Pfeiffer University Master of Business Administration in Financial Fraud: Our 2027 Review

At $400 per credit hour, Pfeiffer's online MBA with a financial fraud focus is a budget-friendly way to add fraud skills to a full business degree. You'll finish in 15 months, with no live virtual meetings, and your coursework covers fraud law, fraud analytics with real investigation software, cybercrime and money laundering.

From its home in Misenheimer, North Carolina, private nonprofit Pfeiffer University offers a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Financial Fraud, a 33-credit online program you can complete in 15 months. Pfeiffer pairs core business skills with key concepts and best practices in forensic accounting, risk management, regulatory compliance and fraud examination techniques, and you'll see a strong emphasis on ethics and corporate accountability throughout.

The school says it prepares you for roles in banking, insurance and corporate governance. Because it's a full MBA, the business skills you build also apply to finance, healthcare, marketing, logistics and more, which keeps your options wide.

You'll pay $400 per credit hour, and the degree is 33 credit hours. Pfeiffer's program page calls that affordable tuition, and the per-credit rate stays the same whichever courses you take. Both numbers are on the program page, so you can plan your full cost yourself.

Ask the admissions office about fees, payment options, employer tuition benefits and military discounts. You'll need an undergraduate grade point average of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale or a graduate degree from an accredited college or university.

33 credits at $400 a credit comes to $13,200 in tuition, before fees.

• Financial professionals who want to add anti-fraud skills to a business degree.
• Career changers and recent finance, accounting or business graduates, the groups the program page names.
• Remote workers who need asynchronous classes, since there are no live virtual meetings.
• Budget-minded students, with tuition set at $400 per credit hour.
• Compliance-minded readers aiming at anti-money laundering, fraud risk or chief compliance roles.

The financial fraud focus sits on top of the MBA core, and it moves through the layers of a fraud case.

Internal Controls and Corporate Governance looks at the relationship between governance, management, internal controls, risk management and fraud. You'll explore case studies of fraud that resulted from weak controls and learn to identify control failures and prepare for examinations.

Fraud and the Law covers criminal and civil law related to fraud and the regulatory environment. It's research intensive, and you'll become competent in writing legal briefs.

Fraud Analytics is the hands-on one. You'll use computer-aided forensic accounting techniques, data mining and case management software to identify and prevent fraud, with tools such as IDEA and ACL applied to simulated real-world cases.

In Information Security Assurance, you'll cover best practices for protecting information systems, with case studies of information technology security failures.

Advanced Issues in Cybercrime, Cyber Forensics, and Anti-Money Laundering has you research real cybercrime cases and prepare a class presentation on how each was uncovered and investigated.

One graduate says the program offered in-depth exposure to financial fraud investigation from varying perspectives, spanning corporate governance, law, information security, internal control and fraud analytics.

Courses the School Names

• Internal Controls and Corporate Governance
• Fraud and the Law
• Fraud Analytics
• Advanced Issues in Cybercrime, Forensic, and Money Laundering

Standout Features

• Flexible, asynchronous online classes with no live virtual meetings required
• Fraud Analytics course uses computer-aided tools for forensic accounting investigation and data mining
• Graduate in 15 months

This is an online-first program built from flexible, asynchronous courses designed for professionals. The page states that no live virtual meetings are required, so you'll do the work when your schedule allows. You can complete the program in 15 months, and the credit load is 33 semester hours.

Sarina Dunn, a management accountant who works fully remotely, found the program's online structure an immediate fit. She says a course on financial valuations helped her connect her accounting expertise to finance frameworks, and she saw where the bridge is. If you have questions, Pfeiffer lists the program contact as Susan Luck, Professor of Business Administration.

The program is accredited by ACBSP. Pfeiffer says it prepares you for a wide range of roles across financial services, government and corporate sectors, including financial crime analyst, anti-money laundering compliance officer, fraud risk manager, financial examiner or investigator, and chief compliance officer.

A graduate of Pfeiffer's financial fraud study says their instructors came from legal, accounting, business and academic backgrounds, which exposed them to career perspectives that helped them chart a path after graduation. The same graduate says the instructors' encouragement left them ready for the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) exams, and that the Pfeiffer degree was instrumental in passing both.

The ethics and corporate accountability emphasis suits the compliance and governance side of fraud work.

Where this degree can lead: Forensic Accounting Jobs, Certified Fraud Examiner Certification.

The full rubric is on the methodology page.

• A graduate of Pfeiffer's financial fraud study says on the program page that the coursework gave in-depth exposure to fraud investigation from several angles, including governance, law, information security and analytics.

  Source: Pfeiffer University website

• The same graduate says the degree and certifications led to career advancement and a significant lift in earning potential, and calls the program one of the best decisions of their professional life.

  Source: Pfeiffer University website

• Which courses make up the financial fraud focus this year, and in what order do students take them?
• How does the 15-month timeline break down by term?
• Which software, such as IDEA and ACL, do students get access to in Fraud Analytics?
• Which courses do graduates lean on most when they prepare for the CFE and CAMS exams?
• What fees come on top of the $400 per credit hour?
• How do students without a business background succeed in the MBA core?
• How does the final project work, and can it take a fraud topic?

• Best Forensic Accounting Programs Rank 22 of 27, master's
• Best Master's Programs Rank 22 of 27, master's
• Best Online Programs Rank 18 of 20, master's
• Fraud Examination Programs Rank 9 of 10, master's
• MBA With Forensic Concentration Rank 5 of 6, master's
• Cheapest Programs Rank 1 of 15, master's

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