Fraud Examination Teams Looking to Bolster Digital Forensic and Cybersecurity Skills

In the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s (ACFE) In-House Fraud Investigation Teams: 2017 Benchmarking Report, fraud investigation teams said the top skills they are currently seeking or expecting to add are digital forensic skills and cybersecurity skills. 

Fraud continues to be a reality for many organizations and individuals. As fraudsters evolve to exploit the digital landscape and increasingly use computers as tools, fraud examiners must follow suit. In the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner’s (ACFE) In-House Fraud Investigation Teams: 2017 Benchmarking Report, fraud investigation teams said the top skills they are currently seeking or expecting to add are digital forensic skills and cybersecurity skills. 

The report, which surveyed nearly 1,500 anti-fraud professionals in more than 100 countries, found that 43% of teams are planning to add computer and digital forensics expertise to their collective skill set, and 37% of teams responded in kind about cybersecurity skills. “Along with an increased focus on technical skills, we’re also seeing significant use of targeted technology to fight fraud, with nearly half of the teams in our survey using data analytics software to enhance their team’s fraud detection capabilities,” said Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA, CVA, vice president and program director for the ACFE. “Also, for the first time, we looked at what qualifications were most desired when hiring fraud investigators and found that professional licenses and certifications topped the list.” 

The report provides other invaluable information for benchmarking fraud investigation teams, including: 

• 60% of teams close fraud cases in one month or less, on average. 
• Fraud investigators in the insurance industry have the highest average caseload, at 21 cases. 
• One-quarter of fraud investigation teams report to the head of internal audit. 
• Most organizations (59%) recover 25% or less of their fraud losses. 
• The most common performance metric used to evaluate fraud investigation teams is the number of cases closed year-over-year. 

To read the full report, learn more about how other fraud investigation teams are structured and how your investigation team measures up, visit ACFE.com. 

Contact the ACFE 
For more information, email PR@ACFE.com.