The primary mission of the Committee is creating opportunities in commercial finance for a diverse group of young people. Scholarships and paid internships, funded by the Foundation, and supplemented by individual and CFA member company matching gifts will receive emphasis as well as assisting women and minorities with career development opportunities.
The Committee decided to initially develop a Guest Lecture Program (GLP) designed to introduce ABL, factoring and other commercial finance products to undergraduate juniors and seniors. Colleges and universities in minority and underserved communities will be the primary targets for these GLPs. As a follow up, internships at CFA member companies will be made available for students attending any GLP and showing strong interest in gaining further knowledge and hands-on experience in commercial finance.
Robert Katz, of EisnerAmper, LLP, who is adjunct professor of finance at Temple University, arranged for the initial guest lecturer presentation to his Corporate Finance class on Monday, April 8 in Philadelphia.
Joe Accardi of People’s United Bank was the guest lecturer. The class of 20 students, all getting ready to receive a BA degree in Business/Finance, had stimulating interactive discussion with Joe about asset-based lending, including what it is and career opportunities in the field.
The discussion began with some basic concepts of creditworthiness, and the possible need for collateral; as cash flow and liquidity become more strained, collateral becomes more important to ensure full repayment of a debt, and then various types of potential problems come into play with certain assets.
“I was impressed by so many really good questions from the students,” said Joe. “They clearly had a strong academic background in finance and had learned a lot over the years of their academic life. They had no problem absorbing some real nitty-gritty ABL concepts like borrowing base availability, ineligibles, and NOLV.” Students were very engaged.
Joe gave an example of a former client of his from years ago, a company that was an importer of Christmas tree ornaments. “Very quickly the students understood that the inventory had a certain value in September, and a much lesser value in January. I was hoping that they’d come away with the idea that with asset-based loans, you always need to be thinking about potential risks. This is not plain vanilla, auto-pilot lending, and that’s why it’s so stimulating and fun!”
Joe then discussed how the ABL business had been so rewarding for him over nearly four decades and urged the students to consider learning more about career opportunities and looking into internships with ABL lenders. There was discussion about careers in credit and underwriting, new business development, and portfolio management. Both Joe and Rob offered to serve as a sounding board at any time for any thoughts they might have about exploring ABL career opportunities.
Joe and Rob further discussed career and internship prospects with CFA members and the support of the CFA through jobs, trade publications and education. More than half the class indicated an interest in learning more about the CFA and lending opportunities.
In a more general way, Joe talked about what potential employers, in any field, are looking for when considering hiring a recent college graduate. “Obviously, no one is looking for 10 or 20 years of experience when hiring someone in their early-mid 20s. So what we are looking to hire is someone with a strong work ethic, strong communication skills, a positive attitude, a collaborative nature, and an eagerness to keep learning and growing. If that’s what you’re coming to the table with as a potential team member, success is pretty much guaranteed.”