All About Certified Information Systems Auditor – CISA Certification

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) is a well-recognized information certification issued by ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) in the audit, control, and security of information systems. It certifies the competencies of individuals in the fields of IT Security, IT Audit, IT Risk Management, and Governance and ensures that they can measure and assess IT controls, and have a strong set of auditing skills.

It is the main certification of the ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) and is formally approved by the United States Department of Defense. CISA is one of the most recognized IT auditing and security certifications in the world.

CISA Certification Competencies

A CISA certification indicates expertise in the following work-related domains:

1. Information Systems Audit Process – The information systems audit process covers the entire information security (IS) audit practice, including the procedures and methodology necessary for an auditor to successfully accomplish their work.
2. IT Governance and Management – IT Governance and Management are focused on the leadership, structures, and processes of the organization. This ensures that information and technology are aligned. It helps organizations to manage their IT risks effectively and supports the strategy and objectives of the company.
3. Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation – This work-related domain provides an overview of the processes and the main methodologies. These are used by organizations while creating, implementing, or changing systems at both the application and infrastructure levels.
4. Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience – Information systems operations and business resilience deal with guaranteeing the expected level of service (SLA: Service Level Agreement) of information systems to users and to the organization’s management. Expectations about the SLA depend on the business objectives of the organizations, in general.
5. Protection of Information Assets – Protection of information assets addresses the key components that ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information assets. For this purpose and among others, the design, implementation, and monitoring of physical and logical access controls, network security, the necessary procedures for the classification and treatment of information, etc. are included.

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Why Should You Take Up CISA Certification?

The certification has a large list of benefits and advantages to name a few:

• Confirm your knowledge and experience with information security
• Shows you have gained and maintained the level of knowledge necessary to meet the dynamic challenges of the organizations
• Combines theoretical achievement, work, and educational experience, making you a credible resource when it comes to hiring
• Gives you a competitive advantage over your peers in pursuit of job growth
• Helps you achieve high professional standards through ISACA for continuing education and ethical conduct
• It endorses your knowledge and experience in the assigned area and displays your capability of taking up any challenge
• A globally recognized as the mark of excellence for the IS audit professional
• Validates your proficiency in IS audit, control, and security profession

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How to Become a CISA Certified Professional?

For an individual to earn the CISA certification, s/he must fulfil the below requirements:

• Have desired work experience of not less than 4000 hours and must be working in Information security or in any security department of IT firms
• If anyone doesn’t have the required experience, s/he must have worked for about one year in auditing, security, or control and an experience in IS for the same duration
• If the applicant wants to work as a trainer; he or she must have experience as an IT auditor, controller, and security professional

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Steps to become a CISA Certified Professional

• If you hold a strong knack for auditing IT security, register yourself for the CISA exam by paying online registration fees
• After passing the exam, you need to submit an application so as to avail the certificate
• You need to submit it within a maximum of 5 years of duration from the date of the qualifying exam
• Follow Continuing Professional Education (CPE) to become proficient in auditing, controlling, and IT security

CISA Exam Format

Number of Question – 150
Types of Questions – MCQ
Exam Duration – 4 hours
Grading – The CISA exam is graded on a scale of 200 to 800 points. To pass, you should have obtained 450+ points.

CISA Experience Verification Form

You must complete the work experience as mentioned in the eligibility section, and after this, you need to apply for the CISA experience verification form. As per ISACA, you must have worked under a superior or manager, who will verify your work experience on the CISA experience verification form.

CISA Certificate Application

Once you have cleared the CISA exam and gained the required work experience, you must apply for the CISA certificate on the official ISACA website. It takes around 2-3 weeks for processing your application and a confirmation email will be sent along with a post on your registered address.

How to Choose the Right CISA Course to Clear the Exam?

CISA Course is available from multiple course providers. CISA Course module is one of the most preferred course types. Some of the most popular courses that help you study and prepare CISA syllabus are:

• Surgent CISA
• CISA Bootcamp Certification
• Certified Information Security
• Software Master Subscription -12 months
• Certified Internet Security Auditor (CISA)

Employment Opportunities for CISAs

CISAs are widely required by organizations that have a role in auditing, controlling, monitoring, and assessing information technology and business systems. These include organisations such as any private enterprises, banks or government that hire a CISA. Recruiters irrespective of the type of industry, hire CISAs as systems/security auditors, security consultants, process consultants, and so on.

Companies hire CISAs for positions like –

• IT Auditor/Senior IT Auditor
• Information Technology Manager
• Information Security Auditor or Manager
• Internal Auditing Manager
• Information Systems Auditor
• Audit Manager
• Internal Audit Director

Conclusion

There is a huge demand for CISA not only in India but overseas as well. Every company requires these professionals for the smooth and error-free running of their businesses. There is a good salary as well as steep career progress which makes it even more lucrative and in-demand.

As data-driven and IT industries are growing, those having experience in CISA can get a job in financial institutes. With this certification, you can work in both audit and non-audit capacities including IT risk management, IT compliance, and control analysis. Nowadays, there is an opportunity to get associated with a global network of top audit professionals working across different industries.

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