How Can I Become a Fraud Risk Analyst?
Explore the career requirements for fraud risk analysts. Get the facts about job duties, education requirements, preferred skills and job outlook to determine if this is the right career for you.
What Is a Fraud Risk Analyst?
Fraud risk analysts analyze and quantify the risk of loss and create strategies to reduce or eliminate risk. They may work in a variety of industries but usually work for banks or law enforcement. Their duties might include tracking financial data, investigating potential situations of fraud, and creating tools to prevent fraud. Fraud risk analysts must have detailed knowledge of finance and computer programs to perform their jobs. Take a look at the following chart for an overview of how to enter this field.
<table border="1"><tr><td><b>Degree Required</b></td><td> Bachelor's degree</td></tr>
<tr><td><b> Education Field of Study</b></td><td> Statistics, accounting, economics, mathematics</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Key Skills</b></td><td> Detail-oriented, strong problem-solving skills, programming and database experience</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Job Growth (2020-2030)</b></td><td> 6% for all financial specialists*</td></tr>
<tr><td><b> Median Salary (2021)</b></td><td> $51,441**</td></tr>
</table><p><i>Sources: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, **PayScale.com. </i>
</p><h3 id="section---WhatEducationWillINeed">What Education Will I Need?</h3><p>You need a bachelor's degree to hold most fraud risk analyst positions. Employers seek analysts with majors in statistics, accounting, economics, mathematics or other quantitative subjects. Your coursework may include classes in data analysis, forecasting risk, statistical modeling and research. Some employers prefer a graduate degree for senior-level analysts or fraud risk management jobs.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatSkillsWillINeed">What Skills Will I Need?</h3><p>You need to be detail-oriented and have strong problem-solving skills. If you have advanced computer skills, particularly programming and database experience, you may be more attractive to employers seeking to fill fraud risk analyst positions. These skills include SAS, SPSS and SQL programming. Previous experience in fraud detection, financial services, risk analysis and risk management is desirable.
</p><h3 id="section---WhichIndustriesCanIWorkInAsAFraudRiskAnalyst">Which Industries Can I Work in as a Fraud Risk Analyst?</h3><p>Fraud risk analysts work in the insurance, financial and retail industries. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and the Institute of Internal Auditors suggest or mandate fraud risk assessments. Careers include loss prevention, financial crime analysis, insurance fraud prevention and fraud analysis. Some organizations add fraud risk analysis duties to other job roles instead of hiring a full-time fraud risk analyst. Job roles that typically include fraud risk analysis are risk management, financial auditing and quality assurance.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatJobDutiesWillIHave">What Job Duties Will I Have?</h3><p>Regardless of the industry, fraud risk analysts analyze and quantify the risk of loss, keep current with emerging trends and create strategies to reduce or eliminate risk. You do this by performing risk assessments, building risk models and controls, creating a plan for managing fraud risk and helping to create a plan for early fraud detection. In some cases, you may be responsible for providing fraud risk awareness training to other employees in the organization.
</p><h3 id="section---WhatAreSomeRelatedAlternativeCareers">What Are Some Related Alternative Careers?</h3><p>Individuals interested in a fraud risk analysis career may also want to consider some related alternative careers which require only a bachelor's degree for entry-level employment. For example, financial managers work for a wide range of organizations to plan and organize the company's finances. These managers tend to have significant work experience in the finance sector. Budget analysts make and organize the budgets of a variety of organizations. Personal financial advisors help individuals plan their finances by looking into issues such as investments, taxes, and retirement. In some cases, personal financial advisors need to be licensed.</p>