CFE Skill Set

The CFE process focuses on four bodies of knowledge critical to the fight against fraud: Financial Transactions and Fraud Schemes, Law, Investigation, and Fraud Prevention and Deterrence. CFEs have the ability to:

Understand how fraud is committed and how it can be identified; 

Examine books and records to detect and trace fraudulent transactions; 

Interview suspects to obtain information and confessions; 

Write investigation reports, advise clients as to their findings, and testify at trial; and 

Understand the underlying factors that motivate individuals to commit fraud.
 

What do CFEs do?

Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) perform a variety of services in many different industries throughout all sectors of an organization. They are part accountant, part investigator, part attorney, and part criminologist.

Job Title Examples
External Auditor
Internal Auditor
Forensic Accountant
Audit Specialist
Information Systems Auditor
Audit Consultant
Management Consultant
Technical Specialist
Financial Analyst
Financial Specialist
Special Agent
Private Investigator
Legal Investigator
Security Consultant
Director of Loss Prevention
Fraud Analyst
Fraud Investigator
Risk Manager
Tax Manager
Bankruptcy Analyst
Compliance Officer 

Industries with Highest Percentages of CFEs 

Types of Services Performed 

Examine records for fraud
Interview suspects
Write reports
Present investigation findings
Testify in court
Conduct background checks
Investigate employee theft
Forensic accounting
Data recovery
Conflict of interest investigations
Insurance claim investigations
Financial statement analysis
Business valuation
Calculate damages
Litigation support
Corporate investigations
Locate hidden assets
Reconstruct accounting records
Computer forensics
Transaction analysis
Review of financial statements
Litigation support 

Compensation of CFE Professionals 

The ACFE's 2015/2016 Compensation Guide is a comprehensive report on compensation for anti-fraud professionals in multiple industries, functional areas and levels of seniority. According to this guide, Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) are earning significantly more than non-certified professionals without the CFE credential.

The information contained here is based on a global salary survey conducted by an independent research group, Western Management Group, and completed by anti-fraud professionals worldwide. Professionals with the CFE credential earned 23 percent more in salary than professionals in comparable positions who do not hold the globally-preferred designation.

The 2015/2016 Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals is now available to the public as a FREE downloadable resource.