ACFE Rules of Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures

Call for Member Comment: ACFE Board of Regents Presents Proposed Amendments to Disciplinary Procedures and ACFE Bylaws

One of the duties of the ACFE Board of Regents is to ensure that the rules of conduct governing members are relevant, fair and in accordance with the expectations of the professional anti-fraud community. In 2023, the Board established an advisory working group of CFEs to advise it on possible revisions to the ACFE rules. The members who contributed to this working group are:

  • Patrick Chylinski, CFE, MBA – Partner, Armanino, LLP
  • Tiffany Couch, CFE, CPA – Founder and CEO, Acuity Forensics
  • Tasheika Hinson, J.D., CFE – Associate General Counsel, Leader, Edward Jones
  • Jerami Michalak, CFE, CIA – Head of Internal Audit, Qatar Airways
  • James Rumph, CFE, CPA – Enterprise Anti-Fraud Leader, Nationwide Insurance
  • Viktorija Smatko-Abaza, CFE – Principal Advisor, European Commission
  • Robert Smolich, CFE – Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, U.S. Department of State
     

The working group developed a list of recommendations and supporting arguments for the Board to consider. After careful review of the recommendations, the Board is formally proposing several amendments to the ACFE Disciplinary Procedures and the ACFE Bylaws. For the purposes of transparency and obtaining a wide range of perspectives, the Board is calling for member comments on these amendments. The comment period for all ACFE members in good standing is open until March 31, 2024. Below is a summary of the proposed changes:

Disciplinary Procedures

  • Addition of a videoconference hearing for members accused of violations of the ACFE rules of conduct, with the following features:
    • Designed to be a non-adversarial process for members to explain their position and the ACFE Board of Review to ask questions
    • Hearing to be optional for members
    • Only the member (plus legal representative and translator) may be present
    • The hearing process does not include a right of the complainant to join, though the Board of Review may separately interview the complainant
    • Hearing to include introductory statement by ACFE, thirty minute statement by member, question period from the ACFE and Board of Review, and a short closing statement from the member
  • Executive session of Board of Review after the hearing
  • Reduction in the time period for members to respond to a complaint (from sixty days to thirty days), with an additional provision for extension of the response period by twenty days
  • New provision for conflicts of interest involving a member of the Board of Regents and reorganization of conflict of interest provisions into a new section
  • Improving clarity in the Disciplinary Procedures (e.g., creation of a definitions section, consistent capitalization of key terms, specifying language of hearings, etc.)

ACFE Bylaws

  • Specifying conditions under which members may access ACFE Membership records

The entire red-lined text of the proposed changes can be found here. To provide comments, you may submit them to Legal@ACFE.com by March 31, 2024.

Proposed Amendments to Disciplinary Procedures and ACFE Bylaws

 

ACFE Code of Professional Ethics 

The work that anti-fraud professionals perform can have a tremendous impact on the lives and livelihoods of people and organizations. It is therefore crucial that members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) exemplify the highest moral and ethical standards. All ACFE members must agree to abide by the ACFE Code of Professional Ethics. 

ACFE Code of Professional Ethics (PDF) 

CFE Code of Professional Standards

Certified Fraud Examiners (CFEs) must embody the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. All CFEs are expected to follow the Code of Professional Standards at all times. For direction on interpreting the standards, see the Interpretation and Guidance.

CFE Code of Professional Standards (PDF)

Interpretation and Guidance (PDF)

ACFE Membership Bylaws 

The bylaws establish the fundamental rules of governance for the ACFE. 

Bylaws of ACFE Membership, Inc. (PDF)

ACFE Disciplinary Procedures (PDF)

Reporting Violations

  • Direct Reports to the ACFE
    Persons wishing to file a grievance against a member of the ACFE may do so by sending a written statement of their complaint to the attention of the ACFE Legal Department, which is responsible for investigating disciplinary complaints. There is no specific form the complaint must take; a letter to the address below or email is fine. The complaint should include a full explanation of the alleged misconduct along with any documentary evidence available to support the allegations. (See Complaint Template.) Jacob Parks' email address is jparks@ACFE.com
      
    The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners  
    Attn: Jacob Parks  
    716 West Avenue  
    Austin, TX 78701
  • Report Concerns Through a 24/7 Third-Party Reporting Service
    While the ACFE accepts reports directly, you may also choose to use our third-party reporting service to file a complaint, with the option to do so anonymously. To file a report using this service, you can submit the complaint online, or call the hotline at 1 (877) 647-3335. You will need to use the following Client Code: ACFEMembership.