CFEs have the edge in pay, high work satisfaction, 2022 Compensation Guide shows

Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) earn 17% more than their non-certified counterparts, and 62% report being happy on the job. These are just a few of the insights from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s (ACFE) 2022 Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals, which also revealed a slow trend toward gender diversity in the anti-fraud profession and changing workplace habits since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The CFE credential can help distinguish anti-fraud professionals from their colleagues and represents a 17% premium, when withholding for key factors like geography, professional role and experience,” says ACFE Vice President of Membership Ross Pry, CFE.

The guide, using data from 5,040 fraud examiners from across the globe, shows that CFEs make more than their non-certified peers no matter where they are. CFEs in Latin America and the Caribbean outearn non-certified counterparts by 34%, while CFEs in the Middle East and North Africa are paid 21% more than non-CFEs in those countries. North American CFEs earn 12% more, and European and Sub-Sahara African CFEs earn 8% and 9% more, respectively. CFEs in Asia earn 1% more than non-CFEs.

North American fraud examiners have the highest median salary at $106,000, followed by European fraud examiners at $91,991. Middle Eastern and North African examiners’ median salary is $65,036, and in Latin America and the Caribbean the median is $62,413. Asian and Sub-Saharan African fraud examiners round out the list at $51,346 and $34,356, respectively.

ACFE members can delve deeper into the data and create their own compensation reports with the ACFE Salary Calculator at ACFE.com/CompGuide, using categories such as job function, education, industry, years of experience, and age and gender.

Evolving and diversifying

The guide provides a status update on the field and presents a profession that’s diversifying, growing and adjusting to the pandemic. Here are some notable results.

Signaling an increasingly global network, over 52% of survey respondents were outside the U.S., exceeding the number of non-U.S. respondents in the 2020 guide. The profession is also seeing more gender diversity, although that trend has stalled over the last few years. In the 2013/2014 Compensation Guide, the breakdown was 65% male and 35% female; however, in 2020 it was 60/40. The 2022 guide nearly matches that split at 62/38. And the COVID-19 pandemic generated major change for anti-fraud professionals. Now, 91% of respondents say they’re mostly fighting fraud from home. In 2019, less than 20% of CFEs worked mostly remote, according to the 2020 Compensation Guide.

Like many professionals, fraud examiners experience on-the-job stress, rating their jobs either Somewhat High Stress (39.5%) or Very High Stress (16.7%). But 62% gave the profession high marks. And many find personal fulfillment fighting fraud, rating it Somewhat High (38.9%) or Very High (23.1%). But Pry has a warning for employers:

“When participants were asked about their professional plans, it was nearly a 50/50 split with respondents saying they plan to stay with their current organization for the next two years and those saying they plan to leave in the next two years.”

ACFE Board of Regents expels member

The ACFE Board of Regents has revoked the ACFE membership of Paul Doran, of London, U.K., and permanently expelled him from the ACFE. This decision was based on Doran falsely holding himself out as a CFE and providing a false document to support that status.

Reporting disciplinary cases

If you believe an ACFE member has violated the ACFE’s rules of conduct, report directly to the ACFE Legal Department, Legal@ACFE.com. The ACFE also maintains an anonymous hotline. For more information, visit ACFE.com/standards.