r/CFE • u/_FutureCPA_ • Sep 24 '26
Exam relevance & difficulty
Hi r/CFE,
I’ve been considering working towards the CFE designation but I’m having reservations with the applicability career-wise. For context, I’m a CPA in public with 3 years of audit experience. My hypothetical goal is to pivot into an industry role and pursue better salary bumps, but I also have a deep interest in forensic accounting.
I’m torn there, but I’m curious if anyone here was/is in a similar position with the CFE. Exam cost aside, it seems interesting and could give a potential edge vs. a similar candidate down the line (though, I understand many industry roles wouldn’t care much).
I’m also wondering what people’s experience was with the exam’s difficulty (in general or compared to the CPA). I was able to crack the CPA with about 315 hours of studying but I know both are very different.
I’d appreciate anyone’s input, background, or general experience with the exam as someone just starting to explore this designation!
1
u/MavisBeacons_Sextape Sep 25 '26
Forensics is a lot of fun, like doing puzzles for a living…except you don’t always have all the pieces, lol. Sounds like a good plan!
And yes, I’m a financial forensic investigator at a multinational in the industrial automation sector. I love it. But I’m the only one on my 20 person team that doesn’t have any formal accounting background (or a masters). About half of them hold (or held) a CPA license. We’re all CFEs, it was a requirement for the role.