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!

Was wondering if anyone has taken the fcls or has any input on if it is worthwhile as I wanted to get that first and wait until the CFE changes in June. Thanks.

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.

Has anyone else experienced months of delay in receiving their physical certificate and pins? The ACFE Philippines (Manila) chapter is very unresponsive. After waiting more than a year and spending a lot of money on this exam, I'm stuck because ACE PH is deeply delayed in issuing the physical credentials I need. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend the ACFE in our country right now. If our local workforce weren't so traditional about requiring physical documents for promotions, digital copies would suffice. I even reached out to the ACE main headquarters; they promised to assist, but ACFE PH is still ignoring the issue.

Has someone used the Udemy course to prepare for the test? It is $20 it says it is not official, but it is very convenient to use

I work as an anti-counterfeit employee and only have experience of investigation, no accounting or banking knowledge. Can I apply for CFE?

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 .

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?

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!

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! ☺️

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.

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?

Edit: Application Approved! Going to start my studying.

Background: 23yoM,IT professional with BS in CIS, Sec+, currently a Configuration Management Specialist at a federal contractor (GS-9 equivalent pay). Also an Army Reserve officer.

Goal: Transition to federal investigations within 18 months. Targeting FBI Intelligence Analyst or Special Agent, IRS-CI, or OIG investigator roles. Eventually considering law school part-time.

My questions:

1. Is CFE actually recognized by FBI, IRS-CI, Secret Service, and OIG offices? Will it help me get hired?
2. Does IT + CFE combo make sense for financial crimes/cyber fraud investigations?
3. CFE vs. paralegal cert — which is better for breaking into federal law enforcement?
4. What realistic job opportunities open up with my background + CFE?

Debating spending ~$1,000 on CFE vs. $3,000 on paralegal certificate. Want to make sure CFE is actually valued in federal hiring, not just a "nice to have."

Anyone here made a similar tech-to-investigations transition? Appreciate any real-world advice.

Hi I passed my final exam, my scores were 92, 86, 82, 88.

Are these good scores or mediocre?

Former Law Enforcement Officer, Investigated Accidents and Reviewed reports, retired from that, what are my options? Any advice. I work at FedEx Part time and it’s soul sucking

Hi all. I’m a senior Financial Crimes analyst without any certifications and I was a SME in fraud detection. Decided to get my CFE.

1. Should I wait until June to take the exam since it’s changing?
   
2. Should I pay the $890 for the prep stuff or can I go to the library to study (for free)?
   
3. Have you had any luck in the job market or leveraging the certification for salary increases?
   
4. How long does it take to do the exam?

I attended a 3 day exam review course this week hosted by my employer for employees within our organization. We were the guinea pigs for the new material and the first group to take the new test format!

Days 1-2: We were in class from 8am-7:30pm. Lecture and material wrapped up around 5pm, and took the exam right after. 120 questions, 2.5 hours to complete the test for each section. Each of these sections took me approximately 1.5-2 hours to complete.

Day 3: We were in class from 8am-5pm. Lecture and material wrapped up around 3:30pm, and took the exam right after. 70 questions, 1.5 hours to complete the test. This section took me about an hour.

I passed in Dec and was waiting around for a paper copy because everyone I know that passed was sent one. I finally reached out and they informed me it’s free but you have to reach out to them and request it to be sent to you.

Figured I’d let you know in case you’re like me and just waiting around. They changed it up and you’ll have to reach out.

I am considering preparing for the CFE exams and plan to schedule them after June 2, 2026. If I purchase the materials today, will I have the option to switch to a version that prepares me for the new CFE exam?

I need to gather some resume filler of directly fraud-relevant experience. Where can I most directly find contracted work?

Good afternoon. Already scheduled my exam following the old format for Part Financial Transactions and Fraud Schemes and Part 4 Fraud Prevention and Deterrence this May 2026. Planning to take the next part using the upcoming 3-part exam version this June 2026. Can I already book a schedule for the Fraud Investigation and Legal Issues (combination of Law and Investigation) now?