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Table of Contents
Eligibility, Certification & Continued Professional Education
02
• To Become Certified
02
• Continued Professional Education (CPE)
02
CIA® Exam Content
03
•CIA 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 1 - Internal Audit Basics
03
•CIA® 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 2 - Internal Audit Practice
04
•CIA 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 3 - Internal Audit Practice
05
Applying for the CIA® Program & Taking Exams
07
PRC Study Plan
08
• Study Stages - Make it the PowersUp way!
08
• Study Stage 1: Understand
09
• Study Stage 2: Apply
09
• Study Stage 3: Perfect
09
About the CIA® Exam
11
Exam Day Experience
12
• Before you go to the exam
12
• During the exam
12
®
®
How to Become a Certified Internal Auditor With Powersup® CIA Review
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Eligibility, Certification & Continued Professional Education
Eligibility and certification requirements are not identical. You must meet ONE of the below
requirements in order to be eligible to sit for CIA®:
•
Holding a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited College-level institution.
Being a full-time undergraduate degree student in your senior year.
•
Completing more than 90 percent of the academic requirements needed for a degree (in the
United States, approximately 120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours of degree credits at
an accredited college-level institution).
•
Holding an International Professional Designation approved by the board of Regents that
may be accepted as equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.
To Become Certified
You may sit for the exam, based on your eligibility requirements, prior to satisfying the certification
requirements, but you will not be certified until you meet ALL of the following:backgrounds as well
as professional experiences capable of executing any assignment undertaken through continuously
exceeding our customers’ expectations. We measure our success by our customers’ loyalty and
end result.
•
Pass the three parts of the exam.
•
Complete a minimum of 2 years experience in internal auditing or its equivalent. Either a
Master’s degree or work experience in related business professions (such as accounting,
law, or finance) can substitute for one-year experience.
•
Must have your work experience verified by a CIA® or your supervisor.
•
Must exhibit high moral and professional character and must submit a Character Reference
Form signed by a CIA®, CGAP, CCSA, CFSA, CRMA, or the candidate’s supervisor.
Continued Professional Education (CPE)
Upon certification, CIA®s are required to maintain their knowledge and skills and stay abreast of
improvements and current developments.
A CIA® who is performing internal auditing functions must complete a total of 40 hours of acceptable
CPE every year. Non-practicing, retired, and inactive CIA®s have different CPE requirements. Please
refer to the CIA® handbook published by the IIA for further details.
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CIA® Exam Content
CIA® 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 1 - Internal Audit Basics
125 questions | 2.5 Hours (150 minutes)
The new CIA® exam Part 1 topics tested include aspects of mandatory guidance from the IPPF;
internal control and risk concepts; as well as tools and techniques for conducting internal audit
engagements.
Note: All items in this section of the syllabus will be tested at the Proficiency knowledge level
unless otherwise indicated below.
I. Mandatory Guidance (35-45%)
• Definition of Internal Auditing
•Code of Ethics
• International Standards
II. Internal Control / Risk (25-35%) - Awareness Level (A)
• Types of Controls (e.g., preventive, detective, input, output, etc.)
• Management Control Techniques
• Internal Control Framework Characteristics and Use (e.g., COSO, Cadbury)
• Alternative Control Frameworks
• Risk Vocabulary and Concepts
• Fraud Risk Awareness
III. Conducting Internal Audit Engagements - Audit Tools and Techniques (28-38%)
• Data Gathering (Collect and analyze data on proposed engagements):
• Data Analysis and Interpretation:
• Data Reporting
• Documentation / Work Papers
• Process Mapping, Including Flowcharting
• Evaluate Relevance, Sufficiency, and Competence of Evidence
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CIA® Exam Content
CIA® 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 2 - Internal Audit Practice
100 questions | 2.0 Hours (120 minutes)
The new CIA® exam Part 2 topics tested include managing the internal audit function via the strategic
and operational role of internal audit and establishing a risk-based plan; the steps to manage individual
engagements (planning, supervision, communicating results, and monitoring outcomes); as well as
fraud risks and controls.
Note: All items in this section of the syllabus will be tested at the Proficiency knowledge level
unless otherwise indicated below.
I. Managing the Internal Audit Function (40-50%)
• Strategic Role of Internal Audit
• Operational Role of IA
• Establish Risk-Based IA Plan
II. Managing Individual Engagements (40-50%)
• Plan Engagements
• Supervise Engagement
• Communicate Engagement Results
• Monitor Engagement Outcomes
III. Fraud Risks and Controls (5-15%)
•Consider the potential for fraud risks and identify common types of fraud associated with
the engagement area during the engagement planning process
• Determine if fraud risks require special consideration when conducting an engagement
• Determine if any suspected fraud merits investigation
• Complete a process review to improve controls to prevent fraud and recommend changes
• Employ audit tests to detect fraud
• Support a culture of fraud awareness, and encourage the reporting of improprieties
• Interrogation/investigative techniques - Awareness Level (A)
• Forensic auditing - Awareness Level (A)
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CIA® Exam Content
CIA® 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 3 - Internal Audit Practice
100 questions | 2.0 Hours (120 minutes)
The new CIA® exam Part 3 topics tested include governance and business ethics; risk management;
organizational structure, including business processes and risks; communication; management and
leadership principles; information technology and business continuity; financial management; and
the global business environment.
Note: All items in this section of the syllabus will be tested at the Awareness knowledge level
unless otherwise indicated below.
I. Governance / Business Ethics (5-15%)
• Corporate/Organizational Governance Principles - Proficiency Level (P)
• Environmental and Social Safeguards
• Corporate Social Responsibility
II. Risk Management (10-20%) - Proficiency Level (P)
• Risk Management Techniques
• Organizational Use of Risk Frameworks
III. Organizational Structure / Business Processes and Risks (15-25%)
• Risk/Control Implications of Different Organizational Structures
• Structure (e.g., centralized/decentralized)
•Typical Schemes in Various Business Cycles (e.g., procurement, sales, knowledge, supplychain management)
•Business Process Analysis (e.g., workflow analysis and bottleneck management, theory of
constraints)
• Inventory Management Techniques and Concepts
• Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)/Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)/E-commerce
• Business Development Life Cycles
• The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Framework
• Outsourcing Business Processes
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CIA® Exam Content
CIA® 2013 Exam Syllabus, Part 3 - Internal Audit Practice
100 questions | 2.0 Hours (120 minutes)
IV. Communication (5-10%)
• Communication (e.g., the process, organizational dynamics, impact of computerization)
• Stakeholder Relationships
V. Management / Leadership Principles (10-20%)
• Strategic Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Management Skills/Leadership Styles
• Conflict Management
• Project Management / Change Management
VI. IT / Business Continuity (15-25%)
•Security
• Application Development
• System Infrastructure
• Business Continuity
VII. Financial Management (13-23%)
• Financial Accounting and Finance
• Managerial Accounting
VIII. Global Business Environment (0-10%)
• Economic / Financial Environments
• Cultural / Political Environments
• Legal and Economics — General Concepts (e.g., contracts)
• Impact of Government Legislation and Regulation on Business (e.g., trade legislation)
How to Become a Certified Internal Auditor With Powersup® CIA Review
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Applying for the CIA® Program & Taking Exams
•
Download the most recent CIA® handbook
published by the IIA and read through it.
•
Create a profile on the IIA’s CCMS (Certification
Candidate Management System):
•
If you have not previously applied to an IIA
certification program, you must first create
a profile in the Certification Candidate
Management System (CCMS). To do so, go to
www.globaliia.org/certification & click on the link
to the CCMS. You will be directed to the CCMS
login page. Click on the “First Time Users” link
on the right, read & agree to the terms of use,
& complete the “New Profile” page.
•
Submit an exam part application
•
Wait 48 hours to schedule your exam
•
Create an account on www.pearsonvue.com/iia
•
Schedule your exam: You may schedule your
exam at any IIA-authorized Pearson VUE test
center at any time that the center has an
available testing station for you.
• L
og in to the CCMS and click on the “Complete
a Form” link to complete an application
form. Select the application form for the
certification of your choice and complete the
required information.
How to Become a Certified Internal Auditor With Powersup® CIA Review
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PRC Study Plan
•
Planning is your key to success. You should create a study plan as early as possible.
•
Have a general overview of the three CIA® exam parts will help you better plan your study.
•
After taking a general idea of all the topics covered in the CIA® exam it’s time to set up a broad
plan. Your plan should include rough dates of sitting for exams, and study hours per section.
•
Periodically visit the IIA’s website (www.theiia.org) to stay abreast of all updates and developments
related to the CIA® program. You can also subscribe to our weekly/monthly newsletter that will
keep you posted on any updates.
Study Stages - Make it the PowersUp Way!
Understand
Apply
Perfect
How to Become a Certified Internal Auditor With Powersup® CIA Review
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PRC Study Plan
The three study stages:
Study Stage 1: Understand
• S
tructure your study around
PRC’s division of content
into Domains and Sections.
Start with a certain section:
For example: Section A
of Domain I of Part One:
Definition of Internal
Auditing.
• R
ead the selected section
thoroughly from your
textbook.
• S
hort focused study
sessions are far better than
long study sessions.
• D
o not overstress yourself.
You shouldn’t be studying
ALL the time. You should
have some rest as well.
• O
nce you understand the
content of the section you
are ready move to stage 2.
Study Stage 2: Apply
Now it’s time to attempt
multiple choice questions:
• Use the questions
tools correctly:
Whenever you answer
a question incorrectly,
you should read the
answer explanations to
understand why your
answer is incorrect, and to
know what topic you need
to focus on.
• During the early stages
of studying, do not worry
about timing your multiple
choice answers. At this
stage you should carefully
read the questions and
answers without worrying
about time; your average
time per question will
improve as you progress.
• At first attempt you will
get between 60 to 75%,
do not move to the next
section until you get at
least 85% to 90%.
• Whenever you do not
reach the 85% to 90%
correct answers target
you should go back to
Stage One and re-read the
section/topic.
Study Stage 3: Perfect
Once you have covered all the
topics of a certain part you
are ready to move to stage
three of your preparation plan:
Perfection.
In stage 3 you should focus on:
•
Noting your weaknesses
and focusing on them:
Flashcards: Flashcards
are very useful at this
stage. Reading through
the textbooks could be a
bit boring at this stage as
you are familiar with most
of the topics. Go through
the flashcards eliminating
those you know very well
until you are left with a
few flashcards that are
challenging to you and
focus on them. You may
want to go over the topic(s)
in the textbook to focus
on the particular topic(s)
covered by those flashcards
you have filtered.
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat: Repetition makes perfect.
Repeat as much as it takes
until you feel confident that
you will pass your exam.
•
Developing exam taking
techniques and skills.
Now is the time to take full
exams (exam simulations)
using PRC’s preparation tool:
PowersUp® Simulator
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PRC Study Plan
Having perfected the exam topics and answered as many practice questions as possible is essential
to pass the exam, but you also need to develop the necessary skills and strategies to pass a multiple
choice exam. Time management is the most important skill. The below tips are very helpful too.
•Create exam like environment: Switch off your
mobile, log out of Facebook, Skype… If you
live with your family inform them not to disturb
you during your exam simulation session.
•The computer screen has a built-in timer to
let you know the time remaining as you work
through the exam. Plan your time wisely so
that you do not use your time up early in
the exam and do not have enough time to
complete the exam.
•Read the question before you look at answers.
•
The testing system allows you to flag
questions for review and allows you to return
to these items after you have viewed the last
question in the exam. If you have completed
the last question in the exam before the time
is up, you will be able to review your flagged
questions and any other questions until your
testing time expires.
•Do not attempt long and/or difficult questions;
mark them and move on.
•
Once you have attempted all short and
easy questions return to the difficult/long
questions.
•Attempt ALL questions. There’s no penalty
on wrong attempts.
•“Funny” responses are usually wrong.
•“All of the above” is often a correct response
if you can verify that more than one of the
other responses is probably correct.
•Eliminate answers you know aren’t right.
•
Read all the choices before choosing your
answer.
•Don’t keep on changing your answer; usually
your first choice is the right one, unless you
misread the question.
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About the CIA® Exam
The more you know about the exam the higher are your chances of success.
Make sure you have the correct up-to-date information about the number of questions in each part,
the time allocated for each part, etc. You will find below the current breakdown of the CIA® exam.
All CIA® questions are multiple-choice. Each provides four options from which you must choose
your answer:
Each exam contains scored and un-scored questions.
Each scored question contributes equally to your final test score and is pretested to ensure
statistical validity.
•
Un-scored questions are included on each
exam for the purpose of determining the
difficulty of these items only. They do not
contribute to your exam score.
•
Your raw score is calculated based on
the number of scored questions that you
answer correctly and then converted to
a reporting scale that ranges from 250 to
750 points.
•A score of 600 (Equivalent to 75%) or
higher on this scale is required to pass an
IIA exam.
•If you do not pass the test, the score report
will indicate the numeric score that you
received. This will let you know how close
you were to achieving the required 600
points.
•
A non-electronic language translation
dictionary is allowed in the exam room.
If you are taking the exam in a language
other than your native language you will
find this handy.
•
You will be offered an erasable note board
and pen on which you can take notes
during the exam.
•
No other items, papers, food or drink are
allowed at the examination site.
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Exam Day Experience
Before You Go to the Exam
•
View the exam tutorial published on the IIA’s website. The tutorial introduces you to the
tools and features available during the CIA exams; such as marking questions, moving
between questions, returning to marked questions, etc.
•
Locate your exam testing center as early as possible. Visit your exam center at least one
day before your exam date to make sure you have the correct address and you plan for
your exam day rout.
•
If the exam center is hours away from you home, arrange for a hotel reservation in a hotel
located near the testing center. This will help you avoid the hassle of last minute traffic
jams, flight time changes..
•
Have a good night sleep before your exam day.
•
Arrange for a light breakfast.
•
Wear comfortable layers of clothing. You can NOT leave the exam room once your exam
starts. Wearing layers of clothing will be convenient in case you felt too cold or too hot
during your exam.
•
Plan to arrive at the exam site at least half an hour before the exam.
•
Remember to have the following items on you:
1
2
Authorization letter
Valid photo identification
During the Exam
•
Maintain your positive attitude before and during the exam; do not panic if you encounter
difficulties while studying or while doing the exam.
• Read the exam instructions carefully.
• You will be provided with earplugs and a notebook and some pencils.
• Do NOT leave the exam room until you are instructed to do so.
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This is Why I Passed the CIA® Exam
by Bob Sabra
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the team involved in implementing and continuously improving
the Powers Resources Review Course. I really enjoyed studying for the CIA exam with PRC’s interactive and
very easy to grasp system. The flexible format makes topics smooth to absorb. The one-on-one faculty support
that I personally received was also very contributive to my success. I am very grateful to have came across
PowersUp as it led me to a highly efficient and effective studying journey, and eventually to becoming a CIA!“
Follow us on Twitter: @powersresources
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