What is a Certified Fraud Examiner?

A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) is a professional designation awarded to individuals who investigates fraud and resolve fraud related cases. Fraud examiners are experts who are well-trained in detecting fraudulent activities, investigating frauds and also settling of fraud cases. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners award this professional designation to individuals who are competent in the fraud detection, investigation and settlement discipline. These individuals are anti fraud professionals or certified fraud examiners who can function across different industries.

What does a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) Do? 

A Certified fraud examiner can work in different capacities, in most cases, these fraud examiners work as compliance officers, private investigators, state investigators, law enforcement agents, anti-fraud agents, auditors and forensic personnel. Certified fraud examiners are to abide by the standards and code of ethics that they garnered at the institute. An applicant for Certified fraud examiner certification is expected to have a bachelor's degree with no strict restriction to a particular discipline. Also, a minimum of two years of experience in fraud detection, fraud investigation and other related fields is required. Before a person can be awarded the CFE designation, he must have gained at least 50 points through education, experience and recommendations and must also pass the certification exam. In the United States, the history of CFE can be traced to the restructructuring if the finance industry by the then secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton in 1792. This was after a major fraud occurred in the US and led to an uncontrollable crisis in the finance industry. At this time, the fraud that occurred rocked the finance industry and in particular the U.S Treasury Department to the bottom. In an annual investigation conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the economy is defrauded a sum of $600 and more every year. This is to tell you that certified fraud examiners are needed in every nation that is growth driven. In a bid to curb the menace that fraudulent activities cause in the economy, there has been an increase in the recruitment of certified fraud examiners. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has significantly increased the rate at which fraud examiners are employed. There is a projection of an increase by 10% in the employment rate of CFEs between 2016to 2026, as projected by the Bureau of Labour statistics.