Qualifications for the MAFF
Master Analyst in Financial Forensics® (MAFF®)
The MAFF credential is designed to provide assurance to the legal and business communities—the primary users of financial litigation services—that the designee possesses a level of experience and knowledge deemed acceptable by the Association and its Litigation Forensics Board (LFB) to provide competent and professional financial litigation support services. To earn the MAFF credential, applicants must meet certain prerequisites and experience requirements, plus they must pass a five-hour proctored exam that establishes the individual’s aptitude with NACVA's The Core Body of Knowledge for Master Analyst in Financial Forensics. To prepare for the exam, NACVA offers an optional five-day course entitled, Foundations of Financial Forensics Training Center. To support our MAFF designees and the entire financial forensics discipline, NACVA offers intermediate to advanced training in specialty areas. Those areas are:
- Commercial Damages and Lost Profits;
- Business Interruptions and Lost Profits;
- Matrimonial Litigation;
- Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Restructuring;
- Business Valuation in Litigation;
- Business and Intellectual Property Damages;
- Personal Injury and Wrongful Death;
- Forensic Accounting;
- Fraud Investigations and Fraud Risk Management.
Earning the credential requires consideration of all of the applicant’s qualifications and commitment to the discipline; this includes prior education and experience, testing, and compliance with recertification requirements.
The MAFF 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 was the first of its kind, but because it is substantial in all regards It is a credential to help practitioners build a career in the financial litigation/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 the field.
The MAFF 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 was the first of its kind, but because it is substantial in all regards It is a credential to help practitioners build a career in the financial litigation/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 the field.
Note: financial forensics, forensic accounting, and financial litigation are used interchangeably
MAFF Credential Criteria
1. Basic Education Prerequisite:
Applicants must possess a bachelor degree, or higher, with a concentration or focus in a business field (i.e., management, economics, finance, marketing, accounting, or other business field) from an accredited college or university. Military or federal law enforcement training in the below listed occupational specialties satisfies the requirement of a degree:
MOS 35L—Military Occupation Specialty 35L Counterintelligence Special Agent
MOS 351L—Military Occupation Specialty 351L Counterintelligence Supervisory Special Agent
GS-1811—Federal Criminal Investigator Classification Series
FLETC CITP—Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Criminal Investigator Training Program
MOS 351L—Military Occupation Specialty 351L Counterintelligence Supervisory Special Agent
GS-1811—Federal Criminal Investigator Classification Series
FLETC CITP—Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Criminal Investigator Training Program
For military experience, proof of time spent in the specified job codes above is required and must show one year for every 1,000-hour requirement.
Government employees require a minimum GS-12 or comparable rating (exceptions will be considered upon written request from a supervisor attesting to the applicant’s qualifications and competency to pursue certification).
2. Basic Experience Prerequisite:
Basic experience in financial forensics can be demonstrated by documenting experience in one of the following two ways of which the LFB has determined to be roughly equivalent in providing a solid foundation for candidates pursuing this credential:
a) Having obtained substantial knowledge (2,000 hours or more) of financial forensics theory, methodologies, and practices, through one or a combination of: education, publishing, research, teaching, and/or working in activities related to, or a subset within, the field of financial forensics (see 1 through 9 above); or
b) Holding one or more of the following credentials that is still active, meaning you are current with all fees and requirements:
CVA—Certified Valuation Analyst,
ABAR—Accredited in Business Appraisal Review,
ABV—Accredited in Business Valuation,
ASA—Accredited Senior Appraiser,
AM—Accredited Member of the ASA,
CA—Chartered Accountant,
CAMS—Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist,
CBA—Certified Business Appraiser,
CBV—Chartered Business Valuator,
CDFA—Certified Divorce Financial Analyst,
CFA—Chartered Financial Analyst,
CFCS—Certified Financial Crime Specialist,
CFE—Certified Fraud Examiner,
CFF—Certified in Financial Forensics,
CIA—Certified Internal Auditor,
CIRA—Certified Insolvency & Restructuring Advisor,
CMA—Certified Management Accountant,
CM&AA—Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor,
Cr.FA—Certified Forensic Accountant,
CPA—Certified Public Accountant,
CPVA—Certified Patent Valuation Analyst,
MCBA—Master Certified Business Appraiser,
ABAR—Accredited in Business Appraisal Review,
ABV—Accredited in Business Valuation,
ASA—Accredited Senior Appraiser,
AM—Accredited Member of the ASA,
CA—Chartered Accountant,
CAMS—Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist,
CBA—Certified Business Appraiser,
CBV—Chartered Business Valuator,
CDFA—Certified Divorce Financial Analyst,
CFA—Chartered Financial Analyst,
CFCS—Certified Financial Crime Specialist,
CFE—Certified Fraud Examiner,
CFF—Certified in Financial Forensics,
CIA—Certified Internal Auditor,
CIRA—Certified Insolvency & Restructuring Advisor,
CMA—Certified Management Accountant,
CM&AA—Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor,
Cr.FA—Certified Forensic Accountant,
CPA—Certified Public Accountant,
CPVA—Certified Patent Valuation Analyst,
MCBA—Master Certified Business Appraiser,
or other recognized accounting or financial credentials subject to NACVA HQ approval.
Applicants must be prepared to provide evidence of having the requisite basic experience. NACVA’s LFB reserves the right to request proof and/or interview the applicant.
Alternatively, applicants may show proof of participating in 20 Matters in a financial forensics capacity, or 2,000 hours in business valuation services, of which 500 hours are in one or more of the specialty areas, as defined in 1 through 9 above.
The LFB considers the Training requirement under this prerequisite to be approximately equivalent to the alternative Experience requirement. An applicant who has not taken the applicable Training or who falls short of the requisite Experience may still take the examination and, upon passing, qualify for MAFF “Candidate” Status.
4. Examination
The applicant must pass a proctored exam which is five hours in length, comprised of multiple-choice questions, and is administered at most NACVA sponsored training events, at testing centers nationwide, and proctored online.(Candidates must meet the Basic Education and Experience requirements to sit for the exam.)
The test to qualify for the MAFF is drawn from the FFBOK, which NACVA’s course, Foundations of Financial Forensics Training Center, teaches to and addresses a broad range of concepts applicable to the field of financial forensics. This course is not required to qualify for the exam, but it is recommended to ensure a foundational knowledge regarding financial forensics. We note, there are other ways to obtain this foundational knowledge through books and course work taken through other organizations.
5. References
The applicant must submit two business (associate, manager, client, etc.) and two professional (attorney, judge, credentialed financial expert, etc.) references who can: substantiate the applicant’s stature in the community, attest to the applicant’s standards of ethics, and attest to the quality of applicant’s work product.
Proof of additional financial credentials such as those listed in 2.b) above, if provided, reduce the four reference requirement to only two, which can be two business, two professional, or one of each.
6. Membership
The applicant may be a Practitioner member of NACVA. Practitioner membership is not required. To maintain the credential, one must maintain Active status with the Association, in one of two ways:
a) Through membership, which conveys all the benefits therein, requires annual dues, and compliance with NACVA’s recertification requirements; or
b) Through an annual credential administration fee and required compliance with NACVA’s recertification requirements. This is not a membership and does not convey any membership benefits.
Matters
“Matters” is defined as follows: An engagement in one of the nine specialty areas for which the expert rendered a significant amount of professional services and served as a lead professional (a significant amount of services will typically require a minimum of 40 hours of the candidate’s time and the issuance of a report); or a legal dispute (usually involving the filing of a lawsuit) for which the expert served as a lead professional in the rendering of a significant amount of professional services in the field.
The Litigation Forensics Board (LFB) does not require, accredit, approve, endorse, or recommend any education or training programs and/or products designed or intended to prepare candidates for MAFF certification. The LFB has no involvement in the development or delivery of such programs or products.
The Litigation Forensics Board (LFB) is solely responsible for essential decisions related to the development, administration, and ongoing maintenance of the MAFF certification program. Impartiality is central to carrying out all of the LFB’s certification activities. The LFB establishes and implements policies to manage conflicts of interest and ensure the objectivity of its certification activities.
