Contract & Commercial Management: Emerging From The Shadows

IACCM’s announcement this week of new learning programs and certification standards is about much more than a product launch. It reflects the emergence of an exciting and dynamic career path for a new breed of practitioners and experts.

“Contract and commercial management has for too long been the poor relation,” said one senior executive in a recent panel discussion, mirroring an observation by the UK’s National Audit Office in 2014 when it reported that “the biggest problem with contract management is that management does not take it seriously enough”.

Sentiments are changing fast. ‘Commercial excellence’ is rapidly rising on the Board and executive agenda – that is, visible operational integrity, the ability to make good judgments and to remain agile in the face of fast-changing market conditions. Yet the urgency of this agenda means that investment in the necessary skills and systems has been lacking. Organizations are struggling to find people with adequate vision to lead commercial operations; they are struggling to identify the tools and applications that support management of new business relationships; and they are struggling to develop and implement the contractual terms and models that underpin high performing, collaborative relationships.

It is in recognition of this environment that IACCM has fundamentally overhauled its portfolio of training products and its standards of professional accreditation. A new advanced curriculum reflects the need for deeper and broader skills. Strongly research based, the material equips a practitioner community to deal with the challenges of change. Revised certification standards build from this curriculum and, at Certified Expert level, require demonstration of the leadership and influencing skills demanded by the Board and top executives.

For more information about these exciting new programs, visit https://www.iaccm.com/news/?id=8814