What is CISA Certification?

Exam Overview

CISA Certification stands for Certified Information Systems Auditor and it is one of the best certificates in cybersecurity. Likewise CISM exam, ISACA maintains and delivers CISA certification.  Besides, it is the de-facto standard for information systems auditors. It is vendor-agnostic certification and specifically designed for auditors. Furthermore, candidates must have at least five years of relevant professional work experience typically in information systems auditing, control, security and cybersecurity to earn the credential.

The CISA certification validates candidates’ capabilities and experiences in auditing, monitoring and assessing information systems. Nowadays, information systems host very sensitive and critical organizational and personal data. Moreover, businesses heavily rely on information and information systems to achieve their goals. Therefore, these platforms demand periodic evaluation to determine their level of effectiveness and security postures.

CISA Certification Requirements

CISA certificate contains five broad domains and it costs you $760 at the time of writing this post. The credential is valid for five years and certified auditors should pay membership fee of $85 each year.

The five job practice areas or domains of the exam are the following. The candidate should understand that the content and percentage value of the job practices are subject to period changes.

• Information Systems Auditing Process (21%)
• Governance and Management of IT (17%)
• Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation (12%)
• Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience (23%)
• Protection of Information Assets (27%)

The exam is administered at PSI Authorized test centers and remote proctoring approach. The exam contains 150 multiple choice questions and a maximum of 240 minutes are allotted to finish the exam. Passing the exam is the first step and candidates should submit application for certification. Certified auditors should further collect at least 20 CPEs (Continuing Professional Education) annually and a total of 120 CPEs over a three years period. Additionally, credential holders must adhere to a professional code of Ethics throughout the years of their service.