r/CFE

I took my last exam (Law) and passed today! Now onto waiting for the certification/review process.

What a grind this has been for the last month! I drilled the MCQs and made notes on important items or ones I missed. I feel this adequately prepared me for the tests. I was most worried about law and financial transactions & schemes but ended up feeling pretty confident after studying. My lowest score (85%) was on prevention and deterrence which surprised me but a pass is a pass!

I tested in the following order (both in person and online):
Investigations
Fraud Prevention & Deterrence
Financial Transactions and Schemes
Law

This is for the June 2 version. I’m a little bit nervous given that it’s new prep course for new test version. I have from now until June 2 to refresh what I learned. For all those who have tested, the review questions in the prep course are those similar to the actual test?

Hi, I am a semi-qualified CA. I have completed my articleship in Statutory Audit. I am currently considering to enroll for the CFE certification. To those who did CFE from India, I would love to get your insights on a few specific questions:

1. Which specific materials did you follow to clear the exam?
2. How much weight does the CFE designation hold during the initial resume shortlisting process?
3. What is a realistic starting salary bracket for someone with a combination of a semi-qualified CA background and a CFE certification?

I would highly appreciate any guidance, or career advice you can share based on your corporate experiences.

Thanks in advance!

I am 6 months give or take from being eligible to retire. I have a strong background in financial investigations. 12 years total, 3 in my local department and 9 with the Feds.

My department refuses to pay for the CFE and I know it can be beneficial to have but the cost to take the prep and test is from what I’m seeing around 5k.

Is it worth it to take on my own or do most banks/financial institutions sponsor or pay for it if you become employed with them. I just don’t have the money for it and I don’t want to take out a small personal loan.

Curious to know if you can take the exams on a Saturday (I plan on doing remote at the library in a quiet room) but didn’t know if I can take it on the weekend or if I’ll have to use a vacation day at work.

Hello bought the silver package, would love to study with anyone who is studying for the June exam. Any discourse channels?

Hi all. I am applying for the CFE and had a question about experience. I have worked in accounting for 20+ years, but not in a fraud role specifically (most was financial corporate). I did work as an internal auditor for a handful of years and researched possible and actual theft/fraud. But, I'm not sure how to put a percentage of my time to fraud duties. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi All, I'm currently working in fraud domain and wish to attempt CFE(Certified fraud examiner) before 2026 ends, Can you please advise the best study material that is available free of cost that would help me t prepare and clear exam in one go.

I would be only able to pay the exam fees due to my condition at the moment

I would really appreciate the help for clearing the exam or should I join external coaching if Yes please suggest best in the industry .

Yesterday marked my final CFE exam, and honestly, I ended up enjoying the journey a lot more than I expected. All four subjects were genuinely insightful, but Investigation and Law definitely had my attention the most!

I know everyone approaches the CFE differently , some complete it within a few days or weeks. I started in February and took my time with it. Coming from an internal audit background, I found many of the topics very relatable. (Unpopular opinion: the manual was verbose, but actually a fun read haha.)

Happy to share that I scored:
• 95 in Financial Transactions & Fraud Schemes
• 93 in Law
• 93 in Fraud Prevention & Deterrence
• 96 in Investigation

Anyway, if anyone preparing for the CFE needs any help or guidance, feel free to reach out, I’d be happy to help! ☺️

I am going to start preparing for CFE. I want to know hw to prepare for the same. Should I only get the fraud manual for studying? Or do I have to join a prep course?

Happy to answer any questions!

Here’s my breakdown:

Financial Transactions & Fraud Schemes: 91
Law: 95
Investigation: 85
Fraud Prevention & Deterrence: 90

I studied from mid January - mid April. I didn’t rush through the material or force a set amount of studying each week. When I felt ready, I took the tests in reverse order over the span of 2 and a half weeks. I started off using the manual but eventually focused more on the Prep Course. I reviewed each section the night before/morning of the test. I reset the practice questions and just went through as much of them as I felt like doing. While I was initially studying, I took notes of what I was reading to help me remember.

Hello,

My Annual CPE credits are due in a few months and I haven’t started earning one. I’m worried about this because the CPE courses on the portal seems to be paid ones and they are very expensive. Can someone tell me ways to attain CPE credits without spending a lot of money?

Thanks in advance!

Ive been an EA for 5 years now and am looking to pivot into fraud. Does my work preparing returns, doing client consults and tax audit resolution qualify for the 'fraud related experience' section of CFE eligibility requirements?

Arguably part of being a preparer and working in audit is 'interpreting financial data for unusual trends and following up on fraud indicators.'

What would ACFE say about this?