Chapter Profile - Montreal Chapter #203
/The ACFE Montreal Chapter formed in September of 2015 and has made an immediate impact on members in the area. The ACFE has seen membership nearly double in the Montreal area since the chapter began offering trainings and networking opportunities.
“It was great that the ACFE Montreal Chapter was able to participate at the university career fair and talk to students about the CFE credential. It’s important that students get involved in our practice from the beginning of their academic life.”
The Montreal Chapter has nearly 200 members, most of whom are CFEs. Their board includes six members, including two who were also founding members. They recently began a new campaign to attract more student members to the chapter and to introduce them to fraud-related careers. They participated at a university career day where they handed out Fraud Magazines, Report to the Nations, brochures, and more.
Chapter’s training opportunities
The chapter holds four events throughout the year. They have a breakfast meeting in January and an all-day conference in March. They also hold two afternoon conferences with cocktail receptions in May and November.
During their all-day conference in March, there were six presentations. One of the presentations was titled, “Works of Art and Money Laundering.” They also had a polygraph professional present and demonstrated a live, unrehearsed polygraph test on one of the audience members.
Supporting the ACFE’s conference in Canada
In 2016, the chapter was instrumental in helping the Fraud Conference Canada reach 300 attendees, which was the largest ACFE conference in Canada at that time. They heavily marketed the conference on social media when many chapters had not yet started to use it. This November, the ACFE will be back in Montreal for the 2019 Fraud Conference Canada, and again, the chapter helped reach another attendance record, as the conference is close to selling out at 350 attendees!
Montreal Chapter Leaders with ACFE student package winner. From left to right, Matthew Bernier, CFE, Kate Cayen, Tania Ramirez, CFE, Sylvain Hansley (student winner), Souad Bensid, and Thomas Feray, CFE.
Their greatest achievement
The chapter held a contest in which participating students had to write a one-page letter to the Chapter’s Board of Directors explaining their interest in the fraud profession. The student with the best letter received a complimentary ACFE Student Package, which includes a CFE Exam Prep Course, CFE Exam, and one-year ACFE membership. The student is currently studying and is planning to pass all four sections of the exam by the end of November 2019.
Lessons learned
The location where they held one of their conferences had a malfunctioning thermostat. The room temperature either went to extreme hot or cold temperatures. In addition to the temperature problems, there was also a buzzing sound coming from the back of the room that they could not get rid of. They now do their homework about new locations they consider for their events.
Bringing in new members
The chapter gives presentations at various universities across Montreal. They participate at university open houses and career fairs, talking about fraud and the chapter. They also collaborate with other local organizations to cross-promote events on their websites, offer members of both organizations special discounts on training events, and cosponsor conferences so that members of both organizations can network and learn about different professions.
Recognizing their longest serving board member
“Don’t give up! Doing this work as volunteers, in addition to our professions and family lives, and the work the ACFE chapters across the globe are doing is of great importance. We are giving our anti-fraud professionals a place where they can keep abreast of the latest techniques in fraud investigations, fraud awareness, and provides a platform for our members to network with other professionals.”
They would like to acknowledge Matthew Bernier, Vice-President Information Technologies. He has been on the board since its inception in 2015. He is the backbone of their chapter and he is the board member who has stayed with the chapter the longest!
Goals for the future
They would like to continue working with universities in Montreal and perhaps expand this initiative throughout the entire Province of Quebec. It is important for students to be aware of the profession and learn about ethics and fraud deterrence.
They would also like to continue to grow their membership. This seems more attainable now with the new partnership with the local IIA.
