Want to Become a CFE by the End of the Year? We’ve Got a Challenge for You.

GUEST BLOGGER

Courtney Howell
ACFE Community Manager

I have a few small, but important questions I’d like you to answer.

• Are you passionate about fighting fraud?

• Is it time to take your career to the next level?

• Does having a support group make it easier for you to accomplish goals?

• Do you want to earn your CFE credential?

If you answered yes to one of these questions, and especially if you answered yes to the last one, then the 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge is exactly what you need to complete your next professional goal.

The challenge is designed for those who’ve purchased the CFE Exam Prep Course, so when you join the challenge, we’ll help you stay focused and motivated to work through the course materials and complete the exam in three months.

Challenge participants will receive these three benefits:

1. You’re Part of a Group Who Are All Working toward the Same Goal.
When you join the 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge, you’ll be added into an exclusive group in the ACFE Community along with your fellow participants. In this group, everyone will introduce themselves and share why they’ve joined the challenge. Over the course of the challenge, you’ll get to know one another and, ultimately, support one another in reaching this big goal. At times, the journey will be tough. You may even want to give up. But as the community manager, I’ll be working alongside Ross Pry, our director of membership, to help keep you and your fellow participants motivated and inspired. Most importantly, when those difficult moments do arrive, your peers will be there to lift you up just as you will lift them up. It truly is a team effort and having that support makes a huge difference.

2) There is a clear timeline to follow with the 90-Day Study Plan.
We provide you with a 90-day study plan so that you can mark the exact dates you want to accomplish mini-goals along the way. This allows you the flexibility to work around your job, family time, travel plans or anything else life may throw at you, but it also gives you achievable steps to follow — ensuring you’ve accomplished necessary tasks along the way to earning your CFE credential.

3) It will hold you accountable.
Here’s the promise you make to yourself when you purchase the CFE Exam Prep Course and sign up for the 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge: “I will become a CFE in 90 days, and I will start right now. Not tomorrow, not a couple months from now, not next year. I am doing this now.” We’ll help you along the way, but at its heart, the 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge is a commitment that you make and that you are accountable for. At the end of your three-month journey, you will have earned something that’s extremely important to you.

If this is something you’re interested in, you have two simple steps to follow.

1. Purchase the CFE Exam Prep Course.

2. Sign up for the 90-Day CFE Exam Challenge.

The challenge kicks off on Monday, October 2. We hope to see you there!

District Attorney Looks Ahead to New Career in Private Sector

MEMBER PROFILE

Douglas Lowe, CFE
Palestine, Texas

Douglas Lowe, CFE, has served as Anderson County Criminal District Attorney (D.A.) for 16 years. He is based in Palestine, Texas, where he worked in private practice as a certified personal injury trial lawyer prior to becoming a D.A. Recently, Lowe decided to become a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and he earned the credential this spring after attending the Phoenix, Arizona CFE Exam Review Course.

Becoming a CFE was a natural choice for Lowe after his work as a D.A. stirred a passion for fighting fraud. 

“Through my work as District Attorney I have seen the cost of fraud to our community,” Lowe said. “There may not be a ‘fraud tax,’ but the losses to consumers, businesses and taxpayers are unreasonable and drain resources.”

Lowe added that part of the draw to this type of work is the challenge posed by fraudsters, and the satisfaction that comes from foiling their schemes.

“White-collar criminals can be very ingenious and creative in finding the weak spots in financial systems,” Lowe said. “I enjoy the challenge in identifying the scheme and then bringing them to justice.”

These days, change is in the air for Lowe, and he looks ahead to returning to his own practice.

“After being District Attorney for 16 years, I am excited about moving [back] to the private sector,” Lowe said. “I want to continue fighting fraud and being involved with companies, governments and individuals who want to minimize their losses due to white-collar crime.”

Lowe said that being a CFE will help him immensely in his future fraud fighting.

“I have tried numerous white-collar crime cases, but the CFE certification will enhance my credibility and strengthen my skills,” Lowe said. “I feel confident the CFE certification will help expand my client base and open doors to opportunities that otherwise would not be accessible.”

When he’s not bringing bad guys to justice, Lowe stays busy coaching his daughter’s YMCA all-girls soccer team: “We don’t win that many games, but we have fun and look snappy in our uniforms.”

“I also like remodeling, home improvement projects and physical fitness, especially weight training,” Lowe said.

Read more ACFE member profiles in the ACFE's online Career Center.

New Online CFE Exam Prep Course Accessible from Anywhere

GUEST BLOGGER

John Loftis, CFE
ACFE Product Marketing Manager

Last Monday on my drive home from work, I felt a strange shake in my car. I pulled over in a parking lot to check what might be going on. What did I find? There was a nail in my left rear tire. How inconvenient.

Life is constantly throwing hurdles like these in our way. Cars breakdown, kids get sick and houses always seem to be in need of repair. Life can be full of inconveniences, but studying for your CFE credential shouldn’t have to be one of them.

That’s why we’ve developed a new online edition of the CFE Exam Prep Course. The course takes all the best features of the Prep Course and delivers them through your browser on any Windows or Mac computer, as well as the iPad.

The new online edition looks identical to the desktop version. However, it is accessible from anywhere you have Internet access by logging in through ACFE.com. There’s no need to install any additional software. This means you’re no longer tied to studying on just two computers. Study from home, study from work, study from the library, study from Starbucks on your iPad or any other place where you can connect to the Internet. No matter where you access your course, your progress will be automatically saved, so you can pick-up right where you left off. Now that’s convenience.

Visit ACFE.com/OnlinePrep to learn more. Available in U.S., Canadian and International editions.

New Prep Course Reaffirms International Presence

GUEST BLOGGER

John Loftis, CFE

ACFE Product Marketing Manager

In July of 2006, I attended my first ACFE Annual Fraud Conference. One memory that really sticks in my mind is the opening ceremony. It sets the tone for what the conference is all about: a diverse group of individuals who have come together to share ideas and learn more about anti-fraud efforts. This idea is symbolized with a procession of flags representing each country at the conference. Each of these flags is carried by an attendee who proudly represents their home country.                                                                       

That memory is important to me because it gives a clear visual about the international presence of the ACFE and the pride our members take in their fight against fraud. I was most recently reminded of the opening ceremonies while working on our latest product, the 2011 CFE Exam Prep Course™, International Edition.

Now in its fourth year, the new Prep Course features an all-new user interface and enhanced features to improve the exam preparation experience.

To learn more about the 2011 CFE Exam Prep Course™, International Edition, go here.