Free Practice Questions for ACFE CFE-Investigation Exam

“Opinions or conclusions concerning the guilt or innocence of a fraud suspect is outside the scope of a fraud examination and should never be included in a report”.

Functions of a fraud examination report include presenting evidence, corroborating facts, and supporting credibility. Communicating the examiner’s qualifications to provide opinions isnota function.

Therefore, option D is not a function of a fraud examination report.

When a suspect becomes withdrawn or emotional after alibis are diffused:

“The interviewer should not remain silent or discourage the accused from showing emotion. Such reactions often indicate consideration of confession. At this point, the interviewer should present an alternative question and continue reinforcing guilt with evidence”.

Thus, Scarlett shouldcontinue presenting evidence.

TheCFE Prep – Investigationsexplains:

“Metadata is a type of computer-generated data that can be helpful in a fraud investigation. Metadata information can help determine who wrote a document; who received, opened, copied, edited, moved, or printed the document; and when these events occurred” .

Thus, metadata is the most useful for identifying who created a document.

TheFraud Examiners Manualnotes that EU privacy laws (e.g., EU Data Protection Directive, precursor to GDPR) restrict or prohibit the transfer of personal data to non-EU countries without compliance:

“Many foreign countries—and those in the European Union (EU) in particular—restrict or prohibit processing and transferring personal data… The EU’s directive… places limits on transmitting personal data to non-EU countries”.

Thus, since the fraud examiner is handling data about an EU-based employee, GDPR compliance is required, even if the examiner is outside the EU.

According to the2014 International Fraud Examiners Manual:

“The termfraud examinationrefers to a process of resolving allegations of fraud from inception to disposition, and it is the primary function of the anti-fraud professional. The fraud examination process encompasses a variety of tasks that might include:

• Obtaining evidence

• Reporting

• Testifying

• Assisting in fraud detection and prevention”.

Similarly, in theCFE Prep - Investigationsstudy guide:

“Fraud examination is best described as…a methodology for resolving fraud allegations from inception to disposition. The term fraud examination refers to a process of resolving allegations of fraud from inception to disposition, and it is the primary function of the anti-fraud professional”.

This clearly verifies thatfraud examinationis the correct term for the process of resolving fraud allegations from beginning (inception) to end (disposition).

Therefore, thecorrect answer is D. Fraud examination.

TheFraud Examiners Manualspecifies that admission-seeking interviews should only be conducted when:

“There is a reasonable probability that the respondent has committed the act in question.

All other reasonable investigative steps have been completed.

The interviewer can reasonably control the place, time, and subject matter of the interview.”

There isno requirementthat the examiner must be sure no one else was involved. Therefore,C is correct.

TheFraud Examiners Manualadvises avoiding prematurely alerting perpetrators. Recommended methods include:

“Conducting investigations at times when the suspect is not present (such as nonbusiness hours)”.

This avoids tipping off suspects.

TheCFE Prep – Investigationsnotes:

“Court records are best obtained from the jurisdiction in which they were filed… The most accurate records are maintained by the court of original jurisdiction, not global or aggregated databases.”

Thus, the best place for Sam is thelocal court of jurisdiction, not a global database.

TheFraud Examiners Manualexplains:

“Before running tests on the data, the fraud examiner must make certain the data being analysed are relevant and reliable for the objective of the engagement… Using the profile of potential frauds as a guide, the fraud examiner must identify the target data for analysis”.

TheCFE Prep – Investigationswarns against relying solely on eye contact:

“Behavioural clues are harder to read … Additionally, racial, ethnic, and economic factors should be carefully considered when observing a respondent’s behaviour. Some cultures, for example, discourage looking directly at someone. Other cultures use certain body language that might be misinterpreted.”

Therefore, lack of eye contactcannot safely be taken as proof of dishonesty.