Fraud Training for CPAs
With an increased demand for qualified people to work in fraud prevention and detection, some of the certifications required to work in the fraud prevention industry also require the CPA designation. Others don't. Even if you don't want to pursue one of those designations, training opportunities for CPAs are available.
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Continuing Professional Education Credit
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All CPAs are required to complete a certain number of hours per year of CPEs, or continuing professional education credits. The number of hours varies with the state but failure to complete CPEs can result in losing your CPA designation. The fraud training offered by many organizations involves the earning of enough CPEs to meet the yearly requirements.
ACFE Annual Fraud Conferences
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The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, which provides the training to obtain the certified fraud examiner designation, offers a national conference each summer. Each of the areas of the fraud field offers CPEs for attending these sessions. It is not necessary to be a certified public accountant to attend these conferences, but it is helpful. The sessions include training in fraud awareness, prevention and deterrence, fraud detection, investigation and resolution, legal and ethical issues, emerging trends, and the use of technology to identify and examine fraud.
The ACFE also holds an international conference annually featuring sessions on international money laundering and more.
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Institute of Internal Auditors Conferences
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The Institute of Internal Auditors prepares and trains individuals for receiving the certified internal auditor designation. Their annual conferences, usually held in the fall, involves training in information technology audit and controls, computer forensics, preventing hacking threats and more. Many of the training sessions do not require you to be a CPA, but the understanding of advanced accounting skills is necessary to help integrate the knowledge into the work the auditors are doing. The IIA also holds international conferences where CIAs from all countries attend.
Local ACFE and IIA Chapters
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In addition to the national training events sponsored by the ACFE, there are also local chapters that hold monthly educational meetings and/or quarterly training events. These events will also provide one or two hours of CPE for all participants. The ACFE session focuses on the processes of the prevention or detection of fraud. Check the directory on the ACFE website for information on meetings in the city closest to you.
The Institute for Internal Auditors also has several local chapters with training sessions, conferences and CPE credits. The IIA session typically focuses on the processes of auditing especially through the use of technology and computer software.
Online and Mailed Courses
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Both the ACFE and the IIA offer courses that are completed on disc or online. These are for the CPA who simply cannot get away for an extended period of time for either national, international or local conferences. The CPEs are still awarded certification upon completion of the course and the passing of an online or mailed exam on the topic of study. These sessions are generally at-home versions of the sessions taught at the annual or local conferences.
Both organizations will also provide a trained expert for on-site training for you and your staff for a day or more. Those arrangements are usually done several months in advance due to the high demand for this training.
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