PLANO, Texas -

It’s been a little while since I’ve made an entry into my diary about navigating through the rigors of the National Automotive Finance Association’s Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program.

I’m happy to report I can see the certification summit. While I didn’t get here with climbing boots and a backpack, it’s been just as rewarding as any journey a hiker, biker or just a strolling walker could make.

And now the NAF Association is widening the opportunity for you to make the same satisfying and worthwhile journey.

Because the NAF Association obtained so many requests, the organization announced this week that participants in its popular Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program now can complete the opening of the four modules online.

Previously, the only way to begin the program was to attend a two-day classroom session, which was scheduled twice per year.

I participated in the opening session the NAF Association hosted last September here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which rivals Detroit or anywhere else in the country as far as automotive penetration. As many of you are aware, large finance companies such as General Motors Financial, Santander Consumer USA, Capital One Auto Finance and Exeter Finance all call this area home.

Furthermore, each of the Uber drivers who took me to the headquarters of Digital Recognition Network (DRN) and EFG Companies on Tuesday mentioned how much the area is being impacted by the construction of Toyota’s sprawling headquarters here in Plano.

By the way, listen up for future installments of the Auto Remarketing Podcast to hear the conversations I had with top executives and DRN and EFG.

If you still want to begin the Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program with in-person training, the NAF Association indicated classroom sessions will continue to be offered and candidates who elect to begin the program online are welcome to attend the classroom session, too, but will not be required to do so.

The in-person training is simply superb. Hudson Cook partners Patty Covington and Eric Johnson explain the regulatory material without sounding like Charlie Brown’s teacher from the Peanuts cartoons.

Module 2 and Module 3 will continue to be offered online as they have since the program’s inception.

Once a participant passes the requirements of a module segment, the next portion becomes available. And participants must score 80 percent or higher on a segment exam.

(Imagine if all of the people and providers you depend on had to produce at least at an 80-percent clip or higher?)

Having to achieve that level of success absorbed numerous of my Saturdays since September.

But it’s been so worth the effort. The program not only gives you a comprehensive and digestible explanation of important federal mandates for auto financing, it also provides important foundational knowledge about state regulations that sometimes can vary as much as the color of vehicles in your inventory or portfolio.

The NAF Association indicated more than 500 compliance professionals have completed the program. By the end of the month, I hope to be a part of an increase in that tally after taking in Module 4 with Patty and Eric this week and completing one more exam.

While I might not be in the trenches of a finance company's underwriting or collections department, I like to think of all of us at Cherokee Media Group that generate Auto Remarketing, SubPrime Auto Finance News, Auto Remarketing Canada and BHPH Report, as well as the conferences at Used Car Week, as one of your service providers; a company that offers an important resource — knowledge.

And with the Consumer Credit Compliance Certification soon to be in my knowledge quiver, it’s my intention for it to reflect in the caliber of content you see from us here at Cherokee Media Group, recapping not only the moves regulators are making but also discussing how they might impact your business.

Before closing, I want to express again my sincere appreciation to Jack Tracey, Cindy Sly and the team at the NAF Association as well as Patty and Eric and the Hudson Cook stable of legal experts for allowing me to participate in the training.

Jack could have quickly brushed me aside and said, “No way!” But as always, he and everyone else involved all have been gracious.

More information about the Consumer Credit Compliance Certification Program can be found at www.nafassociation.com or by contacting Cindy Sly at cindy@nafassociation.com.

So if you or your company has been considering this program, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Not only will your firm be better for it, so will the entire auto finance industry.

Nick Zulovich is senior editor of SubPrime Auto Finance News and BHPH Report and can be reached at nzulovich@cherokeemediagroup.com.