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Forensic accounting is a specialized form of accounting that typically revolves around financial disputes or fraud. These accountants investigate and audit accounts and records to help others either come to an agreement or be brought to trial.

A few areas in which forensic accountants can help people or organizations include:

• Bribery and/or corruption
• Business losses and/or bankruptcy
• Counterintelligence and/or terrorism
• Customer fraud
• Family/marital disputes
• Hidden or misappropriated assets
• Insurance claims
• Money laundering
• Tax fraud

Earning a Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination Certificate as a complement to your bachelor's degree in accounting or an addition to your master's in accounting or master's in finance can give you an enviable skill set.

Forensic accountants may be asked to:

• Trace funds and identify assets for recovery
• Conduct analysis of financial data
• Prepare reports from financial findings
• Prepare data for litigation and testify as needed

You'll also need to be on the watch for both internal and external perpetrators. In a 2022 survey, 43% of external predators, 31% of internal predators and 26% of colluding internal and external predators were the cause of the most disruptive or serious incidents of fraud.¹

You can become a Certified Forensic Accountant (CRFAC) through the American Board of Forensic Accounting (ABFA).

So, how can you earn this certification⁴?

• Apply for ABFA membership, and share your accounting education and experience.
• Take the review program.
• Pass the certification exam, which includes sections on cyber, fraud, litigation, practice/theory and valuations.

While you must be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or international equivalent in order to be eligible to apply for a CRFAC credential, SNHU's Graduate Certificate in Forensic Accounting & Fraud Examination supports students in their pathway towards a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential.

The best forensic accounting certification is the one that gives you both the skills you need and the recognition from employers.

Many would argue that the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential is the one that organizations look for in a forensic accountant. Administered by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), it's considered the world's largest anti-fraud organization.

The ACFE notes that CFEs are different because they have a "unique set of skills that are not found in any other career field or discipline; they combine knowledge of complex financial transactions with an understanding of methods, law and how to resolve allegations of fraud."³

The organization reports that to become a CFE, you must meet high educational, professional and ethical standards – and that's because the certification is considered one of the most marketable credentials in the industry today.³

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for accountants and auditors was $79,880 in 2023 – above the wages for all workers.² But forensic accountants may be able to earn quite a bit more.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the median annual salary for CFE members in 2022 was $106,000.³

Based on educational experience and professional credentials or certifications, CFEs may have additional earnings potential. For instance, a CFE who also holds a master's degree in accounting and a CPA designation is likely to have a higher salary than a CFE who doesn't.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), you must satisfy the following five requirements to earn your Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential³:

1. You must be an associate member of the ACFE to take the CFE Exam and earn the CFE credential.
2. You must have a minimum of 40 points in the eligibility points system to take the CFE Exam and a minimum of 50 points to be certified.
3. You must have at least 2 years of professional experience in a field related to the detection or deterrence of fraud.
4. You must pass the CFE Exam in order to earn the CFE credential.
5. You must agree to abide by the ACFE’s bylaws and Code of Professional Ethics in order to be an associate member of the ACFE and maintain your CFE credential.

Õ¬ÄÐƵµÀ's (SNHU) Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination Graduate Certificate is aligned with the CFE Exam to help you gain the skills required to successfully pass the exam. Earning the certificate in addition to a CFE designation may help you gain a competitive advantage in the job market, as would coupling the certificate with an MS in Accounting degree.

A Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential is quite advanced. However, the level of difficulty a candidate experiences while acquiring it is largely dependent on their existing experience and skill set. Additionally, not all high-level jobs in the field require you to be a CFE, but it's a great way to substantially increase your marketability.

SNHU's online Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination Graduate Certificate helps you gain the following skills, all of which are essential to becoming a fraud examiner:

• Risk management
• Ethical conduct
• Legal knowledge
• Communications

Upon completion of the certificate, you should be able to apply and develop fraud investigation, detection, documentation and prevention techniques in order to mitigate accounting and financial fraud in organizations and adhere to the ethical responsibilities of fraud investigators.

Both Certified Public Accounting (CPA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designations are impressive. One isn’t necessarily better than the other — they’re just different.

So what differentiates the two?

A CPA is considered an expert in all things accounting, though they may choose to pursue a specialization. To account for this, the newly revised CPA Exam requires candidates to choose one of 3 discipline areas in which to demonstrate greater knowledge — Business Analysis and Reporting for Accounting, Information Systems and Controls, and Tax Compliance and Planning.

On the other hand, a CFE's training is focused on detecting, investigating and preventing fraud.

CPAs and CFEs can take on some of the same tasks, however, including tax preparation, financial planning and internal auditing.