Planning an Interview
5 minutes
5 Questions
Planning an interview is a critical phase in the CFE Interview Theory and Application domain, because the quality of information obtained depends heavily on preparation. The fraud examiner must first clearly define the objectives of the interview: what facts need to be established, what documents must be explained, and what the interviewee's likely role is (neutral witness, corroborative witness, co-conspirator, or suspect). Interviews should generally be scheduled in a logical order, moving from neutral third parties, to corroborative witnesses, to those suspected of involvement, and finally to the primary subject, so that the examiner accumulates knowledge before confronting the target. Preparation involves reviewing all relevant documents, financial records, and prior statements so the interviewer has a strong command of the facts and can detect inconsistencies. The examiner should learn as much as possible about the interviewee's background, position, responsibilities, and relationships within the organization. A list of key topics or questions should be developed, but the interviewer should remain flexible rather than reading from a rigid script, which can hinder rapport and the natural flow of conversation. Logistical decisions are also part of planning. The examiner should choose a time and place that minimizes interruptions and distractions, typically a private, neutral setting where the interviewee feels comfortable yet the interviewer maintains control. Deciding whether a second interviewer or witness should attend, whether the interview will be recorded, and how notes will be taken are important considerations, as is awareness of legal issues such as employee rights, union representation, and confidentiality. Finally, the examiner should anticipate the interviewee's likely attitude and possible defenses, and plan how to handle reluctance or hostility. Proper planning establishes professionalism, promotes rapport, reduces surprises, and increases the likelihood of obtaining complete, accurate, and legally admissible information. In short, a well-planned interview is structured in purpose and sequence, yet adaptable in execution.
Planning an Interview — ACFE CFE Exam Guide (Interview Theory and Application)
Overview
Planning an Interview is a core topic within the Investigation section of the CFE Exam, under Interview Theory and Application. The ACFE Fraud Examiners Manual treats the interview as the single most important fact-gathering tool available to a fraud examiner, and it stresses that an interview is only as good as the preparation behind it. This guide explains why planning matters, what the planning stage consists of, how each element works in practice, and how to recognize and answer exam questions on the subject.
Why Planning an Interview Is Important
Most fraud examinations rise or fall on information obtained from people. Documents establish what happened, but witnesses and subjects explain how and why. A poorly planned interview wastes a one-time opportunity: a witness who is confused, alienated, or tipped off rarely gives a second, better interview. Planning matters for several reasons:
1. Efficiency — the interviewer knows exactly what information is needed and does not waste time or miss key issues.
2. Credibility — an interviewer who understands the facts and documents is harder to mislead and is taken more seriously by the respondent.
3. Legal defensibility — planning helps avoid claims of false imprisonment, coercion, defamation, or violations of recording and representation rights.
4. Sequencing — interviewing people in the correct order prevents the subject from learning what investigators know and from coordinating stories with others.
5. Objectivity — a plan built around gathering facts (rather than confirming a theory) keeps the examiner fair and professional, which the ACFE lists as hallmarks of a good interview.
What Planning an Interview Is
Planning is everything the examiner does before the first question is asked. According to the ACFE, a good interview has four characteristics: it is of sufficient length and depth to uncover relevant facts, it is objective, it is conducted in a professional manner, and it is legal. Planning is the stage that makes those characteristics achievable. It includes deciding the purpose of the interview, reviewing the case file, selecting the interviewee order, choosing the location and timing, deciding who will be present, deciding how the conversation will be documented, and preparing the interviewer mentally for the respondent's likely attitude.
How It Works — The Key Elements
1. Preparation and Review of Facts
Before the interview, the examiner should know the case thoroughly: review documents, understand the suspected scheme, and identify what the interviewee is likely to know. The ACFE recommends preparing a general outline of topics or key questions, but not a rigid script. A script makes the interviewer inflexible and prevents natural follow-up. The examiner should also learn something about the respondent — position, tenure, relationship to the matter — to anticipate attitude and potential sensitivities.
2. Defining the Purpose
Each interview should have a clear objective: establishing a timeline, authenticating a document, understanding a process, corroborating another witness, or obtaining an admission. The purpose determines which question types will dominate (introductory, informational, assessment, closing, or admission-seeking) and whether the interview is an information-gathering interview or an admission-seeking one.
3. Order of Interviews
This is one of the most tested points. The ACFE general rule is to work from the outside in:
• First: neutral third-party witnesses — people with no personal stake who can provide background and documents.
• Second: corroborative witnesses — people who can confirm or deny facts but are not involved in the wrongdoing.
• Third: co-conspirators, interviewed from the least culpable to the most culpable.
• Last: the primary suspect or target.
The logic: by the time the target is interviewed, the examiner has maximum information and the target has minimum warning. Interviewing the target early alerts them, risks destruction of evidence, and gives them time to construct explanations.
4. Timing and Notice
Witnesses who are cooperative may be given advance notice and allowed to prepare. The subject of an admission-seeking interview, however, should generally not be given advance notice; surprise reduces the opportunity to rehearse, destroy evidence, or confer with others. Interviews should be scheduled when the respondent is not under unusual pressure or fatigue, and enough time should be reserved so the interview is not cut short. The examiner should not rush.
5. Location
The interview should be conducted in a private setting free of interruptions — no phones ringing, no colleagues walking in. Privacy protects confidentiality and makes the respondent more willing to talk. The ACFE guidance:
• Conduct interviews on the examiner's territory or neutral ground where possible, rather than the subject's office where the subject feels in control and may be distracted.
• Remove physical barriers: do not sit behind a desk; chairs should be arranged so the interviewer and respondent face each other roughly four to six feet apart with no obstruction.
• Never position yourself or the furniture so the respondent's path to the door is blocked. Blocking the exit can support a claim of false imprisonment and damages the voluntary nature of the interview.
• Avoid conspicuous locations where co-workers can see who is being interviewed.
6. Who Should Be Present
• Interview one person at a time. Interviewing two respondents together allows one to influence the other and contaminates both accounts.
• The ideal number of interviewers is two: one leads and one observes and takes notes, and the second person later serves as a witness to what was said. More than two interviewers can feel intimidating and coercive. In many admission-seeking interviews the primary interviewer conducts the questioning alone with the second person present mainly as witness.
• Consider legal representation issues: in the United States, unionized employees may have Weingarten rights to a representative in an investigatory interview that could lead to discipline; in some jurisdictions employees are entitled to counsel or a companion. The examiner must know these rules in advance.
• In sensitive cases the second interviewer should be of the same gender as the respondent to reduce claims of impropriety.
7. Note Taking
Notes are essential but must not disrupt rapport. ACFE guidance includes:
• Do not attempt verbatim notes; record key facts, names, dates, amounts, and the respondent's exact words only on critical points.
• Begin note taking during innocuous, non-threatening questions so the respondent becomes accustomed to it.
• Do not react visibly or start scribbling intensely when a sensitive statement is made; this signals the respondent to stop talking.
• Write notes neatly and complete a full memorandum of interview as soon as possible afterward, while recollection is fresh.
• Record the time, date, place, persons present, and whether the interview was voluntary.
8. Recording the Interview
The ACFE generally discourages electronic recording of interviews except in special circumstances, because it tends to inhibit respondents and creates a permanent record that may be subject to discovery and challenged for completeness. If recording is used, the examiner must comply with applicable law: some jurisdictions require consent of only one party, others require all parties to consent. Covert recording where all-party consent is required is illegal. Generally, if a recording is made, it should be disclosed and the respondent's consent noted on the recording.
9. Interviewer Attitude and Demeanor
Planning also means preparing yourself. The ACFE describes the good interviewer as fair, professional, non-judgmental, calm, and genuinely interested in the respondent. Avoid approaching with a preconceived conclusion. Do not promise confidentiality you cannot deliver, do not threaten, and do not promise leniency. Decide in advance how you will introduce yourself and the purpose (usually a general, non-accusatory statement such as gathering information about certain procedures) without disclosing the specific suspicions.
10. Legal Considerations in Planning
• Voluntariness — the respondent must be free to leave; make clear the interview is voluntary.
• False imprisonment — avoid locked doors, blocked exits, or statements implying the person cannot leave.
• Defamation — do not disclose accusations to persons without a need to know; keep the matter confidential.
• Rights of representation — know whether union, counsel, or companion rights apply.
• Recording law — know one-party versus all-party consent rules.
• Public versus private sector — Miranda-style warnings generally apply to law enforcement custodial interrogations, not private-sector fraud examiner interviews, but government employees may have additional protections (for example Garrity rights in the US).
How to Answer Exam Questions on Planning an Interview
CFE Exam questions in this area are mostly multiple choice and true/false. They test whether you know the ACFE's stated best practice, not what you personally would do. Approach each question by identifying which planning element is being tested — order, location, participants, notes, recording, timing, or legality — and then recall the ACFE rule for that element.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Planning an Interview
1. Order of interviews: If a question asks who to interview first or last, remember the sequence: neutral third parties, then corroborative witnesses, then co-conspirators (least culpable to most culpable), and the target last. Any answer that places the suspect first is wrong.
2. Number of interviewers: The answer is generally two. One interviewer leaves no witness; three or more is intimidating. If a question says a team of four interviewers is appropriate, mark it false.
3. One respondent at a time: Statements suggesting it is efficient to interview several witnesses together are false.
4. Location: Choose the answer that emphasizes privacy, freedom from interruptions, the interviewer's or neutral territory, and no physical barrier between the parties. An answer describing the examiner sitting behind a desk or near the door is wrong.
5. Exit access: Questions about where to place the respondent's chair test the false-imprisonment concept — the respondent must have an unobstructed path to the door.
6. Advance notice: Witnesses may receive notice; suspects should generally not be given advance notice of an admission-seeking interview. Be alert to questions that reverse this.
7. Notes: The ACFE says notes should not be verbatim, should begin with innocuous information, and the interviewer should not display reactions. A statement that the interviewer should write down everything the respondent says word for word is false.
8. Recording: Default answer: recording is generally discouraged and, where used, must comply with consent laws. Do not pick an answer saying examiners should routinely record covertly.
9. Script versus outline: The correct view is that the interviewer should prepare an outline of key points but not a rigid list of questions read in order.
10. Characteristics of a good interview: Memorize the four — sufficient length and depth, objective, professional, legal. Questions may list three correct items and one distractor such as confrontational or thorough-in-recording.
11. Watch absolute words: Options containing always, never, or must are often distractors unless they match an explicit ACFE rule (for example, never block the exit).
12. Think like the Manual, not like a police drama: The CFE Exam rewards non-confrontational, voluntary, professional interviewing. Any option that involves pressure, deception about rights, or intimidation is almost certainly incorrect.
13. Link planning to legal outcomes: If a scenario describes a locked room, a blocked door, or an undisclosed recording in an all-party consent jurisdiction, the question is really asking about false imprisonment or illegal recording — identify the legal risk and pick the answer that avoids it.
14. Read scenario questions for the stage: Determine whether the scenario is an information-gathering interview or an admission-seeking interview; planning considerations such as notice, number of people present, and who should be interviewed first depend on that distinction.
Quick Review Checklist
• Know the facts and documents before the interview.
• Define the purpose and prepare an outline, not a script.
• Sequence: neutral witnesses → corroborating witnesses → co-conspirators (least to most culpable) → target.
• Private, interruption-free location; no desk barrier; clear path to the exit.
• One respondent at a time; two interviewers, one taking notes.
• No advance warning to the suspect; adequate uninterrupted time.
• Non-verbatim notes begun during innocuous questions; full memorandum afterward.
• Recording generally discouraged; obey consent laws if used.
• Verify representation rights (union, counsel) and keep the interview voluntary.
• Remain fair, professional, objective, and lawful — the four marks of a good interview.
Mastering these points will let you answer virtually any CFE Exam question on Planning an Interview by matching the scenario to the ACFE best practice it is designed to test.
Planning an Interview is a core topic within the Investigation section of the CFE Exam, under Interview Theory and Application. The ACFE Fraud Examiners Manual treats the interview as the single most important fact-gathering tool available to a fraud examiner, and it stresses that an interview is only as good as the preparation behind it. This guide explains why planning matters, what the planning stage consists of, how each element works in practice, and how to recognize and answer exam questions on the subject.
Why Planning an Interview Is Important
Most fraud examinations rise or fall on information obtained from people. Documents establish what happened, but witnesses and subjects explain how and why. A poorly planned interview wastes a one-time opportunity: a witness who is confused, alienated, or tipped off rarely gives a second, better interview. Planning matters for several reasons:
1. Efficiency — the interviewer knows exactly what information is needed and does not waste time or miss key issues.
2. Credibility — an interviewer who understands the facts and documents is harder to mislead and is taken more seriously by the respondent.
3. Legal defensibility — planning helps avoid claims of false imprisonment, coercion, defamation, or violations of recording and representation rights.
4. Sequencing — interviewing people in the correct order prevents the subject from learning what investigators know and from coordinating stories with others.
5. Objectivity — a plan built around gathering facts (rather than confirming a theory) keeps the examiner fair and professional, which the ACFE lists as hallmarks of a good interview.
What Planning an Interview Is
Planning is everything the examiner does before the first question is asked. According to the ACFE, a good interview has four characteristics: it is of sufficient length and depth to uncover relevant facts, it is objective, it is conducted in a professional manner, and it is legal. Planning is the stage that makes those characteristics achievable. It includes deciding the purpose of the interview, reviewing the case file, selecting the interviewee order, choosing the location and timing, deciding who will be present, deciding how the conversation will be documented, and preparing the interviewer mentally for the respondent's likely attitude.
How It Works — The Key Elements
1. Preparation and Review of Facts
Before the interview, the examiner should know the case thoroughly: review documents, understand the suspected scheme, and identify what the interviewee is likely to know. The ACFE recommends preparing a general outline of topics or key questions, but not a rigid script. A script makes the interviewer inflexible and prevents natural follow-up. The examiner should also learn something about the respondent — position, tenure, relationship to the matter — to anticipate attitude and potential sensitivities.
2. Defining the Purpose
Each interview should have a clear objective: establishing a timeline, authenticating a document, understanding a process, corroborating another witness, or obtaining an admission. The purpose determines which question types will dominate (introductory, informational, assessment, closing, or admission-seeking) and whether the interview is an information-gathering interview or an admission-seeking one.
3. Order of Interviews
This is one of the most tested points. The ACFE general rule is to work from the outside in:
• First: neutral third-party witnesses — people with no personal stake who can provide background and documents.
• Second: corroborative witnesses — people who can confirm or deny facts but are not involved in the wrongdoing.
• Third: co-conspirators, interviewed from the least culpable to the most culpable.
• Last: the primary suspect or target.
The logic: by the time the target is interviewed, the examiner has maximum information and the target has minimum warning. Interviewing the target early alerts them, risks destruction of evidence, and gives them time to construct explanations.
4. Timing and Notice
Witnesses who are cooperative may be given advance notice and allowed to prepare. The subject of an admission-seeking interview, however, should generally not be given advance notice; surprise reduces the opportunity to rehearse, destroy evidence, or confer with others. Interviews should be scheduled when the respondent is not under unusual pressure or fatigue, and enough time should be reserved so the interview is not cut short. The examiner should not rush.
5. Location
The interview should be conducted in a private setting free of interruptions — no phones ringing, no colleagues walking in. Privacy protects confidentiality and makes the respondent more willing to talk. The ACFE guidance:
• Conduct interviews on the examiner's territory or neutral ground where possible, rather than the subject's office where the subject feels in control and may be distracted.
• Remove physical barriers: do not sit behind a desk; chairs should be arranged so the interviewer and respondent face each other roughly four to six feet apart with no obstruction.
• Never position yourself or the furniture so the respondent's path to the door is blocked. Blocking the exit can support a claim of false imprisonment and damages the voluntary nature of the interview.
• Avoid conspicuous locations where co-workers can see who is being interviewed.
6. Who Should Be Present
• Interview one person at a time. Interviewing two respondents together allows one to influence the other and contaminates both accounts.
• The ideal number of interviewers is two: one leads and one observes and takes notes, and the second person later serves as a witness to what was said. More than two interviewers can feel intimidating and coercive. In many admission-seeking interviews the primary interviewer conducts the questioning alone with the second person present mainly as witness.
• Consider legal representation issues: in the United States, unionized employees may have Weingarten rights to a representative in an investigatory interview that could lead to discipline; in some jurisdictions employees are entitled to counsel or a companion. The examiner must know these rules in advance.
• In sensitive cases the second interviewer should be of the same gender as the respondent to reduce claims of impropriety.
7. Note Taking
Notes are essential but must not disrupt rapport. ACFE guidance includes:
• Do not attempt verbatim notes; record key facts, names, dates, amounts, and the respondent's exact words only on critical points.
• Begin note taking during innocuous, non-threatening questions so the respondent becomes accustomed to it.
• Do not react visibly or start scribbling intensely when a sensitive statement is made; this signals the respondent to stop talking.
• Write notes neatly and complete a full memorandum of interview as soon as possible afterward, while recollection is fresh.
• Record the time, date, place, persons present, and whether the interview was voluntary.
8. Recording the Interview
The ACFE generally discourages electronic recording of interviews except in special circumstances, because it tends to inhibit respondents and creates a permanent record that may be subject to discovery and challenged for completeness. If recording is used, the examiner must comply with applicable law: some jurisdictions require consent of only one party, others require all parties to consent. Covert recording where all-party consent is required is illegal. Generally, if a recording is made, it should be disclosed and the respondent's consent noted on the recording.
9. Interviewer Attitude and Demeanor
Planning also means preparing yourself. The ACFE describes the good interviewer as fair, professional, non-judgmental, calm, and genuinely interested in the respondent. Avoid approaching with a preconceived conclusion. Do not promise confidentiality you cannot deliver, do not threaten, and do not promise leniency. Decide in advance how you will introduce yourself and the purpose (usually a general, non-accusatory statement such as gathering information about certain procedures) without disclosing the specific suspicions.
10. Legal Considerations in Planning
• Voluntariness — the respondent must be free to leave; make clear the interview is voluntary.
• False imprisonment — avoid locked doors, blocked exits, or statements implying the person cannot leave.
• Defamation — do not disclose accusations to persons without a need to know; keep the matter confidential.
• Rights of representation — know whether union, counsel, or companion rights apply.
• Recording law — know one-party versus all-party consent rules.
• Public versus private sector — Miranda-style warnings generally apply to law enforcement custodial interrogations, not private-sector fraud examiner interviews, but government employees may have additional protections (for example Garrity rights in the US).
How to Answer Exam Questions on Planning an Interview
CFE Exam questions in this area are mostly multiple choice and true/false. They test whether you know the ACFE's stated best practice, not what you personally would do. Approach each question by identifying which planning element is being tested — order, location, participants, notes, recording, timing, or legality — and then recall the ACFE rule for that element.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Planning an Interview
1. Order of interviews: If a question asks who to interview first or last, remember the sequence: neutral third parties, then corroborative witnesses, then co-conspirators (least culpable to most culpable), and the target last. Any answer that places the suspect first is wrong.
2. Number of interviewers: The answer is generally two. One interviewer leaves no witness; three or more is intimidating. If a question says a team of four interviewers is appropriate, mark it false.
3. One respondent at a time: Statements suggesting it is efficient to interview several witnesses together are false.
4. Location: Choose the answer that emphasizes privacy, freedom from interruptions, the interviewer's or neutral territory, and no physical barrier between the parties. An answer describing the examiner sitting behind a desk or near the door is wrong.
5. Exit access: Questions about where to place the respondent's chair test the false-imprisonment concept — the respondent must have an unobstructed path to the door.
6. Advance notice: Witnesses may receive notice; suspects should generally not be given advance notice of an admission-seeking interview. Be alert to questions that reverse this.
7. Notes: The ACFE says notes should not be verbatim, should begin with innocuous information, and the interviewer should not display reactions. A statement that the interviewer should write down everything the respondent says word for word is false.
8. Recording: Default answer: recording is generally discouraged and, where used, must comply with consent laws. Do not pick an answer saying examiners should routinely record covertly.
9. Script versus outline: The correct view is that the interviewer should prepare an outline of key points but not a rigid list of questions read in order.
10. Characteristics of a good interview: Memorize the four — sufficient length and depth, objective, professional, legal. Questions may list three correct items and one distractor such as confrontational or thorough-in-recording.
11. Watch absolute words: Options containing always, never, or must are often distractors unless they match an explicit ACFE rule (for example, never block the exit).
12. Think like the Manual, not like a police drama: The CFE Exam rewards non-confrontational, voluntary, professional interviewing. Any option that involves pressure, deception about rights, or intimidation is almost certainly incorrect.
13. Link planning to legal outcomes: If a scenario describes a locked room, a blocked door, or an undisclosed recording in an all-party consent jurisdiction, the question is really asking about false imprisonment or illegal recording — identify the legal risk and pick the answer that avoids it.
14. Read scenario questions for the stage: Determine whether the scenario is an information-gathering interview or an admission-seeking interview; planning considerations such as notice, number of people present, and who should be interviewed first depend on that distinction.
Quick Review Checklist
• Know the facts and documents before the interview.
• Define the purpose and prepare an outline, not a script.
• Sequence: neutral witnesses → corroborating witnesses → co-conspirators (least to most culpable) → target.
• Private, interruption-free location; no desk barrier; clear path to the exit.
• One respondent at a time; two interviewers, one taking notes.
• No advance warning to the suspect; adequate uninterrupted time.
• Non-verbatim notes begun during innocuous questions; full memorandum afterward.
• Recording generally discouraged; obey consent laws if used.
• Verify representation rights (union, counsel) and keep the interview voluntary.
• Remain fair, professional, objective, and lawful — the four marks of a good interview.
Mastering these points will let you answer virtually any CFE Exam question on Planning an Interview by matching the scenario to the ACFE best practice it is designed to test.
Test mode:
CFE - Planning an Interview Example Questions
Test your knowledge of Planning an Interview
Question 1
When planning an interview, a fraud examiner should review the case file so that the questions are built around the facts already gathered and the information still needed.
Question 2
A fraud examiner is planning an information-gathering interview with a warehouse employee who saw suspicious inventory removals. The employee has limited fluency in the examiner's language. The employee's supervisor speaks the employee's native language fluently and offers to help with the interview. The supervisor also approves the warehouse's inventory adjustments. Which planning decision is MOST appropriate?
Question 3
In planning an interview, which arrangement BEST reflects the recommended number of interviewers in the room and how their roles are divided?
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