CISA Certification Training

Benefits of the CISA Certification for Professionals:

• Indicates a working knowledge of information systems
• Commitment to profession
• Provides a career distinction, with enhanced credibility and marketability
• Has exclusive benefits as an ISACA member, including valuable resources such as peer networking and idea exchange
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) earn more than their non-certified counterparts, according to the Global Information Systems Workforce Study
• Satisfies the government and organization requirements for information security certification mandates

-What are the CISA certification requirements?

ISACA expects minimum five years of work experience related to information systems auditing, control or security work experience (as described in the CISA job practice areas).

You must have this work experience in the last 10 years when you applied for the CISA certification or in the last five years when you passed the CISA certification exam. Once you passed the CISA exam, you must apply for CISA certification within 5 years. Otherwise, you have to resit for the CISA exam.

There are substitutions and waivers for CISA work experience to a maximum of 3 years. These are as following:

• A maximum of 1 year of information systems experience OR 1 year of non-IS auditing experience can be substituted for 1 year of experience.
• 60 to 120 completed university semester credit hours (the equivalent of an 2-year or 4-year degree) not limited by the 10-year preceding restriction, can be substituted for 1 or 2 years, respectively, of experience.
• A bachelor's or master's degree from a university that enforces the ISACA-sponsored Model Curricula can be substituted for 1 year of experience. This option cannot be used if 3 years of experience substitution and educational waiver have already been claimed.
• A master's degree in information security or information technology from an accredited university can be substituted for 1 year of experience.

Another exception is for university instructors. 2 years as a full-time university instructor in a related field (e.g., computer science, accounting, information systems auditing) can be substituted for 1 year of experience.

In any case, a CISA certification candidate can waive at most 2 years of work experience. If you satisfy the CISA work experience requirements and if you passed the CISA exam successfully, you can apply for the CISA certification.

-Why do I need CISA Certification?

Small size to Fortune 500 organizations, all employers look qualified information systems personnel to fulfill their vacancies. Information systems management and security is one of the top critical areas that every organization weighs in order to prevent any security breaches.

ISACA assesses the work experience, knowledge and practical experience of an information security professional before granting CISA certification. This makes employers to filter the qualified candidates for their information systems management vacancies. Therefore, CISA certified professionals secure information security positions faster and with a better salary.

Earning CISA certificate will not show only your work and domain experience but also your dedication to information systems management career.

-What is the CISA Certification Cost?

If you are asking about CISA exam fee, it is 575 USD for ISACA members and 760 USD for non-members.

There is no refund or transfer option once you pay the CISA exam fee.

You can schedule your CISA exam date after you pay the CISA exam fee. You will forfeit your fees if you do not schedule and take the exam during your 12-month eligibility period.

If you paid the CISA exam fee and scheduled your exam date, you can reschedule it minimum of 48 hours prior to your scheduled testing appointment. If you are within the 48 hours of your scheduled CISA exam date, you must either take the exam or forfeit the CISA exam fee.

-How should I apply for CISA Certification?

ISACA describes the 5-step CISA certification process as follows:

• 1-) Passing the CISA certification exam: ISACA defines the first step of being CISA certified as passing the CISA exam. After that you can start endorsing your CISA work experience and start certification process.


• 2-) Application for CISA certification: After passing the CISA exam, you must satisfy the five years of CISA work experience related to information systems auditing. You can satisfy some part of this experience if you instructed lectures in a university or if you have cyber security related work experience.


• 3-) Adherence to the Code of Professional Ethics: ISACA expects you to adhere code of professional ethics during CISA certification process.


• 4-) Adherence to the Continuing Professional Education Program: Once you get the CISA certification, you must renew it in every three years. There are three fundamental CPE requirements for CISA renewal. These are:
  
  a. Earn minimum 20 CISA CPE credits each year. ISACA expects CISA certified professionals to keep their knowledge up to date with changing dynamics of the market. Therefore, you must earn 20 CPE credits each year to maintain and renew CISA certification.
  
  b. Earn 120 CISA CPE credits in three-year period. While the minimum CPE credits you must earn is 20 CPEs for each year, you must have completed 120 CISA CPE credits by the end of three-year CISA renewal period. This three-year period starts the next January after you get the CISA certification until end of third years December.
  
  c. Pay annual maintenance fee. You must pay annual maintenance fee of ISACA to maintain your ISACA certification. This is $45 for ISACA members and $85 for non-members. If you do not pay the maintenance fee, you will not be able to log into ISACA CPE submission system to complete your CISA CPE reporting.
  
  You can read more about this process in our CISA certification renewal post.


• 5-) Compliance with the Information Systems Auditing Standards: Individuals holding the CISA designation agree to adhere to the Information Systems Auditing Standards as adopted by ISACA.

-How should I study for CISA Training Program?

After helping thousands of professionals to get ready for the certification exams, we have prepared a 7-step CISA study plan:

• 1. First finish each of the CISA domains by following the course lectures and study materials in each section.


• 2. After completing each domain, take your notes and create a domain summary for your own review. This will help you to recap what you learned in the regarding CISA training section.


• 3. Solve the review questions in the course material. Practicing with as many CISA case studies as possible is the key to pass CISA exam in your first attempt.


• 4. Answer all the questions related to the domain you completed. If you make too many mistakes during your practices, consider reviewing the domain from the beginning
  Do the evaluation tests for the domain you completed, if you score more than 80%, it means you covered this domain very well and ready to proceed to the next domain. If your score is below 80%, we recommend that you review the domain one more time.


• 5. Take notes during you follow the CISA course lectures. These notes will help you to review your CISA study and keep your knowledge refreshed until you take the CISA exam.


• 6. Once you complete the eight domains, practice with the CISA exams.


• 7. After completing the course and taking the sample CISA exams, if you can score over 80% of the questions, you can confidently book your exam date.

-What is the passing score for CISA exam?

There is not any prerequisite for sitting in CISA exam. Any professional who has an interest in information systems audit, control and security can sit for the CISA certification exam.

There are 150 multiple choice questions in CISA exam. Exam duration is four hours.

CISA exam assesses the professionals in five domains. These domains and their weight in the exam are as below:

• Domain 1—The Process of Auditing Information Systems (21%)
• Domain 2—Governance and Management of IT (16%)
• Domain 3—Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation (18%)
• Domain 4—Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and Service Management (20%)
• Domain 5—Protection of Information Assets (25%)

ISACA uses a 200-800 point scale with 450 as the passing mark for the CISA exam. A scaled score is a conversion of the raw score on an exam to a common scale. It is important to note that the exam score is not based on an arithmetic or percent average.

-Can I study for the CISA exam on my own?

Absolutely! You can get ready for CISA exam today if you wanted. You can enroll in an online CISA training and you can follow the 7 steps we outlined in our CISA study plan. After you prepared your CISA study plan and with the help of our online CISA course, you can pass the CISA exam in your first attempt!

Although ISACA does not require CISA aspirants to attend in a CISA training, we strongly recommend you to attend in a comprehensive CISA training. Because, there is a huge CISA exam content and ISACA changes the exam questions frequently. In order to be better prepared and face the most recent real-like CISA exam questions, you must attend in an updated CISA training.

-When is the next CISA Exam - CISA Exam Schedule?

There is not a CISA exam schedule or a fixed CISA exam date you must sit for the exam. CISA exam is conducted by PSI Online test centers. You can schedule your CISA exam from the nearest PSI Online test center. You can book your CISA exam after completing your CISA study and when you are ready to take the CISA exam.

It is important to verify there is a test site available before you register and pay for your exam. Search by location and date to ensure you can take your CISA exam as planned. Testing center experiences vary, so pick the right experience for you. You can pay for your CISA exam fee at the same time you register, or you can pay later. Please note that payment is required before you can schedule your CISA exam.

-Want to learn more about CISA certification?

Enroll in our Free CISA training course.