STEP 1: Join the CFE:
It is necessary to become a member to take the exam and earn your Certified Fraud Examiner credential. You need to pay a small amount of $60 to get an associate membership. $60 is the charge for electronic membership that is sufficient to pursue the CFE Exam.
STEP 2: Setup your account:
After paying membership fees, you will receive an email from ACFE to access your account and set your password while visiting the link given in your email.
STEP 3: Access your account:
Excited after creating an account. Great!! Now go to the “My Account” section after logging in and visit the 4th tab in the same which is “CFE Exam Application”. That tab shows your application status which will be changed gradually after you submit the required information and documents by clicking on the “Edit” button.
STEP 4: Check your eligibility:
Now it is time to “Prequalify and Purchase CFE Exam” by providing the required information about your professional experience and educational background. The minimum points needed to take the exam is “40 points” and to earn a credential is “50 points”. Your score shall be automatically calculated by the portal itself, the moment you enter your educational information and professional experience. In general, graduation with two years of professional experience shall give you enough points required to become eligible.
STEP 5: Apply for exam:
Post your submission of the above information and pre-qualify with the required points. Now you have to pay an Examination fee of $450 for all four sections. After paying the exam fee you will be one more step forward to earn your credential. You have to upload your proof of education along with three professional recommendations in the format prescribed by ACFE. You can get a recommendation letter signed by any of your professional relations maybe your ex or current colleague, your reporting manager, or any CFE.
Now you need to be ready for your exam as ACFE will take no more than five days to review your application and provide you an opportunity to take the exam.
STEP 6: Get ready to write papers:
A mail from ACFE shall be received on your registered email saying “Thank you for your interest in earning the CFE credential. Your application to take the exam has been accepted and will be valid for a period of two years from your initial application date. You are required to maintain active membership during this time to take the CFE exam”.
Once your application is approved, you have 60 days to write papers for all four modules. Any module left shall considered as failed.
In the mail, a link will be provided to schedule your exams.
You can choose a home-based proctoring exam in which an online proctor shall be assigned to you who will guide you before the exam, during the exam, and after the exam. Don’t forget, he/she will be monitoring you throughout the exam as well just to confirm that you are cheating at all because CFE is not an open-book exam at all.
Or you can choose to visit the exam center to write your exams. The choice is yours.
You have to select a date and time to schedule the exams for each module separately.
STEP 7: Receive the confirmation of exam schedule:
You shall be receiving an email stating that your exam is scheduled.
STEP 8: Appear for the exam:
So now you are ready for the exam and then you must sit for the exam and give your best shot. It is important to note that CFE suggests not to give more than 2 exams in a day. You can give exams back to back on the next day or max two exams in a day or you can take a break of a couple of days/weeks, but make sure all four exams are given within 60 days of approval of the exam application.
As I mentioned, you can give exams at your own convenience anywhere and anytime but with a proper Wi-Fi, Laptop/Computer, Webcam, and Mic as your audio and video shall be recorded and screened before declaring your result.
You can choose the sequence of sections, at your convenience. ACFE do not restrict to appear for the exam only from one to four.
Now comes the exam day, so you are ready for the exam, have switched on your system, and logged into your account. Each exam shall consist of 100 questions of objective type to be completed in 2 hours without any break.
A similar process is to be done in all four sections.
After completing all four areas you will end the exam and it will be submitted to ACFE which will take another couple of days to declare your results.
STEP 9: Congratulations!! you have passed all four sections of CFE exam.
You will be getting this email in a couple of days only. You will have earned this credential with all your hard work which has paid off.
In case, the email reads something else, nothing to worry about, You have three attempts to clear all four sections, and for every attempt you need to pay $100 for each failed section. Section once cleared shall not be given again. In case, unfortunately, you are not able to clear all four sections in a total of three attempts, then you need to pay an exam fee of $450 again and appear for all four sections again and the same process goes on and on. The passing percentage of this exam is 75%. Nothing to worry about, one can easily clear the exam on the first attempt only.
STEP 10: Submit the declaration:
You will be asked to submit a declaration form now which you again need to get signed by any Chartered Accountant, your ex/present colleague, or CFE. Get it signed and upload it. ACFE shall take another 7-10 days to verify all the documents you uploaded to date and share dispatch the hardcopy of your certificate at your postal address along with a cute Badge of CFE.
We have tried to mention all the necessary details about the process to become CFE. In case anything is missed, please forgive.
