COMPENSATION GUIDEF O R A N T I - F R A U D P R O F E S S I O N A L S

2015/2016 GLOBAL SALARY STUDY

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Table of Contents

Letter from the President and CEO ............................................................................. 3

Fraud Examiner/Investigator ....................................................................................... 4

Fraud Examiner/Investigator Median Total Compensation ����������������������������������������������������� 4

Fraud Examiners/Investigators ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 5

Compensation Ranges for Fraud Examiner/Investigator Job Functions ��������������������������������� 6

Respondent Geographic Profile .................................................................................. 8

Survey Methodology ................................................................................................. 10

About the ACFE ......................................................................................................... 11

FRAUD EXAMINER/INVESTIGATOR | 3

Letter from the President and CEOWe often say that there is much more to earning the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) cre-

dential than simply adding three new letters after your name� It’s what those letters mean

to you, your employers and your colleagues that make the accomplishment so profound�

So, what exactly do those letters, CFE, mean? They could mean hard work, expertise, drive,

commitment, knowledge, insight — the list could go on and on� And, as we have found in

our 2015/2016 Compensation Guide for Anti-Fraud Professionals, they also mean a 23 percent

salary premium�

It’s a unique opportunity for us to see the tangible and intangible benefits of earning the CFE

credential� Because satisfaction and career development are intangible items, we often don’t

have a specific way to measure the true impact earning the credential has on someone’s life,

both professionally and personally�

But with our new Compensation Guide, we can capture what it looks and feels like to not

only increase your salary, but your worth�

I hope you find the information in this Compensation Guide as interesting and enlightening as

I do� Most importantly, thank you to all who submitted data for this study — this guide would

not have been possible without you�

James D� Ratley, CFE

President and CEO, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

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Figure 1: Fraud Examiner/Investigator Median Total Compensation

Fraud Examiner/InvestigatorFraud Examiner/Investigator was the second highest-rated job function with respondents�

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000

Non-CFE

CFE $80,000

$65,889

FRAUD EXAMINER/INVESTIGATOR | 5

Median Total Compensation

CFE Non-CFE

Level of Responsibility

Executive $120,000 $81,000Partner/Principal $170,981 $100,000Vice President $100,000 $81,000Director $140,000 $116,643Supervisor/Senior Consultant $81,000 $62,000Manager $90,959 $77,032Staff/Consultant/Analyst $69,505 $56,400

Primary Industry of Focus

Education $83,200 $44,000Management Consultants $76,000 $87,878Services $88,000 $52,000Insurance $84,000 $69,000Health Care $72,900 $67,700Non-Profit $75,000 $36,110Public/Chartered Accounting $67,018 N/AFinancial Institutions $78,500 $65,108Government $74,400 $65,199Law Enforcement $72,500 $68,000Manufacturing $110,532 $50,878Real Estate $72,000 $70,710Law/Legal Services $100,000 $73,500

Years of Experience

0-2 years $38,000 $54,5003-4 years $62,000 $28,1815-9 years $65,000 $40,32110-19 years $75,700 $62,69320+ years $85,260 $77,000

Figure 2: Compensation Ranges for Fraud Examiners/Investigators

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Figure 3: Compensation Ranges for Fraud Examiner/Investigator Job Functions

$0

$25,000

$50,000

$75,000

$100,000

$125,000

$150,000

$175,000

$200,000

Fraud Examiner/Investigator

$110,000

$87,858

$65,889

$45,000

$80,000

$60,264

CFE Non-CFE

75th

75th

50th

50th

25th

25th

Compensation ranges reflect 25th, 50th (median) and 75th percentile.

FRAUD EXAMINER/INVESTIGATOR | 7

Earning the CFE credential proved to be invaluable in so many ways� I became an

advocate in helping colleagues, recent college graduates, and anyone struggling

through tough times to recognize their abilities and the impact the CFE credential

could have on their lives�”

Mara McLaughlin, CFESenior Investigator, New York State Insurance Fund

“

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Respondent Geographic ProfileTwenty-nine percent of the overall respondents indicated their primary location was outside

the U�S�, the highest in the history of the survey�

The table below illustrates the total cash compensation by geographic region for all respon-

dents, classified by CFEs and non-CFEs.

Figure 4: Overall Geographic Representation: By Region

By Geographic Region

CFE Non-CFECFE Premium

25th percentile

Median75th percentile

25th percentile

Median75th percentile

Based on median

Africa/Middle East

$24,089 $48,775 $90,686 $17,000 $34,135 $67,945 42.9%

Asia $22,500 $61,512 $114,149 $16,437 $34,245 $70,286 79.6%

Australia and New Zealand

$67,373 $91,759 $136,083 $70,763 $87,498 $121,775 4.9%

Canada $67,496 $81,156 $100,440 $57,452 $72,317 $100,440 12.2%

Europe $62,645 $100,912 $148,000 $47,596 $80,113 $124,246 26.0%

Latin America $45,922 $83,145 $125,257 $32,352 $47,060 $92,000 76.7%

Other Countries Not Listed

$45,620 $65,000 $90,600 $22,575 $42,000 $52,000 54.8%

United States $72,000 $96,000 $131,000 $60,000 $82,142 $117,500 16.9%

FRAUD EXAMINER/INVESTIGATOR | 9

Figure 5: CFE Premium By Region

4.9%

42.9%

54.8%

79.6%

76.7%

16.9%

12.2%

26.0%

Africa/Middle East

Other Countries Not Listed

Europe

Latin America

United States

Canada Asia

Australia and New Zealand

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Survey MethodologyIn order to ensure the confidentiality of the data, the

ACFE contracted an objective, third-party research

company, Western Management Group, to collect and

compile the results� An email with a link to an online

questionnaire was sent to approximately 62,000 ACFE

members in early February 2015� A total of 10,436 com-

pleted and useable responses were received by the end

of February in time for processing, representing a 17%

response rate� Based on 10,436 presumably random

responses and 62,000 for the total population, this study

has a +/- 0.87% margin of error (MOE) at a 95% level

of confidence. In other words, we can be 95% certain

that for a question with 10,436 responses, the survey’s

figure would be within +/- 0.87% percentage points of

the actual universe’s response� A margin of error of +/-

5% is typically accepted as the “standard” in association

research, so this study’s +/- 0.87% figure indicates a

stronger than typical level of statistical integrity�

All data were checked both manually and by a specially

designed computer editing procedure. Strict confidence

of survey responses was maintained throughout the

course of the project�

Visit ACFE.com/CompGuide to access the salary

calculator and create

your individual report�

FRAUD EXAMINER/INVESTIGATOR | 11

About the ACFE The ACFE is the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and the premier provider of anti-fraud

training and education� Together with more than 75,000 members, the ACFE is reducing the

incidence of fraud and white-collar crime worldwide and inspiring public confidence in the

integrity and objectivity within the profession�

Members of the ACFE include CPAs, auditors, lawyers, investigators, law enforcement offi-

cers, security professionals, executives, managers and anyone whose job involves prevent-

ing, detecting or deterring fraud�

Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) The ACFE established and administers the Certified Fraud Ex-

aminer (CFE) credential. Globally preferred by employers, the

CFE credential denotes proven expertise in fraud prevention,

detection, deterrence and investigation�

For more information about the ACFE and Certified Fraud Examiners, visit ACFE.com�

CERTIFIED FRAUDEXAMINER

© 2015 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Inc. “ACFE,” “CFE,” “Cer-tified Fraud Examiner,” “Association of Certified Fraud Examiners,” the ACFE Seal, the ACFE Logo and related trademarks, names and logos are the prop-erty of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Inc., and are registered and/or used in the U�S� and countries around the world�

GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS • THE GREGOR BUILDING716 West Avenue • Austin, TX 78701-2727 • USAPhone: (800) 245-3321 / +1 (512) 478-9000info@ACFE.com • ACFE.com

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