The ACFE and its members evolve

When ACFE President and CEO James D. Ratley, CFE, looked out over the record 2,600-plus attendees at the 24th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference in Las Vegas he saw a much different group than he did during the first conferences and seminars. “I think back to the early days of the ACFE when much of our training was attended by middle-aged males, many of whom were senior employees in their companies,” he said during the opening general session.

“Today’s Certified Fraud Examiner has evolved into one who is younger, more diverse and oftentimes, better qualified to deal with the ‘electronic age,’ ” Ratley said. “It may be hard to believe, but when we started the ACFE, there was no Internet, email or cell phones, and the business community was excited about the newest technology available: the fax machine.”

Well, those days are long gone. While many members have some history on their minds as we begin to celebrate our 25th anniversary, Ratley reminded attendees that “just over 1,000 of today’s members were not even born when we started the ACFE.” That number grows every year as our ranks swell — the ACFE now exceeds 66,000 from more than 150 countries.