CISA stands for Certified Information Systems Auditor. It is globally acknowledged as the standard for IT professionals that monitor, audit, secure, and control data. To achieve a Certificate in CISA, you need dedication, hard work, and time.
Meeting the requirements for CISA Certification
It needs 5 years of professional work experience in information systems auditing, security, or control. Even with 3 years of experience, a waiver can be received if you have the following: At least one year of IS or non-IS auditing experience, two or four years degree that can be replaced with the remaining two years of experience, having a bachelor’s degree from a university that follows the ISACA- sponsored curriculum which can be replaced with one year of experience, acquiring Master’s degree in IT or IS university, which can be replaced with one year of experience. You can still appear for the exams before meeting these criteria, and after the requirements are met, you’ll receive CISA designation. The criteria or the rules must be completed within five years of passing the exam.
Qualifying CISA Examination
CISA exam has a grade scale of 200 to 800 points. In order to pass the CISA exam, you need to acquire a score of 450 or above. The timed exam lasts for 4 hours in which 150 multiple choice based questions will be given. These contain all the five important job practice areas in IS audit, security, and control.
The knowledge of CISA domains
- The first domain includes the basic knowledge of IT auditing. It also involves the process and strategy on how to plan audits, communicate audit results, conduct an audit, and the rechecking process to ensure if anything requires adjustment.
- The second domain contains all the necessary steps required of evaluation that IT auditors must take assure that everything is in place including the leadership, organizational structure, and the procedures to attain certain goals and objectives that are required to support the strategies of an organization. It includes the evaluation of IT strategies, organizational structures, governance, portfolio management, risk management, monitoring control, resource management, and the plan for the continuation of the organization’s business.
- The third domain involves some necessary steps such as acquisition, testing, development, and implementation of IT systems. This helps in achieving certain goals created by the organization, such as ensuring that the organization is following best practices. It also focuses on the completion of the work within the given time
- The fourth domain includes most of the steps required for ensuring that the processes for IT operations, service, and management are on par as the goals of the organization. It helps in maintaining the quality of data, managing the database, and evaluating IT operations so that they are heading in the same direction as the goals or strategies of the business set by the organization.
- The fifth domain ensures that the entire process is safe and secure. It ensures the safety of the business data.
Completion of the training period of CISA
There is a various range of steps provided by that ISACA to prepare you for the CISA examination. You can choose between online or in-person classes best suitable for you. You can also get downloaded materials and questions for which the correct answers will also be provided. You can also get courses outside of ISACA by various other companies.
The cost of CISA Examination and its Maintenance
The early registration fee is $545 for regular candidates and for the candidates having ISACA membership have a registration fee of $415. In order to keep your CISA certification, a minimum of 20 hours of professional education credits is needed every year and a minimum of 120 hours every three years. There’s an annual maintenance fee of $85 for regular members and $45 for ISACA members.
Reasons to acquire CISA Certification.
- The expectant salary of IT auditors with CISA Certification is around $99,000 to $107,342 every year.
- It is proof of your knowledge and experience in this specific field.
- It plays a role in boosting up the salary.
- It gives you an advantage over the candidates that do not have CISA Certification.
- It increases your value to companies.
Hence, acquiring a CISA Certification makes your resume look more appealing to the recruiters. It makes you stand out amongst the other candidates. It provides you with more experience and helps to showcase your talents and skills. It gives a better salary and a stable job which does need extreme hard work.
