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) [email protected] • ACFE.com
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