Introduced in 1978, the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) is the oldest certification for ISACA. It is currently owned by more than 135,000 professionals worldwide. It is internationally recognized as proof of competence and experience in ensuring that the Company’s critical assets are secure and available.
Members of the Board of Directors of large corporations want to ensure that their Organization is protected from the risks of cybercrime. In a nutshell, they rely on their qualified CISA Managers for this. CISA remains one of the six highest-paid certifications for the second year in a row in 2019, according to Global Knowledge’s IT Skills and Wage Survey.
The five domains of CISA
This is not an initial level qualification as they exist in other areas such as ITIL, COBIT, PRINCE2, etc. Initial level qualifications, commonly referred to as the Foundation, only validate knowledge of general concepts and vocabulary. It is therefore only proof of knowledge of documentation and in no way proof of competence. On the other hand, it is clearly a prerequisite for progress in learning, but by no means a visa for implementation. How many projects have failed because they are entrusted to incompetent people who hold a Foundation-level certification… Competence is based on knowledge but also and above all on experience. It is also one of the 7 facilitators of COBIT 5 for good governance and efficient management of companies.
COBIT 2019, also published by ISACA, forms the basis of CISA certification. So it’s no surprise that coBIT’s “People, Skills and Competencies” facilitator. The CISA qualification is awarded to candidates who have passed a rigorous written examination and also demonstrate at least five years of relevant experience in the following five areas of knowledge:
- The audit process for information systems
- Governance and Information and Associated Technology Management
- Information Systems – Acquisition, Development and Implementation
- Operation, Maintenance and Resilience of Information Systems
- Protecting information assets
Who is the CISA certification for?
The main focus of ISACA, under CISA, is on three roles that are particularly critical to the success of a company.
The Information System Auditors
CISA allows you to be recognized, not only at the local or national level, but also at the international level, as a professional with knowledge, skills and credibility to verify all areas related to information systems and deliver recommendations and solutions. The role of auditor is not limited to conducting an audit and providing results. One part, perhaps the most important, is to make recommendations and follow up on their implementation. This is an often misunderstood point.
IS Governance Professionals
CISA assures stakeholders of your ability to identify critical issues for the company. It also reassures your skills to recommend custom company-specific practices to support and guarantee the Governance of Information and Related Technologies.
Information Security Professionals
CISA demonstrates your experience in helping businesses in a complex and ever-changing legal and regulatory environment. It also confirms your perfect knowledge and expertise in international standards. Finally, the CISA qualification confirms your ability to reduce vulnerability complexity and time,, measure security and ensure compliance. CISA is designed to complement the ISACA Certified Management Information Security (CISM) qualification.
How do I pass the CISA certification?
The CISA exam was conducted online at PSI centres. To prepare for the exam, you will certainly need the CISA Review Manual, 27th edition and the CISA Question and Answers that Training Partners systematically provides to its participants.
We are also recommerating, given the difficulty of the exam and the high failure rate of considering attending our CISA Exam Preparation Workshop. We offer a five-day workshop (one day per domain). It will effectively prepare you for a better understanding of vocabulary, concepts and, above all, for understanding exam questions. Please note that the above manuals are available as part of our exam preparation workshop.
Do you have any questions? Still doubting the interest in your personal case? Please leave us your comment and we will be happy to respond