The CISA (Certified Information Security Auditor) certification is a well-respected certification in the field of Information security technologies. The certification is awarded by the non-profit association named ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association). Formed in 1967, the association ISACA now claims to have over 140,000 members around the globe contributing to the field of cybersecurity.
Other than the ISACA, the CISA® Certification is also accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This third-party verification ensures the maintenance of a verified level of excellence. The CISA certification validates that the holder has all required knowledge, skills, and expertise to audit, monitor, control, assess, and provide security to information systems for a multitude of industries throughout the IT and business sectors.
In this article, we will discuss how the CISA certification is so important to have if you want to choose an information security auditor as your career path.
Why is CISA® Certification Important?
Being a globally recognized certification from a globally-recognized association, the CISA certification brings many benefits to its holders, some of which are written below –
1 ) Employers Looking for Certified Professionals
There is a huge demand for CISA® Certified Information security professionals in the job market right now. Big organizations, tier 1 banks, and many types of companies are actively looking for employees with CISA credentials.
Not every IT auditor is required to have the CISA certification, but to beat the competition in the job market, being certified in CISA is important. The certification tells the other professional that you possess all the knowledge and skills required for this job and you are a well-qualified and acknowledged expert in the field.
2 ) Credibility and Confidence in What You Say and Do
As a certified CISA auditor, your words and actions have way more credibility than the non-certified counterpart. You also have much confidence in the work you do after you get certified.
The CISA certification will provide you with the confidence to deal with a wide spectrum of internal and external stakeholders.
3 ) Receiving a Higher Salary
CISA-certified IT auditors are perceived as experts in the field. Hence, no wonder they often receive higher salary packages. Certified IT/IS professionals receive 20 % more salary than their non-certified counterparts. From the status by pay scale, the CISA certification holders make between USD 83,677 and USD 107,342 every year [Ref.].
Therefore, we can estimate that the average salary paid by many companies for a talented CISA holder is around $110k.
Hence, the certification gives you an edge, when it comes to the negotiation of salary or the consultation fees. As the certification proves that you are sincere towards the profession and well qualified for the job, the employer might provide a higher salary without any hesitation.
4 ) Various Growth Opportunities
The information systems and technology industry is an ever-evolving one and with new applications and software being produced every day, it shows no indication of a downturn. With all this the field of IT auditing is also growing. If you are interested in jumping into the industry, then the CISA® Certification will not only help you to get an excellent job, but it might also give you the required boost to climb the corporate ladder and reach a senior or managerial position or to even become the CIO (chief information officer).
5 ) Global Recognition
As mentioned earlier, the CISA certification is globally recognized and hence marks you as a skilled professional on the global stage. But what does this global recognition mean for you? It simply means that you can get a job anywhere around the globe using this certification.
Many people want to go abroad. If you also want to travel and work abroad, then the CISA certification might be able to make your dream come true and enable you to smoothly transfer to companies all across the globe.
How to Become a Certified CISA Professional?
To get the CISA certification, one must need to clear the certifying exam. In a normal scenario, the Applicants are also required to have at least 5 years of work experience as an information systems auditor. But if the applicant fulfills certain criteria, then he or she they can waive up to 3 years of that experience requirement.
Once the applicant meets the work experience criteria and passes d the exam, he/she they will then need to agree to the ISACA code of professional ethics, violation of this code of ethics can result in revocation of the certification.
Moreover, the candidate must adhere to the CPE (continuing professional education) program for a certain number of hours (20 hours a year in most cases). On top of all this, the candidate must pay a membership fee to the ISACA.
The CISA Certification Exam
The CISA examination is considered one of the toughest exams in the field of IT security. As per the data, only 50% of the applicants managed to pass the exam. Therefore, if you want to crack this exam on the first try, it will be intelligent to enroll in an online CISA Training program. Such training programs might help you to pass this rigorous exam in one go.
The CISA exam comprises a total of 5 domains or sections with a total of 150 questions in the exam. Time duration of 4 hours. The 5 domains of the exam are –
1 ) Process of Auditing Information Services (21% of exam)
2 ) Governance and Management of Information Technology (16% of exam)
3 ) Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation (18% of exam)
4 ) Information Systems Operations, Maintenance, and Service Management (20% of exam)
5 ) Protection of Information Assets (25% of exam)
The CISA training will provide with enough knowledge to clear all of these 5 domains.
Conclusion
The CISA® Certification is a well-respected certification in the Information security sector, and it is important for your career as an IS auditor. It can even help you achieve senior/managerial positions or even the CIO office.
But it is not an easy certification to obtain. The candidate must work hard to meet the demanding nature of this exam. Getting professional CISA training from reputable institutes will make the road to this certification easier.
