Report Writing

The purpose, audience, structure and best practices of a fraud examination report, including recommendations.

5 minutes 5 Questions

Report writing is a critical skill for a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) because the fraud examination report is the primary deliverable that communicates the results of an investigation to management, legal counsel, law enforcement, regulators, or the courts. The ACFE emphasizes that a report must …

Concepts covered
Recommendations in Fraud Examination ReportsPurpose and Audience of the ReportCharacteristics and Best Practices of Effective Reports
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CFE - Report Writing Example Questions

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Question 1

Clarity, as a characteristic of an effective fraud examination report, means that the report is prepared promptly after the work is done so the facts remain fresh and useful.

Correct Answer: False

The statement describes timeliness, not clarity. Clarity means the report conveys the facts in plain, unambiguous language, is logically organized and avoids unexplained jargon. Timeliness is the separate characteristic that calls for preparing the report promptly so its information is accurate and remains useful.

Question 2

Once management accepts a fraud examination report, the fraud examiner becomes responsible for implementing the report's follow-up recommendations, such as remediating the control weaknesses that allowed the fraud.

Correct Answer: False

A fraud examiner may include recommendations in the report, for example to strengthen internal controls or pursue recovery. Management owns the internal control system and the anti-fraud program, so management decides whether to adopt those recommendations and is responsible for implementing them. The examiner may later be asked to check whether the remediation was carried out, but implementing it would compromise the examiner's independence.

Question 3

The primary purpose of a fraud examination report is to state the fraud examiner's opinion on whether the subject is guilty of the alleged fraud.

Correct Answer: False

A fraud examination report presents the facts, the evidence gathered and the findings of the examination so that readers can draw their own conclusions. The examiner gives no opinion on any person's guilt or innocence, because guilt is for the judge or jury to decide. The report should be written on the assumption that many parties may read it, including management, attorneys, the subject and the court.

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