Five Paths to the CFFA Credential

You need look no farther than Accounting Today’s Top 100 niche survey each year to know that the linchpin of professional and practice development is specialization: growth by niche development is cited year in and year out on the radar of the accounting industry’s titans.

NACVA’s Financial Forensics Institute (FFI) was established in partnership with some of the nation’s top minds and authorities in forensic accounting, law, economics, valuation theory, expert witnessing, and support fundamentals to offer practitioners unparalleled and highly
comprehensive training in all facets of forensic financial consulting.  And now the Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA) designation offers you five different pathways to acquire the specialized training and concomitant credibility that will help you secure engagement
after engagement.

1. Financial Litigation Path
   The Financial Litigation specialty program requires the five-day Litigation Bootcamp for Financial Experts training, as in the past, designed to provide participants a solid foundation in the role of a financial expert. Among other requirements, applicants must have been involved in eight different litigation matters, three of which the applicant gave deposition and/or expert testimony. (This experience requirement can be met by attending the three-day Financial Forensics Institute-sponsored course entitled, Expert Witness Bootcamp)
    
2. Forensic Accounting Path
   The Forensic Accounting specialty program requires attendance at the five-day Forensic Accounting AcademyTM plus a three-day litigation workshop entitled, Forensics Workshop for Financial Professionals. Among other requirements, applicants must have also been involved in ten engagements or have 1,000 hours of experience in the applicable field.
    
3. Business and Intellectual Property Damages Path
   The Business and Intellectual Property Damages specialty program requires attendance at the five-day Business and Intellectual Property Damages Workshop (BIPD), plus the three-day Forensics Workshop for Financial Professionals. Among other requirements, applicants must have also been involved in ten engagements or have 1,000 hours of experience in the applicable field.
    
4. Business Fraud—Deterrence, Detection, and Investigation Path
   The Business Fraud Deterrence, Detection, and Investigation specialty program requires attendance at the five-day Business Fraud—Deterrence, Detection, and Investigation Training Center (FDDI), plus the three-day Forensics
   Workshop for Financial Professionals.  Among other requirements, applicants must have also been involved in ten engagements in the applicable field or have 1,000 hours of experience providing valuation services, 200 hours of which were
   in the applicable field.
    
5. Matrimonial Litigation Support Path
   The Matrimonial Litigation Support specialty program requires attendance at the five-day Matrimonial Litigation Support Workshop plus the three-day Forensics Workshop for Financial Professionals.  Among other requirements, applicants must have also been involved in ten engagements in the applicable field or have 1,000 hours of experience providing valuation services, 200 hours of which were in the applicable field.

For additional details on these five different areas of specialty, any of which can lead to earning the CFFA designation click links above or call NACVA Member Services: (800) 677-2009.

* Applicants can waive this training requirement for the CFFA by showing proof of involvement in 20 different litigation matters, in ten of which the applicant gave depositions and/or expert testimony, with at least one matter before a jury.

† Applicants can waive this training requirement for the CFFA by showing proof of involvement in eight different litigation matters, in three of which the applicant gave deposition or expert testimony.

Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA) CFFA Credential Criteria
The Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA) credential is offered through a subsidiary of NACVA, the Financial Forensics Institute. It is designed to provide assurance to the legal and business communities—the primary users of financial forensics services—that the designee possesses a level of experience and knowledge deemed acceptable by the Association to provide competent and professional financial forensic support services. Applicants can train in one of five areas of specialty, any of which lead to earning one’s CFFA credential. Those areas are: Financial Litigation, Forensic Accounting,
Business Fraud—Deterrence, Detection and Investigation, Business and Intellectual Property Damages, and Matrimonial Litigation Support. Earning the credential requires consideration of all of the person’s qualifications and commitment to the discipline; this includes prior education and experience, prerequisite and required training as provided (or recommended) by NACVA, testing, and post-requisite requirements for recertification.

The CFFA program encompasses all the components for supporting and upholding a credential with innate value for the holder and the user community—to be respected, not because it is the first of its kind, but because it is substantial in all regards. It is a credential to help practitioners build a career in their chosen financial forensics field, plus give them the
foundation needed to deal with the attendant legal or corporate board level support that often enters into engagements or tasks performed within these specialty fields. The specific criteria for obtaining the credential are:

Prerequisites

1. The applicant must possess one of the following credentials or levels of education:
   CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst),
   AVA (Accredited Valuation Analyst),
   ABV (Accredited in Business Valuation),
   ASA (Accredited Senior Appraiser),
   AM (Accredited Member of the ASA),
   CBA (Certified Business Appraiser),
   CBV (Chartered Business Valuator),
   CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst),
   CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner),
   CMA (Certified Management Accountant),
   Cr.FA (Certified Forensic Accountant),
   CPA (Certified Public Accountant),
   CA (Chartered Accountant), or other recognized accounting or financial credential subject to NACVA Headquarters approval, and a bachelor’s degree in a business field from an accredited university/college, or, alternatively, a master’s or doctorate in a field of business.
2. Applicants must show proof of having provided services in the applicable field in which they wish to specialize. These are:
   
   • Financial Litigation:
   Must have been involved in eight different litigation matters, three of which the applicant gave deposition and/ or expert testimony. (This experience requirement can be met by attending the three-day NACVA-sponsored course entitled, “Expert Witness Bootcamp.”)
   
   • Forensic Accounting, and Business Fraud—Deterrence, Detection and Investigation:
   Must have been involved in ten engagements or have 1000 hours experience in the applicable field.
   
   • Business and Intellectual Property Damages, and Matrimonial Litigation Support:
   Must have been involved in 10 engagements in the applicable field, or have had 1000 hours experience providing valuation services, 200 hours of which were in the applicable field.
    
3.  Applicants to the: a) Financial Litigation program must attend a five-day training program offered by NACVA entitled “Litigation Bootcamp for Financial Experts,” designed to provide participants a solid foundation in the role of a financial expert. Applicants to: b) Forensic Accounting, c) Business Fraud—Deterrence, Detection and
   Investigation, d) Business and Intellectual Property Damages, and e) Matrimonial Litigation Support must attend Workshop for Financial Professionals.” (Exceptions from this training requirement for all five areas of focus will be given based on experience—see “Experience Waiver.”)
    
4. The applicant must pass a two-part exam; one for the specialty area he/she is pursuing, and one to demonstrate a command of financial forensics. Both are four-hour proctored exams given at the end of the applicable course.
    
5. The applicant must submit one business and two professional (attorneys, judges, CPAs, etc.) references who can substantiate the applicant’s professional stature in the community and quality work product.
    
6. The applicant must be a Practitioner member of NACVA; to maintain the credential one must maintain active status with the Association, which requires paying annual dues and complying with periodic recertification.
   
    

Experience Waiver
Applicants to NACVA’s a) Financial Litigation program can waive the “Litigation Bootcamp for Financial Experts” training requirement for the CFFA by showing proof of involvement in twenty different litigation matters, ten of which the applicant gave depositions and/or expert testimony, with at least one matter before a jury. Applicants to NACVA’s: b) Forensic Accounting, c) Business Fraud—Deterrence, Detection and Investigation, can waive the CFFA training requirement to the three-day “Forensics Workshop for Financial Professionals” by showing proof that he/she was the lead professional on eight reports related to the applicable discipline and have presented his/her findings to a board of directors, audit committee or equivalent authoritative body three times. Applicants to NACVA’s: d) Business and Intellectual Property Damages, e) Matrimonial Litigation Support, can waive the three-day training requirement by showing proof of involvement in eight different litigation matters, three of which the applicant gave deposition and/or expert testimony. (This experience requirement can also be met by attending the three-day NACVA-sponsored course entitled, “Expert Witness Bootcamp.”) The Experience Waiver does not waive the requirement to take and pass the exam that follows the course being waived.To document experience, applicants need to indicate the name
of the case, case number, jurisdiction/court, attorney for whom applicant
was working—name, address, and phone, and, where applicable, the year
deposition and/or testimony was given.

If you do not meet Experience Prerequisites
Applicants who do not meet the experience requirement but fulfill all other certification requirements, can use the credential but must refer to themselves as a “CFFA Candidate” until they can substantiate the minimum experience require-ment. Candidates have three years to substantiate minimum experience to obtain the credential and must comply with CFFA Recertification Requirements.

Recertification

1. CFFAs must obtain 36 hours of CPE (Continuing Professional Education) in areas of valuation, litigation or financial forensics consulting, or related applications in each three-year period starting with the calendar year after the year the credential is received (i.e., if you receive the CFFA in October 2007, you would be required to fulfill this CPE requirement by December 31, 2010). Evidence of compliance means attesting to which courses—or parts of courses taken—meet the requirement. NACVA has not defined specific approved courses, but any course or conference sponsored or endorsed by NACVA, or any course or conference with valuation, litigation, financial forensics or fraud in its title would clearly apply. There will be gray areas, i.e., courses having some application to these disciplines, and we ask designees to use their best judgment to determine compliance and the appropriate hours to report. NACVA reserves the right to request more specific proof or evidence of course attendance and content, upon which a full determination can be made as to actual compliance to the CPE requirement.
2. The applicant must show evidence of participation in six engagements that fall within the scope of the credential, meaning the specialty area under which the applicant certified.

Experience Waiver
Applicants to NACVA’s a) Financial Litigation program can waive the five-day “Litigation Bootcamp for Financial Experts” training requirement for the CFFA by showing proof of involvement in twenty different litigation matters, ten of which the applicant gave depositions and/or expert testimony, with at least one matter before a jury. Applicants to NACVA’s: b) Forensic Accounting, c) Fraud Prevention and Detection, d) Economic Damages, e) Valuing Intangible Assets/Intellectual Property, and f) Matrimonial Litigation Support, can waive the CFFA training requirement to the three-day “Fundamentals of Financial Litigation” by showing proof of involvement in eight different litigation matters, three of which the applicant gave deposition and/or expert testimony. (This experience requirement can be met by attending the three-day NACVA-sponsored course entitled, “Expert Witness Bootcamp.”) The Experience Waiver does not waive the requirement to take and pass the exam that follows the course being waived.

To document experience, applicants need to indicate the name of the case, case number, jurisdiction/court, attorney for whom applicant was working—name, address, and phone, and, where applicable, the year deposition and/or testimony was given.

If you do not meet Experience Prerequisites
Applicants who do not meet the experience requirement but fulfill all other certification requirements, can use the credential but must refer to themselves as a “CFFA Candidate” until they can substantiate the minimum experience requirement. Candidates have three years to substantiate minimum experience to obtain the credential and must comply with CFFA Recertification Requirements.