Financial Crimes Training
Financial and fraud investigators are in the business of reducing white-collar crime and fraud worldwide. Specialized training and education provided through financial crimes training promote the careers of professionals interested in prevention, detection and deterrence of fraud. One stated purpose of the Association of Certified Fraud Specialists is "Pursuing, for the benefit of its members and for the benefit of the public at large, the development, provision, or sponsoring of education programs and serving as an advocate for the anti-fraud profession..."
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Purpose
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Professional training for fraud investigators involves dedication. Financial crimes training is necessary for professionals to qualify for many organization or association certifications and to maintain certification status. Raising community awareness and educating the public about possible fraud schemes are often part of anti-fraud organization duties. Many agencies are geared toward a proactive approach to financial crimes. The U.S. Secret Service's website states that its main investigative mission is "to safeguard the payment and financial systems of the United States."
Professionals
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Credit cards are often tools of fraud. Becoming a financial crime investigator through employment or internships can be a viable way to begin training. Leading anti-fraud organizations and associations recognize only certain professional, educational and ethical standards along with acceptable fraud-related work experience. The dimension of the field encompasses a range of professionals from accountants and auditors to local and federal law enforcement officials, such as U.S. attorneys, Secret Service agents and Federal Bureau of Investigation employees. Because of access to confidential or compromising information, the organized field of fraud investigation maintains high professional standards while adhering to moral and ethical principals.
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Levels
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Financial crimes training typically includes four core levels. The basic level is beneficial to students or professionals who are new to the field as well as experienced professionals who need knowledge in less familiar areas. The intermediate level's focus builds upon existing knowledge of experienced professionals. The advanced level provides in-depth training at expert levels of investigation, and it also provides necessary skills to apply a broader range of investigative experience. The final level allows professionals to keep current on the latest anti-fraud issues and techniques.
Standards
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The classroom is just one avenue for training. Certified professionals, experts and university professors who work and teach in the field of financial and fraud crimes provide training to peers and students. Classes, seminars, conferences and online learning are regulated by standards of individual states and countries. The teaching professionals possess years of experience and education, and they adhere to standards of international and regional anti-fraud organizations.
Course Topics
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Most associations and universities worldwide offer a range of training and educational courses at all levels. Topics include computer forensics, national and global fraud trends, anti-trust issues, Medicaid fraud, interviewing and interrogation, foreign and public corruption, Sarbanes-Oxley, Internet and fraud investigations, oil and gas schemes, conducting a financial investigation, auditing for fraud, retail loss and prevention, corporate internal investigations, investigating conflicts of interest, legal elements of fraud examinations, digital forensics, gathering and analyzing information, foundations of mortgage fraud, ethical theory for fraud examiners and fraud risk assessment.
Conferences
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The most effective avenue of training is through association conferences. Each association typically holds a yearly regional and international conference lasting two or three days. An organization's conference takes place in a different city or country each year to make use of that location's resources. Because a broad range of topics at different levels are offered, conferences are generally designed in two tracks. Members have two topics to choose from for each block of time. Topics are picked according to level, subject matter and speaker. Credit is provided for each topic attended. Networking at conferences is another important component of an investigator's training. Conferences promote networking as a way of exchanging information among professionals in the fight against financial crimes.
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References
Resources
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