LAS VEGAS -- Jack Kain, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, credited recent industry initiatives for building consumer awareness of the automobile finance process, but said more progress is needed in his keynote address at the F&I Conference & Expo.

Kain called on the industry to continue to push for widespread certification of F&I professionals, greater transparency and improved public understanding of auto financing.

"Transparency is the key," Kain said. "We need to correct misinformation and misperceptions when we see them."

Kain cited the formation of an auto finance coalition to advance consumer education — American Well-informed about Automotive Retailing Economics (AWARE) — as one of the industry’s most important steps toward that goal.

He also urged dealerships to continue to step up F&I training and recommended that finance employees become certified through the Association of Finance & Insurance Professionals.