90-Day CFE Exam Challenge Success Story: Rocio Castellanos
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Rocio Castellanos, CFE, lives and works in Zurich, Switzerland. She is a senior finance professional with broad experience across a variety of industries. She started her career as an external auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and moved later to the internal audit department of Syngenta International. Rocio’s next steps led her to different positions at the corporate level where she covered various aspects of the finance function, at leading international companies in the insurance and luxury goods industries.
Rocio has a master’s degree in controlling and a certification of advanced studies in governance, risk and compliance. Outside of work, Rocio is interested in digitalization, reading, practicing yoga and meeting friends.
During the most recent 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge, Rocio set her sights on passing the CFE Exam to get her CFE credential and advance her career. Here’s how the challenge helped her meet this goal.
Why did you join the 90-Day-CFE Exam Challenge?
In late September, someone told me that the CFE credential would help me advance my career in the direction I desired. With this in mind, I set out to immediately register as an ACFE member and came across the challenge announcement. I thought this would support my intention to get the certification as soon as possible.
I am a curious person who is open to new learning methods. Therefore, I decided to study with the CFE Exam Prep Course and join the 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge. In addition, I was motivated to get in touch with participants from all over the world, especially during the COVID-19 time. As a team player, I like the idea of encouraging and supporting each other.
What did your study method look like?
I took the Pre-Assessment at the beginning of October, scoring 56% for Law and 64% for each of the remaining three sections. After studying the sections, my scores on the Practice Exams improved surprisingly to 94% for Law and 90% for each of the remaining sections. With these results, I felt ready for the final exams.
My planning was crucial for my structured approach. From the start, I prepared a detailed schedule for all sections. It took a lot of energy and discipline to meet the deadlines, but it was worth the effort. I tried the following approaches:
For Investigation and Law, I first read the sections in the Fraud Examiners Manual and then answered the Review Questions, thereby, reading all explanations and marking all questions that were not clear to me in order to follow up later.
For the remaining sections, I went straight to the Review Questions, read all the explanations carefully and marked difficult questions. I used the manual to look up specific topics.
I always made notes while studying and in some cases conducted additional research in order to understand the concepts.
At the end of each section I took the Practice Exam only once. But I kept reviewing the sections until I took the exams at end of October — one per day.
How did the challenge help you to accomplish your goal of passing the CFE Exam?
I liked the challenge forum because it clearly confirmed that I was not alone with my project. I received and gave support to others in the online community in an exchange of tips and advice. I literally felt the team spirit, and that spurred me on. This was an encouraging and exciting experience.
The weekly check-ins added value to my schedule. In addition, the tutorials were very helpful for my reviews.
What did it feel like when you got the email saying you had passed? How did you celebrate?
I was both happy and relieved when I received the email from the certification department saying: “Congratulations! You passed the CFE Exam!”
Due to the COVID-19 situation, it was not possible to go out for big celebrations. My husband opened a bottle of prosecco and we toasted to me passing the exam.
What advice do you have for challenge participants who are preparing for the CFE Exam?
I recommend mixing online and offline learning options. The Prep Course, the manual, your own notes, the flash cards and the exchange with participants will contribute to a great learning experience.
Set goals for yourself, define a schedule to achieve them at your own pace, and do not forget to check your progress periodically. Take advantage of the monthly study guide and the weekly check-ins. Visualize your goals and put yourself in the situation where you can achieve them. Motivate yourself whenever you need.
Prepare a workplace with the necessary infrastructure where you feel comfortable. Find the most productive time for your learning activities. While learning, focus on the concepts rather than on memorizing review questions.
My final remark is to engage in the challenge community as much as possible. Not only will you learn a lot from other participants, but you will also expand your network.
I hope that many of you decide to embark on the CFE journey and join the next 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge.
Just get started.
The 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge provides participants with study tips and peer support to help them stay motivated and on track to reach their goal of passing the CFE Exam. The upcoming challenge begins January 4 and ends on March 31.
