The Certified Specialist in Asset 
Recovery process is long, complex and inclusionary. All members of the asset recovery team* -- including lawyers, investigators, forensic accountants and information analysts -- are involved. It requires hundreds of hours, dozens of experts, hundreds of survey responses, a psychometric firm, an experienced professional staff, and much perseverance. This is how it's done the right way.
The result of this work involving hundreds of hours of top professionals is an examination that will be the gold standard in the field, a landmark development in the world of asset recovery* that gives fraud victims and government agencies a standard to discern the best from the rest.
The CSAR examination debuted on Nov. 6, 2010, and will provide for successful candidates the Certified Specialist in Asset Recovery* (CSAR) credential. This certification will validate asset recovery* knowledge and skill and provide objective, verifiable evidence of competence in sound asset recovery* policies and procedures. The CSAR certification is a multi-disciplinary credential for asset recovery* professionals across various occupations and disciplines.
CSAR is the first independent asset recovery* certification program that is not tied to a product, consulting service or software. It adheres to strict psychometric competency principles to assure that the examination is a fair, unambiguous test of knowledge and skill and is legally defensible. CSAR hired one of the leading psychometric and testing firms, Kryterion, to assure testing soundness, security and integrity. The examination will provide an assessment of a candidate's knowledge and skill on best practices. It will not be a test of knowledge of any product, training course or software. CSAR is self-funded and totally independent of vendors, attorneys and consultants.
By earning the CSAR credential, a person who works in any aspect of asset recovery* in the public or private sectors or with any entity will validate their asset recovery* skills and display objective, verifiable evidence of competence in relevant policies and procedures. IAAR believes that CSAR-earners will enhance their career, provide reassurance to their employers that they know how to do asset recovery* the right way, and advance their careers more rapidly and with greater pay.
Yes. Download it here.
Yes. Candidates who register for the CSAR exam will receive a copy of the Study Guide for the CSAR Certification Exam.
To be eligible to sit for the CSAR Examination, you must: 1.) be an active Member of IAAR; 2.) document at least 50 qualifying credits in asset tracing and recovery and closely-related fields based on education and training, professional certifications and professional experience; and 3.) provide three professional references.
The certification exam will test a candidate's knowledge in 9 major areas of asset recovery*, covering many things from legal considerations in asset recovery* and ethics to financial flow analysis and investigative techniques.
The CSAR exam consists of multiple-choice and multiple select questions based on a scenario related to asset recovery* processes. There are no essay questions.
Candidates authorized to take the CSAR exam must follow Kryterion's specialized security protocols at the testing venue. These include biometric management methods to assure identity, video surveillance, proctored environments, high-walled cubicles and other security measures. IAAR follows the same standards as those imposed for examinations for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Series 7 securities licenses.
Yes. Following the standards of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE), a professional certification program such as the CSAR is a competency assessment based on industry knowledge and practice, fully independent of training courses and course providers. This certification is granted only to those who meet the assessment standards. The CSAR examination meets the highest standards of a professional certification program.
The input of experts representing all members of the asset recovery team* contributed to fashioning the 9 major areas that are the basis of the CSAR exam.
Absolutely not. We've done it before with success. Our track record speaks for itself, most notably with the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) credential, which we created and launched in 2001. Today the CAMS is the world standard-bearer in a similar multidisciplinary field. The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) today has more than 7,500 certified and 10,000 total members in about 130 countries. The CAMS certification is held by thousands of corporate, government, financial institution and other officials.
The CSAR certification is built along the same lines as the CAMS certification and follows the same psychometric principles of soundness, integrity and professionalism. Both organizations adhere to the standards of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). We are well-equipped to devise and construct the CSAR certification because our professional staff has years of certification, training and education experience.
No. IAAR is self-funded and is owned and operated by professionals with decades of combined experience in running first-class certification programs, training programs and independent member associations. The CSAR exam is strictly vendor-neutral.
IAAR is a membership association committed to enhancing the capabilities, recognition, job performance and careers of its Members. It seeks to improve the knowledge and skills of its Members so they may do their jobs better and help their employers -- in the private and public sectors -- achieve better results, reduce costs and contain risks. IAAR also seeks to enrich the careers of its members by expanding their contacts, horizons and networks through live and online events, including conferences in South Florida, Las Vegas and London. It will also provide them with career networking and employment aids, including salary surveys, and connect them with asset recovery* specialists and IAAR members in other domestic and international regions.
IAAR follows the business models of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), which awards the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) certification, and ACAMS, which awards the Certified Anti-Money Laundering (CAMS) certification, to persons who pass an examination and meet certain requirements. Both are privately-funded independent associations that cater to the professional needs of hundreds of corporations and U.S., state and local government agencies whose employees share common challenges and concerns. Organizational and individual members of ACFE and ACAMS represent some of the largest organizations in the United States and the world, and many civilian and military U.S. government agencies.
For information and to register for the CSAR certification examination, call Debbie Pelland at 786-517-2701, email dpelland@iaaronline.org.
