There are many reasons to obtain an official IIA certification designation. Whether it's the hallmark designation of internal audit - the Certified Internal Auditor^® (CIA^®) designation - or one of our three specialty industry certifications, obtaining a certification is professionalism defined.

Six Steps to Certification
Not sure where to begin? Read through these six steps on how to start off on your trail to certifications with The IIA.

Certification Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Read some of the frequently asked questions we receive about IIA certifications and exams. These valuable questions and answers can also help those auditors looking for a little more information on a specific area.

Exam Special Offers
There are many special offers for IIA certifications. Take a look and see if you can take advantage of one of our special offers.

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The Institute of Internal AuditorsTop of Form

 

Six Steps

Six Steps to Earning a Certification in Internal Auditing
Below are the six steps an internal auditor should review when making the decision to become certified in the profession.

Step 1: Decide Which Certification Is Right for You
The IIA's Certified Internal Auditor^® (CIA^®) certification is the only globally accepted designation for internal auditors. It is a four-part exam that remains the standard by which individuals demonstrate their comprehensive competence and professionalism in the internal auditing field.

The IIA also offers three specialty certifications: 1. Certification in Control Self-Assessment^® (CCSA^®); 2. Certified Government Auditing Professional^® (CGAP^®); and 3. Certified Financial Services Auditor^® (CFSA^®). Individuals may choose to take a specialty exam as credit for Part IV of the CIA exam or individuals who do not meet the CIA program education and experience eligibility requirements may wish to take one of the specialty certifications, which are one-part exams.

Step 2: Determine Your Eligibility and Skill Level
Each of The IIA certification programs has unique and specific education eligibility requirements that a candidate must meet to take the exam. In addition, you may want to assess your skill level by taking a practice test using the sample questions on the Web site. Although your score on a practice test will not necessarily indicate what your score would be on a certification exam, a practice test may assess your readiness and lets you know in what areas you need improvement. Click on exam links in Step 1 for more about eligibility requirements.

Step 3: Register for the Exam
The IIA's certification exams are now offered through computer-based testing, year-round at more than 500 locations worldwide.
Apply and register for the CIA exam.


Step 4: Prepare for the Exam
You determine the method(s) in which you need to prepare for the exam. We provide you with a list of available resources for your consideration. Click on exam links in Step 1 to find preparation resources.

Step 5: Take the Test
With the transition to computer-based testing (CBT), The IIA's certification exams are administered through the worldwide network of Pearson VUE Testing Centers. The Pearson VUE network increases the availability of the exam from approximately 250 exam sites to over 500 exam sites. For more information on the testing experience, read the Candidate Handbook.

Step 6: Receive Your Certificate
Once you have passed the exam and met all other program requirements, your certificate will be issued to your local IIA institute for distribution.

The Institute of Internal Auditors
247 Maitland Avenue, Altamonte Springs Florida, 32701
Tel. 1+407-937-1100, Fax. 1+407-937-1101
Web: http://www.theiia.org, Email: online@theiia.org

All contents of this Web site, except where expressly stated, are the copywrited material of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc.

Frequently A   sked Questions (FAQ) About Certification
Do you have questions about IIA certifications? If so, read through some common questions, and their answers, regarding The IIA's Certified Internal Auditor^® (CIA^®) exam and specialty exams.

General Questions About Certification

Included in this section are questions pertaining to exam policies and procedures as well as questions specific to the three specialty exams.

 

Questions Specific to the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Exam

Is your question specific to the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam? Visit this section for questions pertaining exclusivley to the CIA exam.

 

Do I have to be a member of The IIA to take any of the certification exams or become certified?

No. An individual does not have to be a member of The IIA to take the certification exams or to become certified. Membership requirements may differ in countries where the exams are administered through agreements with IIA institutes. Click here for a list of these countries. All candidates and certified individuals must, however, agree to abide by The IIA's Code of Ethics, and practicing internal auditors with an IIA certification must comply with The IIA's International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing.

A variety of study materials are available through The IIA or from third-party vendors for each exam.

 

The Certified Internal Auditor^® (CIA^®)Exam Preparation Resources
The Certified Internal Auditor^® (CIA^®) exam is a self-study exam and does not require a prescribed curriculum. Candidates may choose their own method of preparing for the exam.

Review Manuals and Software
Various CIA exam review manuals and software programs are available and may be ordered through The IIARF's Bookstore.

The 2004 CIA Model Exam Question Manual
The IIA publishes a CIA Model Exam Question Manual/CD-ROM that includes 400 sample CIA questions (100 questions per exam part), along with expanded solutions and may be ordered through The IIARF's Bookstore. The manual is intended to assist candidates in becoming familiar with the content and format of the CIA exam.

Sample Exam Questions
The IIA includes a limited number of sample CIA exam questions (with answers) to give candidates an understanding of the types of questions that typically appear on the exam.

Review Courses
A variety of independent third parties offer CIA exam review courses. Please note that inclusion of a review course on The IIA's Web site does not imply endorsement.

IIA Member Discounts
IIA members receive preferred discount pricing on some of the CIA exam study materials available through The IIARF's online bookstore, in additional to hundreds of other internal auditing educational products.

Nonmembers
Remember to take advantage of the special IIA membership offer when applying for the CIA exam to reap the benefits of these exciting bookstore discounts.

Review Course Providers

• If review course providers want their course included on The IIA's Web site, we will include it as long as no serious complaints are received about the provider/course from the local IIA insititue.
• When a non-IIA-institute review course provider is added to The IIA's Web site, we will notify the certifications chairperson at the nearest IIA institute(s) and ask the chairperson to contact us if they know of a reason the provider should be excluded from the list.
• If the non-IIA-institute review course provider has courses located in certifications agreement countries, we will not list these courses on our Web site except at the request of the certifications agreement country. We will notify the review course provider to contact the certifications coordinator in the certifications agreement country.
• Inclusion on The IIA's Web site does not imply endorsement of the review course. This is clearly stated on the Web page.

Exam Special Offers!

Nonmembers - Membership Application Fee Waiver
By calling The IIA at +1-407-937-1111 and mentioning the source code EXAM prior to registering for the exam, The IIA will waive the US $25 IIA membership application fee. This offer is not extended for the specialty exams (CCSA, CGAP and CFSA). The IIA offers a variety of membership types, including regular, group, educator, student, retired, and life.

Membership Benefits - What's In It For You!

1. Members-only participation in special amenity programs.
2. Reduced registration fees for IIA seminars and conferences.
3. Discounts on hundreds of IIA educational products.
4. Free subscriptions to many of The IIA's publications.
5. Members-only access to The Audit Career Center job postings.
6. Networking - from conferences to chapters, institutes to committees, members expand their professional network by sharing knowledge with more than 150,000 members worldwide.
7. Committee participation opportunities on international committees.

Discounts for Full-Time Students/Professors
The IIA offers reduced CIA application and exam registration fees to candidates who are full-time students or professors (educators), as outlined below. This offer does not apply for the CCSA, CFSA, or CGAP exams.

To qualify for discounted pricing, students must:

• Be enrolled as a full-time student* (enrolled in at least 12 semester hours or equivalent) in his/her senior (final) year, as defined by the institution in which the student is enrolled; OR
• Be enrolled as a full-time graduate student (enrolled in at least 9 semester hours or equivalent), as defined by the institution in which the student is enrolled.

*Full-time university students in their senior (final) year may enter the CIA program and sit for the CIA exam parts before completing their education requirement, however, they must complete the education requirement before they can be certified.

To qualify for discounted pricing, professors must:

• Be a full-time professor with an accredited educational institution; and
• Provide a letter from their local IIA chapter or institute supporting their request for professor status for pricing.

Eligible students and professors must also:

• Complete the special "CIA Application - Student/Professor" in the IIA Certification Candidate Management System.
• Submit a Full-Time Student/Professor Status Form .

Please review additional requirements for students and professors on the Full-Time Student/Professor Status Form.

IIA Members - Free Certification Exam Application
IIA members who attend an IIA headquarters-sponsored conference or seminar are eligible to apply for an exclusive, members-only waiver of the initial exam application fee.

Certified Internal Auditor® (CIA®)

The Certified Internal Auditor^® (CIA^®) designation is the only globally accepted certification for internal auditors and remains the standard by which individuals demonstrate their competency and professionalism in the internal auditing field. Candidates leave the program enriched with educational experience, information, and business tools that can be applied immediately in any organization or business environment.

Computer Based Testing (CBT)
The CIA exam is now available through computer-based testing, allowing you to test year-round at more than 500 locations worldwide. Through the The IIA's new online Certification Candidate Management System (CCMS), candidates may apply/register for certification programs/exams and access their records online.

Candidates from the following countries must contact their local IIA institute representative for more information about local certification processes and the roll-out of CBT in their area: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taiwan, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and Turkey.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE CERTIFICATION DEPARTMENT:
If you recently completed an order in CCMS to apply to the program or to register for an exam and received an error message during the submission process, please do not re-enter your credit card information. Instead, allow 24 hours and access your CCMS record again. If your order is in a "pending" status (order status can be found under order history in CCMS), then your card was successfully charged and no further action is necessary. Our team will work to update the order status and ensure that you receive the proper system-generated notifications. If your order is in an "error" status, please re-enter the credit card information as your card was truly declined. If you have any questions regarding this information please submit an incident on your record in CCMS and a member of our staff will gladly assist you.

Applying and Registering through CCMS
Click here for information on applying and registering for the CIA exam through the CCMS.