With days to go before the first Certified Specialist in Asset Recovery* certification exam is offered at the IAAR annual conference in Las Vegas, a growing number of diverse persons in the public and private sectors is signing up to take the landmark certification exam. The CSAR certification and the examination that leads to it are the first attempt ever to identify and isolate for special merit and accreditation the unique, specialized skills that are needed to trace and recover the proceeds of fraud and other crimes.
"Different skills are needed to investigate financial crimes and their perpetrators. Different skills are needed to investigate the hiding, disguising and laundering of the proceeds of crime. The unique knowledge and skills that are needed to trace and recover the proceeds of crime stand by themselves, in many respects," said Charles A. Intriago, a former federal prosecutor who is president of IAAR.
On October 21, the International Association for Asset Recovery* sent the first CSAR Certification Exam Study Guide to the 70 certification candidates that have signed up to take the exam at the IAAR conference in Las Vegas on November 4-6.
The 152-page Study Guide is a best practices guide to worldwide asset tracing and recovery best practices. It was researched and written over five months by dozens of experts with decades of combined experience. Rounds of writing, rewriting and editing by asset recovery* experts and editors fashioned the guide, which contains nine chapters covering crucial topics in asset tracing and recovery specialists, including asset freezing, legal issues, ethical considerations, financial and business records, financial flow analysis and investigative techniques.
"The completion of this study guide and the CSAR certification represent a major step for IAAR and the worldwide asset recovery* community," said Intriago, who, in 2001, founded the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), which created the renowned Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS) credential. More than 8,000 worldwide private and public sector professionals, including law enforcement agents, compliance officers, lawyers and regulators, are CAMS.
Record-setting frauds that otherwise might have gone undetected for years have been brought to light in recent years. While many scam architects sit in prison today, the cases against them are far from closed. There is still the matter of recovering the billions they took. The demand for restitution has spawned an unprecedented need for information and train ing among public and private sector practitioners whose jobs it is to recover the proceeds of crime and fraud.
"Some career paths that once promised little more than a cubicle and computer -- forensic accountants, digital investigators, information analysts -- are today at the vanguard of innovative asset recovery* efforts, in addition to private and public sector investigators, attorneys and investiga tive analysts. IAAR believes the four primary members of asset recovery teams in public and private sec tors share common tools, objectives, missions, frustrations and obstacles, the most important of which are corruption and secrecy," said Patricia Valdes, Assistant Executive Director of IAAR.
Candidates for the CSAR certification may take the web-based examination at more than 500 IAAR-Kryterion testing locations throughout the world, including 320 in the United States and 24 in Canada. Kryterion is a widely-respected psychometric firm that has guided IAAR in the examination-construction process.
Eligibility requirements to sit for the CSAR certification examination are contained in the CSAR Certification Candidate Handbook, which is posted at the IAAR website at iaaronline.org.
The cost of taking the CSAR examination is $595, which includes the CSAR Certification Preparation Study Guide. Persons wishing to take the first exam on Saturday Nov. 6 at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, following the Annual IAAR Conference, may attend the two-day conference and sit for the exam for only $1,720.
Valdes said the study guide also serves as a general reference guide to asset tracing and recovery best practices that practitioners may use as a desk book in their cases.
The examination is based in large measure on universal skills and practices that are required for success in asset recovery* cases, rather than on the laws and procedures that are followed in any one nation.
The IAAR LAS Vegas conference will conduct a special CSAR Certification Preparation Track on the second day. The track consists of four sessions taught by asset recovery* experts, who will provide in-depth review of the subjects and topics that the exam will cover.
Persons with questions about the examination and certification may call Patricia Valdes at 786-517-2715 or e-mail at pvaldes@iaaronline.org.
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