How Hard is the CISA Exam?

This question could have multiple subjective answers. However, in this article, we shall try to understand the composition of the CISA examination and try to measure its difficulty based on various elements.

CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) Exam Content Difficulty:

The majority of the former exam takers agree on the fact that the syllabus of the CISA course is not that tough. The preparation doe not requires a detailed study of any specified niches but requires basic knowledge of a variety of topics.

Moreover, to get oneself certified through the CISA examination, one needs to have at least a working experience of 5 years. Therefore a person who has been working in IT auditing for 5 years must have acquired at least the basic knowledge of every aspect of his/her job. Therefore, one does not needs to put in endless hours of study hours to prepare for the examination. Some of the more doubts that might appear in one’s mid also include:

How hard is the question paper?

No one could give a straight-up answer for one of these most asked questions. What may appear to be the most difficult thing to one might be another person’s daily chore. However, as compared to one of the toughest examinations, the BAR exam, CISA certification is considered to be much easier. However, to maintain the standards and the quality of applicants going through the examination, CISA has been increasing the difficulty level of the examination each year. So better be prepared to face anything that comes up your way.

How many questions are there to be attempted?

There are a total of 150 questions that one has to attempt during the examination. The time provided to attempt these 150 questions is 4 hours, which seems quite enough to go through and give time to each of them properly.

What are the topics that one needs to cover to appear for the examination?

To get yourself all prepared to face the CISA examination, below mentioned are the topics that you should know about:

1. Governance and Management of IT:

This part is devoted to the processes as well as the structuring of the objectives. Most of the people eligible for taking the CISA exam might not find it difficult due to their indulgence with the same matters for at least the past 5 years.

2. Information System & Auditing Process:

This part involves the knowledge of the importance of auditing for the firms to secure their information systems. This part would also not seem to be tough for IT auditing personnel.

3. Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation:

This domain of the CISA exam might be a bit complex for some. However, people working in the same sector need not worry about it.

4. Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience:

Here is when the CISA exam starts showering its difficulty level over its applicants. You may be asked a lot of questions about database structuring, management of processes, and many others under this domain.

5. Protection of Information Assets:

IT is considered to be the toughest part of the CISA exam. As we know that the cases of cybercrime are becoming more and more common each day, you might face some complex as well as interesting questions in your examination under this topic.

Weight Distribution for each of the topics:

When it comes to start preparing for any of the examinations, this must be the very first thing to know. If you are facing a shortage of time to prepare for the exam, try to focus on the topics that would attract the most number of questions in the examination. The marks percentage distribution for the above mentioned 5 topics is as below:

1. Governance and Management of IT: 21 %
2. Information System & Auditing Process: 17 %
3. Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation: 12 %
4. Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience: 23 %
5. Protection of Information Assets: 27 %

What is the difficulty level of the exam format?

Sometimes, the topics to be covered for the examination might not seem to be difficult enough. However, the style in which the question might be asked might get you confused to solve them, even if you know. The same is the case with the CISA course. The question format and the terminologies used in the questions might get even the most experienced of the people fighting to understand the question, leave apart, answering.

One needs to be particularly familiar with all the terminologies and standards of ISACA to be able to understand the questions and pass the exam easily. Moreover, the options offered in the question paper might get you confused between the exact right answer. It lets CISA determine the details of your knowledge about the topics. Moreover, while preparing, you need to think a bit differently from the condition of your workspace, and more familiarly with the concepts and the working method of ISACA.

 

Self Assess Yourself for the Examination:

Before you decide to take the examination, it is very important to know your self-worth and your preparation level to take up the exam properly. For the same, you can take up the assessment tests provided by ISACA and take up CISA course mock-up tests to be able to know the format of the examination, being able to maintain the time more efficiently and moreover, to assess your capabilities for appearing in the exam and clearing it in your very first attempt.

If you are prepared enough and passionate enough about your work to put in the required effort, nothing can be difficult enough to act as a barer in your success to become a certified information systems auditor. All you need to do is make up your mind and start working towards achieving it from this very moment.