CAFS study plan
CAFS · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Fraud Risk Management and Prevention
Map each component of a fraud risk management program (prevention, deterrence, detection, response) to specific exam objectives
Build a fraud risk assessment matrix for a mid-size company covering asset misappropriation, corruption, and financial statement fraud
Apply the fraud triangle and fraud diamond to three written scenarios and identify which leg drives the scheme
Draft an anti-fraud policy outline covering code of conduct, whistleblower hotline, vendor due diligence, and tone at the top
Your checkpoint
Fraud risk assessment matrix with at least 12 scored risk rows (likelihood x impact) plus a one-page anti-fraud policy outline
Fraud Risk Management and Prevention & Internal Controls and Financial Transaction Cycles
Classify 20 sample controls as preventive, detective, or corrective and justify each classification
Trace the revenue, procurement-to-pay, payroll, and cash disbursement cycles and flag the fraud exposure points in each
Design a segregation-of-duties grid for a small accounts payable function and identify every incompatible pairing
Evaluate a set of control weaknesses and recommend cost-justified remediation for each
Your checkpoint
Control matrix covering four transaction cycles, each with at least three fraud exposures, three controls, and one remediation recommendation
Fraud Investigation and Evidence Handling
Sequence investigation phases from predication through case closure and state the decision point at each phase
Distinguish documentary, testimonial, physical, observational, and digital evidence and rank their typical evidentiary weight
Apply chain-of-custody requirements to a simulated evidence intake, including logging, storage, and transfer
Assess five fact patterns to determine whether sufficient predication exists to open an investigation
Your checkpoint
Written case plan for a sample allegation plus a completed chain-of-custody log template and evidence handling checklist
Fraud Investigation and Evidence Handling & Fraud Detection and Data Analytics
Outline procedures for obtaining, imaging, hashing, and preserving digital evidence from email, ERP systems, and endpoints
Run five core analytics tests (Benford's law, duplicate payments, round-dollar amounts, gap detection, trend outliers) on a sample dataset
Convert red-flag analytics results into a prioritized investigative lead list with justification
Document limitations and data-quality caveats that affect the reliability of each test
Your checkpoint
Analytics workpaper describing five tests with data fields, thresholds, expected red flags, and interpretation guidance, plus a one-page evidence handling SOP
Fraud Detection and Data Analytics
Compare proactive and reactive detection techniques and select the right approach for four given fraud scenarios
Interpret anomaly indicators such as period-end journal entries, unusual user access, and outlier vendor master records
Design eight continuous monitoring tests with data sources, thresholds, and escalation triggers
Explain how to mitigate false positives and communicate analytic findings to non-technical stakeholders
Your checkpoint
Fraud detection and analytics playbook containing eight detection tests with required fields, thresholds, and escalation paths
Legal, Regulatory, and Reporting Requirements & Ethics and Professional Standards
Outline the legal elements of fraud under common law, criminal statutes, and civil remedies
Map reporting obligations by audience and timing: internal escalation, audit committee, regulators, and law enforcement
Apply confidentiality, privilege, privacy, and defamation considerations to four disclosure scenarios
Resolve five ethical dilemma scenarios using the professional code of ethics and document the reasoning
Your checkpoint
Regulatory reporting matrix (who reports, what, when, to whom) plus written responses to five ethics scenarios
Interviewing, Documentation, and Report Writing & Ethics and Professional Standards
Structure an investigation report with executive summary, scope, methodology, findings, evidence, conclusion, and recommendations
Draft a two-stage interview plan moving from non-accusatory to accusatory questioning for two witnesses
Rewrite five weak findings statements so fact, inference, and opinion are clearly separated
Edit a sample report for clarity, neutrality, and defensibility in a legal proceeding
Your checkpoint
Full mock investigation report (5-7 pages) with a supporting interview plan for two witnesses
Fraud Risk Management and Prevention & Fraud Detection and Data Analytics & Fraud Investigation and Evidence Handling & Legal, Regulatory, and Reporting Requirements & Internal Controls and Financial Transaction Cycles & Ethics and Professional Standards & Interviewing, Documentation, and Report Writing
Complete a full-length timed practice exam and score results by domain
Analyze every missed item to identify the underlying knowledge gap rather than the surface error
Rebuild condensed recall notes for the two lowest-scoring domains
Rehearse rapid recall of key frameworks: fraud triangle, control types, evidence hierarchy, reporting matrix
Your checkpoint
Practice exam score report with a per-domain remediation list and all seven domains at or above 75 percent
Milestones
Week 2: Score 75 percent or higher on a timed Domain 1 question set and submit the completed four-cycle control matrix
Week 4: Complete the five-test analytics workpaper and evidence handling SOP; explain chain-of-custody requirements aloud without notes
Week 6: Reporting matrix finalized and ethics scenario responses scored 80 percent or higher against the professional code
Week 8: Full-length practice exam at or above 75 percent overall with no domain below 70 percent