Sidney P. Blum, CFE, CPA/CFF, Leah D. Lane, CFE, and Nancy E. Rich, CFE, took their oaths of office as newly elected members of the Board of Regents during the board's semi-annual meeting on February 25 at ACFE headquarters in Austin, Texas.
The Regents elected Tiffany R. Couch, CFE, CPA/CFF, to be chair and David C. Rule, CFE, CISM, CPP, to be vice chair. They elected Lane to be secretary; Rich, treasurer; and Blum and ACFE Vice President and Program Director Bruce Dorris, assistant treasurers.
Since the 2015 spring meeting of the Board of Regents, the ACFE added nine new chapters including those in Liberia, Oman and Ireland. As of publication, the ACFE has 174 chapters in 54 countries.
The board reviewed and discussed the membership growth of the ACFE, which surpassed 76,000 members at the time of the meeting. International new member growth continues to outpace domestic growth, with 40 percent of new members residing outside the U.S. The 2016 ACFE Middle East Conference in Dubai was a huge success with 450 attendees.
In 2015, the ACFE added 19 new partners to the Corporate Alliance program including a number of major organizations, Fortune 500 and Fortune Global 500 companies. The Corporate Alliance is designed to support the implementation of anti-fraud best practices in organizations by providing access to tools, training and resources from the ACFE. Participation in the ACFE Corporate Alliance helps companies demonstrate their commitment to the fight against fraud.
Board members reviewed pending disciplinary matters awaiting recommendations from the Board of Review. The Board of Regents also reviewed ACFE committee reports and appointed new committee members to replace outgoing members. In addition, the board voted to dissolve the Professional Standards and Practices committee. In its place, the Board will appoint dedicated working groups of ACFE members as needed to recommend amendments or interpretations of the ACFE's Code of Professional Ethics and Code of Professional Standards in the future.
The next meeting of the Board of Regents will be held during the 27th Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference on June 12, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Nominations open for 2017-2018 Board of Regents
Nominations will open on June 1 for two positions on the ACFE's 2017-2018 Board of Regents.
"Under the ACFE bylaws, any CFE in good standing may apply for a position on the Board of Regents. The self-nominating process is open to each of you," said Tiffany Couch, chair of the Board of Regents.
"I encourage every CFE to consider applying for a position on the Board of Regents and provide leadership for the future of the ACFE," Couch said.
The Board of Regents performs several integral functions. Under the current bylaws, the Board of Regents has sole authority over the admission of members including, but not limited to, examination standards.
The board is also responsible for establishing, modifying and enforcing the CFE Code of Professional Ethics, and all other matters necessary to maintain the high standards of the ACFE.
The Nominations Committee will select six applicants to vie for two available positions in this year's election. Beginning November 1 and ending December 31, certified members of the ACFE will vote for their selections for the two new board members. The new Regents, who will be installed in February 2017, will each serve two-year terms.
Following are the key dates in the Regent election process:
- June 1: Nominations open
- July 31: Nominations close
- Sept. 9: Nominations Committee selects final candidates
- Nov. 1: Ballot available
- Dec. 31: Balloting closes
- Feb. 2017: New Board of Regents sworn in
To participate in the nominations process, download an application at
ACFE.com/BOR and return to: Nominations Committee, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Global Headquarters, The Gregor Building, 716 West Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-2727 USA. You can also email it to
Regents@ACFE.com. Applications can be faxed to +1-512-478-9297.