(Bowers is the inspector general of the internal audit department at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Coffey is the University’s chief of police.)

One fundamental concept behind the Certified Fraud Examiner designation is to combine the skills of a law enforcement officer with those of an auditor or accountant thereby achieving the perfect balance of expertise to investigate white-collar crime. A few years ago when the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola experienced budget and personnel restraints, we decided to create a partnership between our campus police and internal audit departments to alleviate some of the work load in the internal audit department. Once the partnership was in place, not only did we experience improved efficiency among personnel, but we also inadvertently created a more comprehensive environment to detect and deter fraud – all without additional expenses being incurred. The University now plans to continue this partnership as long as the need arises; we highly recommend other organizations to follow suit and reap the same benefits we have experienced here at UWF.

Why Partner Between Campus Police and Internal Auditors?