Member Links

IACC Blue Book

IACC Logos

Scope

IACC Listserve

Benchmarking

Members Only Resources

Bylaws

	Home About .

IACC Agency Certification Program Nearing Ten Year Anniversary

Next month, the IACC Agency Certification Program will celebrate 10 years since it was originally introduced to members in August 2000.

The IACC Board began discussing the issue of agency certification at the 1997 IACC Convention. After three years of discussion with members and careful development, the IACC Board of Directors was pleased to offer members the opportunity to demonstrate their professionalism and devotion to quality collection services through the introduction of the IACC Agency Certification Program.

While certification was not a requirement in the collection industry at the time, nor is it now, quality assurance had become a high-priority concern for creditors. The Commercial Law League of America was designating all members of their agency section as certified agencies and the American Collectors Association (now Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, ACA) was in the process of developing a voluntary agency certification program.

Membership in IACC already demonstrates a high level of professionalism with applicants needing to meet the requirements to carry a $10,000 bond, maintain a trust account and adhere to the IACC Code of Ethics, but the Board’s goal in developing an agency certification program was to offer members another “step” in quality assurance – an objective, third-party measure of performance. While meeting the membership requirements for IACC indicates that the agency is self-committed to quality, taking the additional step of attaining IACC certification indicates that a third-party has reviewed the agency’s operations and that the agency meets or exceeds the program’s standard operational guidelines.

During that first year, two IACC member agencies received the honor of saying they were the first to be certified. Those agencies are Credit Decisions International, Inc. in Elk Grove Village, Ill., with President Louis Figueroa and State Collection Service, Inc. in Madison, Wis., with President Tom Haag.

"Being the first was exciting, not only because it stood as a confirmation of CDI's dedication to ethical and sound business practice, but because it served as a catalyst for our staff to continue its professional development, individually and as a team. Far from being a simple marketing tool, a designation in name only, certification offers creditors substantive evidence of an agency's compliance with the highest standards in the industry," said Figueroa.

Figueroa also encourages other agencies not already certified or involved in the process to explore the challenge of qualification and the benefits of accreditation. Not only does IACC certification put an agency one step ahead of the competition, it offers the opportunity to continually refine and improve the agency's operations, especially if each member of collection staff passes the examination for individual certification as a CCC.

Haag also immediately saw the value in IACC agency certification. “We had been through the Professional Practices Management System (PPMS), ACA’s certification program, and were certified through them and had wanted to tie that into the IACC program. There was value from both the standpoint of marketing and internal operations. It was a no brainer for us, we knew the value was there and realized that value as soon as we could,” Haag said.

Another important aspect of the IACC Agency Certification Program is that it is ongoing. Members must provide documentation on an annual basis supporting the program’s various requirements to maintain their certified status. This annual re-certification “check-up” keeps agencies from relaxing their standards after they clear the initial hurdle of the certification application process.

When asked what you would say to another agency that is thinking about certification or that is in the process Figueroa said completing the program is not as difficult as it appears. Just be sure to have your accounting personnel clearly understand the criteria and be able to explain to the auditor. Also, be sure your trust accounting is well maintained and current.

Haag added that you shouldn’t quit, do it, make it happen. Your existing customers will respect it and new customers will expect it.

Certification Requirements

All agency applicants must meet the following requirements for certification to be awarded:

• Must be an agency member of IACC.

• Must have a minimum of one attendance at an IACC meeting in the previous year (teleseminars do not meet this requirement).

• Must have a minimum of $50,000 in bonds. In states requiring a statutory bond of less than $50,000, agencies will need both their state’s statutory bond and a blanket client bond. These two bonds would need to equal at least $50,000. In states that do not have a statutory bond requirement, agencies would need a $50,000 blanket client bond. No more than two bonds can be submitted to meet this requirement. The same bond may be used to meet the bond requirement for basic IACC membership.

• The agency must meet all state requirements for licensing (if any) in the state(s) in which it has offices.

• The agency shall not co-mingle funds. The agency must maintain a trust bank account for the purpose of clearing monies collected and a separate operating account. The agency must have detailed records showing collections and remittances.

• The agency must demonstrate that it has an accounting system and the supporting records in place to appropriately collect debts and remit the appropriate amount to clients. The agency shall furnish three months of trust/bank account statements and three months of trust liability statements.

• If an agency has multiple offices, all locations must be compliant with agency certification.

• The agency’s commercial collection manager must be IACC certified. (The fee for agency certification includes one IACC Certified Commercial Collector CD and exam).

• The agency agrees to abide by IACC’s complaint handling procedure: All complaints will be: (a) Heard; (b) Reviewed; (c) Corrective action will be taken if and when necessary; and (d) Reported back to the complainant.

• The agency must have a disaster recovery plan and procedures in place.

• The agency must have a dedicated commercial collection staff (i.e., collectors dedicated to collecting commercial accounts).