SRU partners with ACFE to offer resources for Fraud Examination class
Slippery Rock University has partnered with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners as a participant in the ACFE’s Anti-Fraud Education Partnership that will provide resources for students enrolled in SRU’s Fraud Examination class.
Sept. 18, 2019
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — Slippery Rock University has been selected by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners as a participant in the ACFE's Anti-Fraud Education Partnership.
Through the partnership, SRU's Homeland Security and Corporate Security Studies Department will receive timely, anti-fraud education tools and resources that will be used by students in the department's Fraud Examination class.
"ACFE began partnering with institutions because they recognized a need to start educating students about fraud, how to identify it, how we can prevent, what happens to an organization that is victimized by fraud and what steps to follow," said Angèle Stoebener, SRU instructor of homeland and corporate security studies. "This partnership will help prepare our students to face these challenges and prepare those who are intending to gain certification as fraud examiners."
STOEBENER
Stoebener, who is a part-time instructor and works full-time in the banking industry, is a Certified Fraud Examiner, which is a certification issued to ACFE members who pass an exam and meet academic and professional requirements, such as a bachelor's degree and two years of experience in a related field.
The partnership is not solely intended to prepare students for the CFE exam. The students in the senior-level Fraud Examination class will gain greater familiarity of the fraud examination field through the ACFE's curricular components, including videos and case studies.
"Understanding the theory behind a fraud scheme is one thing, but when you can point to a case study and where fraud happened with a real-life example, that makes it easier for the student to understand and tie it together," Stoebener said. "Fraud can occur in any organization, from large corporations to small nonprofits, and it doesn't matter what fields students go into after they graduate; they will work for companies affected by fraud. The true cost of fraud cannot be quantified, but it can be catastrophic for any business."
Students in the Fraud Examination class must take prerequisite classes such as an accounting class and an introduction to fraud, but their majors and career aspirations can vary, from law enforcement to banking. The Fraud Examination class meets curriculum requirements for the Anti-Fraud Education Partnership, which includes having an instructor like Stoebener who is a CFE. Susan Lubinski, associate professor of homeland and corporate security studies and department chair, is also a CFE.
SRU, which in 2016 was the first the institution in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education to offer a bachelor's degree in either homeland security or corporate security, is one of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and nearly 250 in the country to enter into an ACFE partnership.
Corporate security and fraud examination professions are burgeoning fields, especially in the wake of several accounting scandals in the early 2000s at companies like Enron and WorldCom that are still affecting the economy.
Stoebener, a 2006 SRU graduate with a degree in business administration, became interested in studying fraud after taking an accounting seminar class at SRU taught by Lubinski. Later, she earned a master's degree in financial forensics and fraud investigation from Carlow University and worked as a consultant for a regional accounting firm. "This subject was something that interested me because I didn't even know that this world existed."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, financial examiners, including fraud examiners, are in demand with projected employment growth 7% faster than the average for all occupations in the next 10 years as financial institutions seek help with federal regulatory compliance.
For more information about the ACFE, visit: www.acfe.com. For more information about the Department of Homeland and Corporate Security Studies, click here.
MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Zackal | 724.738.4854 | justin.zackal@sru.edu