A certified fraud examiner conducts an investigation to identify improper conduct and the person responsible for the act, to stop fraudulent activity, sending messages across the business vertical that no such activity will be tolerated, determining the extent of losses and minimizing them as well as mitigating future potential frauds.
Step 1: Receive and respond to an risk report.
The Report to the Nations by ACFE in 2014 highlighted that more than 40% of fraud risk detection originates from a tip either from an employee, a vendor or a customer. A tip or a formal allegation coming from different sources forms the unearthing of a fraud in the enterprise.
Tips are a valuable resource in identifying a fraud. Businesses may have fraud reporting tools such as a hotline, web page or an external unbiased source that the certified fraud examiner can access to uncover an anomaly or improper conduct that can lead to fraud.
Step 2: Establish an investigative team.
Whatever is the source of the fraud allegation, the certified fraud examiner needs to have an investigative team with expertise in conducting a successful investigation. The investigative team led by the certified fraud examiner have defined roles to perform before, during and after a fraud incident to avoid any friction and cause delay in response.
Moreover, at the onset of a fraud in the company, the team forms a single point of contact to ensure every member is on the same page and there is no communication gap during the investigation. These team members can be chosen by the certified fraud examiner, after thorough training and expertise and may include auditors, council members, internal or external consultants, subject-matter specialists and members of law enforcement.
Step 3: Conduct a preliminary assessment.
The established team conducts discussions and brainstorming to obtain the background data and information on the fraud allegation. The purpose of this step is to understand the context of the matter, uncover the identity of the incident and individual causing it with relevant data and establish a line of evidence that backs the allegation.
This stage helps the certified fraud examiner and their team to pursue a planned investigation in accordance to the fraud extent and impact while considering the law and regulations.
Step 4: Preserve and collect evidence.
Upon being sure of the fraud allegation, the certified fraud examiner and the investigation team take appropriate steps to preserve hard copy or electronic documents, if any. While the steps for preserving documents relating to the fraud allegation differs based on the organization type and their policies, an immediate action follows right after the evidence collection.
The documents of evidence usually include hard drive data, network files, email, email archives, text messages through company mobile phone etc.
Step 5: Analyse financial, business, and electronic records.
The certified fraud examiner and the investigation team develop an extensive approach to analyse business, financial or financial records that can connect to the fraud investigation. This stage can incorporate an analytic strategy based on data visualizations or algorithm that can identify patterns.
The certified fraud examiner can also inculcate an approach that will enable them to retrieve any deleted information which might have relevance to the investigation.
Step 6: Conduct interviews
Once the certified fraud examiner and the investigation team has information and data connecting to fraud, they conduct interviews of the witnesses and the subject who is under investigation. This step emphasises listening to the accused’s side of the story and bringing more information to light. This step enables the certified fraud examiner to frame questions that are focused on backup data to support the allegation.
Step 7:
Report the findings.
When the entire investigation is concluded, the certified fraud examiner drafts the report and addresses it while considering the intended audience, which can be internal stakeholders or regulatory agencies. If as per policy, a criminal action is required, the report would also refer to the law enforcement or federal agents. Moreover, upon its completion, the report and original evidence are preserved carefully for future reference.
Netrika facilitating the certified fraud investigation program
Netrika, with its deep expertise in fraud investigation, collaborates with the world’s largest anti-fraud investigation organization and provider of anti-fraud training, ACFE to offer fraud examiner certification in India. Our CFE training course is an extensive instructor led program encapsulating every domain of fraud risk.
Our experienced and certified trainers help professionals gain the title of a certified fraud examiner with a focus on de-risking the clients but also sustaining them. With our instructors and ACFE India’s joint efforts, we aim to empower and generate awareness for both a professional and the organization to impede potential frauds.
Referral Link:https://training.netrika.com/blogs/certified-fraud-examiner-course/
