Organizations that suspect fraud or that actively want to prevent fraud often partner with Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) to receive professional analysis, consulting, and investigation services. Considered to be the premier anti-fraud professionals, CFEs can significantly impact the organizations and individuals they serve.
What Is a Certified Fraud Examiner?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a financial examiner is a professional responsible for working with organizations and conducting investigations to ensure that all entities comply with government regulations involving financial transactions. However, a CFE is a financial examiner who has completed the CFE Credential through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. In many cases, organizations that are in need of a financial examiner prefer to work with CFEs, as it is widely recognized that CFEs have the advanced training, knowledge, and credentials required to conduct investigations thoroughly and with integrity at the forefront.
What Does a Certified Fraud Examiner Do?
The type of work CFEs do each day may vary based on the industry they specialize in or the type of organization they are working with at the time. The following is some common duties and responsibilities of CFEs:
- Fraud Detection and Investigation — One of the primary responsibilities of fraud examiners is to conduct investigations to identify examples or instances of fraud within an organization. These investigations often involve both qualitative and quantitative research and data collection and analysis, requiring CFEs to be thorough and precise.
- Financial Forensics — Combining advanced financial acumen with investigation skills, fraud examiners are responsible for conducting investigations related to financial crime accusations or in an attempt to prevent financial crime from occurring in an organization.
- Internal Audits and Risk Assessments — Taking a proactive approach to fraud examinations, CFEs often work with organizations to complete internal audits and identify vulnerabilities that may leave an organization exposed to financial fraud.
- Legal and Regulatory Compliance — Financial examiners actively work with organizations and individuals to ensure that they remain in compliance with all legal and regulatory guidelines regarding financial transactions.
- Fraud Prevention and Training — In an effort to advocate for improved handling of financial transactions, financial examiners often provide fraud prevention services and training programs to interested organizations and individuals.
Skills Needed to Become a Certified Fraud Examiner
If you are interested in specializing in financial examinations and you want to learn more about how to become a Certified Fraud Examiner, the BLS notes that these are the qualities and skills that you should focus on:
- Analytical and Critical Thinking — Evaluating and analyzing the data available to you within an investigation will allow you to conduct a more thorough, complete, and accurate investigation. Expert analytical and critical thinking skills allow fraud examiners to contextualize data and paint a well-rounded picture of the situation at hand.
- Accounting and Financial Expertise — Above all else, financial examiners must have accounting and financial expertise. This field requires professionals to have a strong foundation in basic accounting principles.
- Investigative Skills — Fraud examiners must have hands-on experience conducting investigations before they begin the process of becoming certified.
- Legal Knowledge — Given the fact that one of the primary responsibilities of fraud examiners is to ensure regulatory compliance, it's not surprising that these professionals need to have a strong base of legal knowledge to be successful in their careers.
- Communication and Interviewing — Communication is considered one of the most critical soft skills for fraud examiners. Not only do they need to be able to conduct interviews expertly, but they also have to communicate their findings to organizational leaders and law enforcement professionals. In some cases, fraud examiners have to present findings in court, requiring them to have the ability to succinctly and clearly communicate findings.
- Technology and Data Analysis — Fraud examiners rely heavily on advanced technology to harvest and analyze data during the investigation process. They should prioritize digital literacy skills throughout their education and training.
- Ethical Judgment and Integrity — Fraud examiners must uphold the code of professional ethics when conducting investigations, ensuring that the results of all investigations are objective and fair. Having a strong sense of ethical judgment is paramount when working as a fraud examiner.
Eligibility Requirements for CFE Certification
To become a Certified Fraud Examiner, you must complete the CFE exam, which is offered through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Before you schedule a time to take the exam, you should make sure that you meet the eligibility requirements for CFE certification.
Educational Requirements
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, an eligibility points system is used to determine if an individual has completed the educational requirements for this certification. Candidates must have at least 40 eligibility points to take the exam, and they must earn 50 eligibility points to become certified.
To earn the first 40 eligibility points, candidates need to complete an undergraduate degree program. While no specific field of study is required for eligibility, candidates with a bachelor's degree in finance or a related field are often better equipped to successfully complete the certification exam.
However, candidates without a bachelor's degree can still earn eligibility points for related work experience. Candidates can substitute two years of related work experience in fraud examination for every year of academic study to earn the eligibility points required to take the CFE exam.
Work Experience
In addition to earning the 40 eligibility points through education or related experience in fraud examination or detection, prospective candidates must also complete at least two years of fraud-related work experience. The work experience can be completed in a field that is either directly or indirectly related to fraud detection. However, candidates must have experience in one of the following areas:
- Accounting
- Auditing
- Criminology
- Fraud Investigation
- Loss Prevention
- Law
How to Prepare for the CFE Exam
The CFE exam is a rigorous exam designed to test your proficiency in fraud detection and examination. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the best way to prepare for the exam is to rely on the study approach that best complements your learning style to explore the vast fraud examiner body of knowledge.
These tips can help you prepare effectively for the exam:
- Determine when you want to take the exam, and then create a study schedule that allows you to study consistently each day up until the exam.
- Explore the CFE Exam Content Outline, available through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. This will help you become familiar with the exam format and content.
- Join a CFE exam study group to prepare for the exam with other professionals who have similar knowledge and skill sets to you.
Applying for CFE Certification
After successfully completing the CFE exam, it's time to apply for CFE certification through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Understanding the application process will ensure that you can streamline the path toward becoming certified.
ACFE Membership
You need to become a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners before you can apply for CFE certification. Most professionals who want to earn their CFE certification choose the CFE Membership level, which allows them to connect with other CFEs in the industry and access training resources that can help them continue to develop their skills in the future.
Submitting the Certification Application
After successfully completing the CFE exam and becoming a CFE Member, you can submit your certification application. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners will review your application and verify that you have met all the requirements for certification. This rigorous process ensures that only the most qualified and experienced fraud examiners receive the coveted CFE credential.
Maintaining the CFE Certification
Recognizing the fact that fraud continues to evolve and is becoming increasingly complex, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners requires CFEs to maintain their certification by completing Continuing Professional Education. Once you become a CFE, you will need to complete at least 20 credits of continuing education each year to maintain your certification. Of those 20 credits, 10 credits must be directly related to fraud detection and deterrence, and two credits must be directly related to ethics.
Career Opportunities for CFEs
Certified Fraud Examiners are in high demand across many industries, largely because most employers and organizations want to work with financial examiners with this premier credential. Once you have earned your CFE credential, you will find that there are many career opportunities available, such as:
- Forensic accountant — The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners further clarifies that a forensic accountant is a financial detective who works to uncover evidence of financial crimes. They often work for public accounting firms, consulting firms, law enforcement agencies, and insurance companies.
- Internal auditor — Internal auditors are professionals who work independently to examine financial records and determine if an organization is maintaining compliance with government regulations.
- Fraud investigator — Fraud investigators are financial professionals responsible for investigating individuals and organizations to uncover evidence of financial fraud.
- Compliance officer — Compliance officers are professionals employed by organizations to ensure that individuals in the organization maintain compliance with governmental regulations and corporate policies.
- Risk manager — A risk manager is a professional who is employed by an organization to identify potential vulnerabilities, assess the level of risk, and work to mitigate the impact of any potential risk.
Salary and Job Outlook
Demand for CFEs is expected to rise in the coming years, which has led to a positive job outlook for this field. The median annual salary for financial examiners is about $84,000 per year, with demand for fraud examiners expected to grow by about 21 percent between 2023 and 2033.
Learn More About How to Become a Certified Fraud Examiner at Champlain College Online
Before you can become a Certified Fraud Examiner, you must complete a relevant undergraduate degree program. At Champlain College Online, we offer an online Bachelor of Science in Economic Crime Investigation degree that allows you to explore the critical issues faced by fraud examiners and investigators. The rigorous academic coursework for this program includes hands-on learning experiences. It is designed to prepare you with the skills and knowledge required to take the Certified Fraud Examiner test.
Request more information about our online degree programs today.
