Should you start an ACFE student chapter?

As a former student member of the ACFE, I can't think of a better way for budding fraud examiners to explore the profession than as members of university ACFE student chapters. They not only learn valuable anti-fraud skills, but they meet professionals and make contacts that can lead to internships and jobs. In this column, Robert Kusant — former student president of the Bloomsburg University ACFE chapter — plus professors Mike Shapeero and A. Blair Staley write about the benefits of student anti-fraud associations. If your college or university doesn't have a student ACFE chapter, consider starting one! This is your guide. — Colin May, CFE, “Starting Out” editor

During the past decade, a number of universities have added fraud examination classes to provide students with the specialized training needed to prepare for a career in the profession and sit for the CFE Exam.

While coursework helps students acquire valuable skills and tools, their education is enhanced when they have opportunities to interact with fraud examination professionals. An ACFE student chapter at your university can provide this bridge between academia and practice.

In this column, we discuss how an ACFE student chapter not only increased student involvement and alumni interactions but also created new scholarships and employment opportunities. For student Robert Kusant (one of the authors of this column), joining an ACFE student chapter not only expanded his career opportunities, it ultimately changed his career path.

In 2003, accounting professors Michael Blue, Mike Shapeero and Blair Staley (Shapeero and Staley are the other two authors of this column), created Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania's program in fraud examination — with classes in fraud examination and investigation, computer forensics, legal aspects and criminal justice. The following year, Bloomsburg University was one of two universities selected by the ACFE to pilot test a student chapter. Soon after, the Bloomsburg University Student Association for Fraud Examination (SAFE) was recognized as the ACFE's first student chapter.

Forming a student chapter

Thirty-nine universities currently have ACFE student chapters. They've all followed a five-step formation process: (See ACFE.com/StudentChapters. The site also has an example of student chapter bylaws.)

• Step 1: Nominate a faculty advisor and get his/her consent to serve in this capacity.
• Step 2: Follow university guidelines for establishing a student chapter. Generally, universities will require the chapter to submit student chapter bylaws.
• Step 3: Assemble a minimum of eight students who meet the basic membership requirements. Appoint/choose positions to match the necessary board positions: president, vice president (usually oversees membership), secretary and treasurer. You might also want to include a vice president of programming. Programming is highly important and will drive the success of the chapter.
• Step 4: Schedule a first meeting where students can sign up. The ACFE can supply applications and promotional literature for this meeting.
• Step 5: Submit a student chapter charter application, chapter bylaws, college or university catalog, list of proposed programs, written campus approval document and student membership fees to the ACFE. The ACFE then will notify the applicants that the school has fulfilled all necessary requirements and has chartered your chapter.

We emphasize that a chapter apply to its university to be recognized as a student organization (step 2). Because of legal and liability issues, many universities won't allow student groups to use on-campus facilities unless they're registered. Once recognized, the chapter will have access to university resources such as meeting rooms, communication networks, copying and office help. Student groups might also be able to request funds from academic programs or student government.

The chapter bylaws, which should comply with both university and ACFE requirements, should include stipulations about faculty advisors and the minimum number of required student members.

Call an initial meeting to select officers — a critical group responsible for launching the new chapter. SAFE has five officer positions: president, vice president-meetings, vice president-administrative, secretary and treasurer.

All SAFE members are required to join the ACFE. Begin the application process at ACFE.com/student. Students must provide proof of at least nine semester hours for undergraduates and at least six semester hours for graduate students. They have to provide some proof of enrollment such as a current class schedule or a letter on university letterhead from a professor, college advisor or registrar.

Each student ACFE member receives an electronic version of the Fraud Examiners Manual; a subscription to Fraud Magazine plus other member-exclusive publications; reduced membership dues with full access to all member resources; nearly 65 percent savings on a student CFE package, which includes one year of membership after passing the CFE Exam; the ACFE online Career Center and social media connections, and other benefits.

Several of our fraud examination classes use the Fraud Examiners Manual as reference material.

Ten dollars of each member's annual dues is allocated to field trips, gifts for speakers and meeting refreshments.

Maintaining the chapter

After the initial formation of our chapter, we reached out to alumni to see if they were interested in presenting to SAFE or if they could provide the names of other professionals who could be speakers.

The vice president in charge of meetings then worked with speakers to find topics that were interesting to our members and worked with them to limit their talks to about 30 minutes.

Obviously, those alumni speakers who had been recruiting on campus boosted chapter meeting attendance because students were eager to network with potential employers. Other alumni speakers began relationships with university educators and officials and learned about the chapter and the academic program. Their organizations also then began student recruitment activities.

We ultimately signed up anti-fraud professional speakers from government and law enforcement audit agencies, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, internal audit departments of health care and insurance companies, and fraud investigation departments of CPA firms.

Though Bloomsburg University is in a rural area — about two hours from where most of our speakers work — we've been able to hold three or four meetings each semester. We require students to attend at least two meetings each semester to maintain active membership.

Chapter officers build student interest by visiting classrooms prior to meetings to talk about the opportunities to meet professionals and hear firsthand accounts of fraud cases. We also promote meetings via email and campus media sources.

To preserve continuity, officers keep — and update — binders that describe their activities and responsibilities, including speaker contact lists (with notes on presentations), member lists, bank account information, chapter bylaws, and more. At the end of each year, the old officers meet with the newly elected officers to hand over the binders and share information.

Unexpected benefits

The Student Association for Fraud Examination now has a decade of experience. Students have learned about fraud examination careers, and many alums and recruiters have visited campus and met our students. We've also had some unexpected benefits.

One professional (not a Bloomsburg University alumni) who spoke to SAFE several times recruited many of our students for internships and permanent positions. He also helped develop a scholarship specifically for students in the fraud examination program.

Also, a large bank created a first-time internship in its security and fraud department for one of our students because he was in the fraud examination program and active in SAFE.

Connections with the ACFE Central Pennsylvania Chapter led to its invitation to our students to attend the PACFE Annual Conference at a reduced rate. The university then provided transportation to the conference and paid the remaining conference fees so 40 students could attend for free.

To date, more than a dozen of our members have successfully completed the CFE Exam, which includes former SAFE President Kusant, who had internships with law enforcement and insurance organizations before accepting a starting position with the fraud investigation department of an international public accounting firm.

So, should you start an ACFE student chapter? Yes. The opportunities provided to our students have been invaluable in more ways than we ever expected.

Robert Kusant, CFE, CPA, is an assistant vice president - senior internal auditor at Kearney Bank in Fairfield, New Jersey. His email address is: rnkusant@gmail.com.

Mike Shapeero, Ph.D., CPA, Educator Associate, is a professor in the department of accounting at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. His email address is: mshapeer@bloomu.edu.

A. Blair Staley, D.B.A., CPA, CISA, is a professor in the department of accounting at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. His email address is: astaley@bloomu.edu.

Colin May, CFE, is a forensic financial investigator with a government agency (the views in “Starting Out” are his own) in Baltimore, Maryland. His email address is: colin.may.cfe@gmail.com.