Taking the AVFA Certification Exam

I have to say that signing up and taking the AVFA certification exam was a rather pleasant experience. Yes, that seems a bit odd to say. But, it's true. It should be true that an organization treats you like an adult, respectfully walking you through the process of engaging their services.

I started on the ETA-i web site. This is where one pays the exam fees, the first stop in the process. Simply select the "Pay Exam Fees" option in their store, select the exam, and pay the fee.

You can do a bit of scouting as to a testing location ahead of your purchase, and include that information in the purchasing process. It will speed things along a bit. I selected a Prometric testing close by. After I paid the exam fees, ETA-i sent my information and the exam to the testing center. I then paid the proctoring fees to the testing center. In total, I paid $120 in fees.

I can't emphasize this enough, I paid $120 in fees to take this certification exam.

If you're sitting for the LEVA CFVA board, you will have to get there (transportation costs) and stay there at least a few days (hotel and food). Likely, you'll want to stay the whole week and, assuming you pass, get your certificate at the Friday dinner. Assuming average travel costs, you or your agency will spend about $2000 for this experience. This $2000 comes after spending thousands upon thousands in the Levels courses and the electives.

For the IAI's CFVE, the cost of testing is significantly lower than LEVA. The IAI charges $400 for the initial test. Many complain about the process of registering for the exam - the letters of recommendation, the documentation of training, and so forth. Plus, finding a proctor location can also be an issue. You can look at their list of certified examiners here. There are only 22 people on the list. Considering the previous post, and the NAS report's admonition about the need for certified analysts, 22 examiners does not even come close to addressing the need. Then, you can see that there are only 9 new examiners since the original group passed through the gates. That's not sustainable.

At $100, the ETA-i's AVFA is affordable. Many agencies do not support their employees in certification. Mine didn't. Everything I did for LEVA, NaTIA, the IRIT, FISWG, and the OSAC, I did on my own time (vacation / comp time). My decision to not get LEVA certification was as much financial as it was practical - I couldn't afford to go out of pocket on certification given the fact that my employer didn't care if I was certified or not. It wasn't a condition of employment and California does not require it for testimony.

Back to the experience.

I paid my fees to the ETA-i and to the testing center. I made an appointment to take the test and showed up a bit early to fill out the paperwork and sign all the forms. The testing center was just that, a quiet place full of cubicles and people taking a variety of tests. The proctor verified my identity. But the proctor, and the ETA-i, did not ask me about my employer or if I work primarily for "the defense." It shouldn't matter for whom I work or what types of cases I typically process. For the AVFA, the price is the price. No membership fees. No tiered pricing for government / non-government. No defense vs prosecution bias (in truth, I probably spent more time defending my self-insured public agency employer than working as a part of prosecuting criminal cases). That bias has always bugged me.

The test instrument was delivered on time and I had 2 hours to answer 100 questions. A comfortable amount of time for me, given my almost 2 decades of experience in the discipline. Upon completion, I notified the proctor who collected all of the materials and wished me well. I returned to my car and to my day. I wasn't stressed out at all. I was prepared to take the assessment and I was treated respectfully by all parties involved. In all, it was probably one of the more pleasant testing experiences I've experienced.

The testing center does not score the test. That's done back at the ETA-i offices. Thus, there's a bit of a delay in finding out if you've passed. For me, I had the results back in less than a day. I passed the test. In the next week or so, I'll receive the official letter notifying me of the results as well as the actual certificate. They also include a wallet card - perhaps necessary if confronted about one's status.

In thinking back over this whole experience, the ETA-i is separate from all of the training that I've received over the years, as is the testing center. Thus, it seems to comply with the ASTM's E2659 – 09. Standard Practice for Certificate Programs. Their accreditation provider follows ISO/IEC 17024 in providing oversight of the ETA-i's programs. This for me is a big deal. I want to know that the certificate that I just earned is legitimate. Given my experiences with NaTIA and LEVA on retirement, I also want to know that in the transition from police service to private practice I'll be treated the same. I was treated with respect throughout the entire process with the ETA-i.

Given the reach of the ETA-i, as well as the availability of proctoring sites from companies like Prometric, the AVFA seems poised to help the NAS Report's recommendations come to fruition - if there's a certification in your discipline, you should have it. The AVFA's certification is well within the reach (financially) of the average analyst / examiner. It's certainly worth a look.