ACFE Founder and Chairman Wins Another Writing Award

May 17, 2007 - Austin, TX - ACFE founder and Chairman Joseph T. Wells, CFE, CPA, has been named winner of Internal Auditor Magazine’s coveted Thurston Award for his article “Will History Repeat Itself?” The honor is named for John B. Thurston, first international president of the Institute of Internal Auditors, and has been awarded since 1952 for the year’s best written submission.

The announcement was made by Stephen D. Goepfert, CIA, Chairman of the Board of the IIA. Goepfert said that Wells’ article “…has been cited for its outstanding quality, clear presentation of ideas, practicality, and its relevance to the continuing practice of internal auditing.”

Wells is no stranger to accolades for his writing. This is the second Thurston Award he has won. Moreover, he twice won the Journal of Accountancy’s highest honor, the Lawler Award, for which he was named to the Journal’s Hall of Fame. Wells has published nearly 200 articles and has written 13 books. For the last nine years in a row, he has been named to Accounting Today’s list of “100 Most Influential People.”

In 1988, Wells founded the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world's premier provider of anti-fraud training and education. Together with its more than 40,000 members, the ACFE is reducing business fraud worldwide and inspiring public confidence in the integrity and objectivity within the profession. Identified as “the premier financial sleuthing organization” by The Wall Street Journal, the ACFE has been cited for its efforts against fraud by media such as U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, CNN, CNBC, Fortune, ABC-TV's Nightline and 20/20, and CBS News' 60 Minutes.