Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
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The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) is a
professional organization A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...
of
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
examiners. Its activities include producing fraud information, training and tools. Based in Austin, Texas, the ACFE was founded in 1988 by Joseph T. Wells. The ACFE grants the professional designation of
Certified Fraud Examiner The Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) is a credential awarded by the '' Association of Certified Fraud Examiners'' (ACFE) since 1989. The ACFE association is a provider of anti-fraud training and education. Founded in 1988 by Dr. Joseph T Wells. The ...
(abbreviated CFE).


Founder

Joseph T. Wells founded the ACFE and is its chairman. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, he worked for ten years with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
, during which time he investigated the former
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
John N. Mitchell's involvement in
Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, in August of that year. It revol ...
. In addition to his duties as chairman, Wells writes, researches and lectures to business and professional groups on
white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...
issues. He has written books and articles on fraud prevention and detection. His writings appear in professional journals.


Fraud museum

The ACFE runs a fraud museum containing exhibits linked to famous frauds, which is open to the public. ''America's Guide to Fraud Prevention'', written by the famous
confidence trick A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irrespons ...
ster Steve Comisar, is on display in the ACFE fraud museum. The book is considered a piece of fraud history.


Reports and statistics

According to a 2014 report, companies lose 5% annually due to fraud, and most often this happens in the
accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...
department. In a 2018 report, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners stated that up to 28% of small businesses have been involved in some form of fraud, with the figure ranging from 22% to 26% for larger companies. As a result of research conducted by the ACFE in 2022, it was found that professional fraud leads to losses in excess of $3.6 billion annually, especially as a result of misappropriation of assets.


See also

*'' Frankensteins of Fraud'', published by the ACFE * Fraud Advisory Panel charity, corporate member organisations


References


External links

*
Fraud MagazineACFE Annual Fraud ConferenceACFE Report to the Nations
{{Authority control Fraud in the United States Professional associations based in the United States Organizations established in 1988 Auditing in the United States 1988 establishments in the United States Fraud organizations