining credit risk exposure within an acceptable boundary. A Credit Risk Manager is aligned with related activities directed at controlling and minimizing the pressure that can impact an entity’s overall operational success.

The “Certified in Credit Management” (CICM) program is designed to promote the recognition of professionals as advocates of solid credit and risk principles in the financial sector. Professionals would have completed extensive examinations covering topics in market risk, credit risk, model risk, hedging credit risk and operational risk. Additionally, professionals would demonstrate their preparedness to deal with the challenges in unstable economic times, including the large number of bankruptcies, consumer and commercial debt. The CICM professional would have demonstrated the ability to effectively monitor and manage the related credit risk regarding the many challenges that are forever increasing in the financial sector. Passing the CICM examination is an indication that the CICM professional has expertise in Credit Management and has the ability to identify, structure, support and monitor risk.

As the focus of credit risk management rapidly shifts from transaction management to portfolio management and from monitoring portfolio performance to predicting portfolio performance, CICM professionals would have demonstrated their readiness, by being equipped with the necessary tools. Additionally, CICM professionals would be able to provide critical information, tools, and techniques needed to ensure stable credit portfolios - essential guidance on risk measurement, loan pricing and structuring, and portfolio diversification. Professionals completing this program include: Financial personnel, credit personnel, bankers, etc., Upon passing, the CICM professionals would have demonstrated knowledge in:-

• Credit Risk Evaluation
• Analysis of Non Financial and Financial Risks involved in Preparing Credit proposals
• Financial Statement Analysis
• Ratio Analysis
• Cash Flow analysis
• Forecasting
• Using Credit Default Models
• Portfolio Management of Credit Risk
• Etc.,

To achieve the CICM designation, successful candidates would have demonstrated their articulation in numerous fields in the financial sector. The four-part examination is as follows:-

Part 1 - Financial Accounting

Part 2 - Financial Statement Analysis

Part 3 - General Business Law

Part 4 - Credit & Risk Management

Examination Syllabus

Recommended Study Material

Financial Accounting

- Financial Accounting, Donald E. Kieso, Jerry J. Weygandt, Paul D. Kimmel

Financial Statement Analysis

- Analysis and Use of Financial Statements, Gerald I. White, Dov Fried, Ashwinpaul C. Sondhi, Haim D. Fried

General Business Law

- Gleim’s CPA Review (LAW), Irvin N. Gleim

Credit & Risk Management

- Risk Management, Michel Crouhy, Robert P. Mark, Dan Galai

Part 1 Financial Accounting

1. Characteristics and Basic Concepts of Accounting
2. The Accounting Information System
3. Adjusting the Accounts
4. Completion of the Accounting Cycle
5. Accounting for Merchandising Operations
6. Financial Statement Concepts and Analysis
7. Internal Control and Cash
8. Accounting for Receivables
9. Inventories
10. Plant Assets, Natural Resources, and Intangible Assets
11. Liabilities
12. Corporations: Organization, Stock Transactions, and Dividends
13. Corporations: Retained Earnings and Investments
14. Statement of Cash Flows
15. Financial Statement Analysis

Part 2 Financial Statement Analysis

1. Framework for Financial Statement Analysis
2. Financial Statements: The Raw Data of Analysis
3. Foundations of Ratio and Financial Analysis
4. Empirical Research: Implications for Financial Statement Analysis
5. Analysis of Inventories
6. Analysis of Long-Lived Assets
7. Analysis of Income Taxes
8. Analysis of Financing Liabilities
9. Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits
10. The Analysis of Off-Balance-Sheet Activities and Hedging Transactions
11. Analysis of Intercorporate Investments
12. Business Combinations
13. Analysis of Multinational Operations
14. Credit and Risk Analysis
15. Valuation and Forecasting

Part 3 General Business Law

1. The Legal Environment of Business
2. Ethics & Professional Responsibilities
3. Agency
4. Partnerships
5. Corporations
6. Contracts
7. Debtor-Creditor: Rights and Duties
8. Guarantors
9. Bankruptcy
10. Securities
11. Employment Regulation
12. Negotiable Instruments & Bank Transactions
13. Sales
14. Secured Transactions
15. Documents of Title

Part 4 Credit & Risk Management

1. The Need for Risk Management Systems
2. The New Regulatory and Corporate Environment
3. Structuring and Managing the Risk Management Function in a Bank
4. The New BIS Capital Requirements for Financial Risks
5. Measuring Market Risk: The VaR Approach.
6. Measuring Market Risk: Extensions of the VaR Approach and Testing the Models.
7. Credit Rating Systems.
8. Credit Migration Approach to Measuring Credit Risk.
9. The Contingent Claim Approach to Measuring Credit Risk.
10. Other Approaches: The Actuarial and Reduced-form Approaches to Measuring Credit Risk.
11. Comparison of Industry-sponsored Credit Models and Associated Back-Testing Issues.
12. Hedging Credit Risk & Managing Operational Risk.
13. Capital Allocation and Performance Measurement.
14. Model Risk.
15. Risk Management in Nonbank Corporations & Risk Management in the Future.