Methodology

The 2020 Report to the Nations is based on the results of the ACFE 2019 Global Fraud Survey, an online survey of Certified Fraud Examiners conducted from July 2019 to September 2019. Respondents were asked to provide information about the single largest occupational fraud case they had investigated that met the following four criteria:

1. The case must have involved occupational fraud.
2. The investigation must have occurred between January 2018 and the time of survey participation.
3. The investigation must have been complete at the time of survey participation.
4. The respondent must have been reasonably sure the perpetrator(s) was (were) identified.

Respondents were presented with 77 questions regarding the details of the fraud case, including information about the perpetrator, the victim organization, and the methods of fraud employed, as well as fraud trends in general. After completing the survey the first time, respondents were provided the option to submit information about a second case that they investigated. We received 7,516 total responses to the survey, 2,504 of which were usable for purposes of the report.

Terms of Use

The Report to the Nations is available for use free of charge as a public service of the ACFE. You may download, copy and/or distribute the Report to the Nations for personal or business use on the following conditions:

1. No portion of the Report to the Nations may be sold or otherwise licensed, shared or transferred to any party for a fee, or included in any work that is to be sold, licensed, shared or transferred to any party for a fee, without the express written consent of the ACFE. The foregoing notwithstanding, you are permitted to use the Report to the Nations as part of a speech or presentation for which an admission fee is charged.
2. The Report to the Nations must be properly attributed to the ACFE, including the name of the publication. An example of proper attribution is: "2020 Report to the Nations. Copyright 2020 by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Inc."