CIA Exam Difficulty -- How Hard is the CIA Exam | Certified Internal Auditor - YouTube

CIA Exam Difficulty:

How Hard is the CIA Exam compared to Other Accounting Exams?

Hi everyone, and welcome to another video by

I Pass the CIA Exam!

The website IPasstheCIAExam.com was created by Stephanie Ng, CPA.

Stephanie is a published CPA Exam Guide Author,

webinar leader, CIA expert, CFO,

and is highly respected in the accounting space.

IPasstheCIAExam.com is the #1 community for CIAs and CIA candidates.

But today, we’re going to talk about how the CIA exam

compares in difficulty to other accounting certification exams.

Is the CIA Exam Hard?

Consulting the Pass Rates

The CIA pass rate is 43%, on average.

Compared to the U.S. IMA CMA Exam or the U.S. CPA exam,

the global CIA pass rate is fairly comparable.

The CMA exam holds a 45% pass rate,

and The CPA Exam’s pass rate is 50%,

making the CIA about as challenging

as other major accounting certification exams you may be considering.

The CPA Exam has the highest barriers to entry,

meaning it’s quite challenging to become eligible to take the CPA Exam.

In fact, the CPA Exam requires candidates to earn 5-years of traditional education from a university or college.

So, a large number of CPA Exam candidates have earned or are earning a master’s in accountancy.

In contrast, the CIA exam barriers to entry are lower,

meaning many exam candidates may only be required to have an associate’s degree,

depending on their experience level.

The amount of education required likely correlates to the pass rates

-- the more accounting education a candidate has, the higher we’d expect the pass rate to be.

So, in line with this expectation, we see that the CPA Exam has higher pass rates overall.

Similar to the CIA exam, the CMA also has lower barriers to entry,

and pass rates are lower than that of the CPA Exam, as expected.

How Difficult is the Certified Internal Auditor Exam?

Figuring Out the Exam Format

The CIA exam is broken down into three major sections that highlight different areas of accounting knowledge.

The three portions of the exam do not have to be taken or passed at the same time,

and you’ll actually get 3 years to complete these 3 sections:

Essentials of Internal Auditing

Practice of Internal Auditing

Business Knowledge for Internal Auditing

For comparison purposes, you may want to know that the CPA and CMA are also both broken down into multiple exam parts.

However, the CPA has the most exam sections with 4

and CMA has the least with 2.

As you can see, CIA fits squarely in the middle with 3 parts

What’s more, CPA candidates have to complete all 4 sections within a rolling 18-month window.

In contrast, both CMA and CIA candidates are given 3 years to complete both parts.

What is the CIA Exam Difficulty Level?

Reviewing the Exam Content

The CIA exam focuses almost entirely on internal auditing,

requiring in-depth knowledge of fraud risks,

information technology, business acumen, and much more.

Depending on your accounting experience, this can seem challenging

when compared to the CPA or CMA exams,

which both ask you to understand higher-level information,

as opposed to an in-depth knowledge of the nitty-gritty details found in internal auditing.

Which part of the CIA Exam is the Hardest?

The more experience you have in internal auditing, the easier the exam should be.

With that said, the third portion of the exam, which focuses entirely

on financial management and information technology

is often considered the most challenging

because many internal auditors don’t often face these topics in their day-to-day positions.

Additionally, Part 3 may be most difficult for any auditors who don’t have an accounting degree.

Therefore, this part may take some auditors longer to study for than others.

How Difficult is the CIA Exam?

Considering the Cognitive Levels

There are two levels of knowledge for each topic included in the CIA Exam:

Basic and Proficient.

For multiple-choice questions tested at the basic level,

candidates can rely on rote memorization.

In contrast, the proficient level requires you to apply the concepts to real-world problems and difficult scenarios.

However, more topics are tested at the proficient level than at the basic level,

which means you’ll be required to apply your understanding to situations,

make judgments, and synthesize material.

Because the CIA exam tests more at the proficient level,

your understanding of the topics must be deep,

and therefore you cannot rely on rote memorization alone to pass the exam.

Learning about the CIA Question Types

The Certified Internal Auditor exam only contains multiple-choice questions,

which may make it easier than other exams that can require a lengthy essay portion.

However, do not let the fact that the CIA exam only includes multiple-choice questions

give you a false sense of security.

Due to the IIA testing at the proficient level,

these are some of the toughest multiple-choice questions you may have ever come across.

On the CIA exam, it will be difficult to make educated guesses on some questions.

What’s more, you may have to select the “best” answer choice to get the question correct.

So, there may be times when all the answer choices look wrong,

and in these instances, you need to identify the BEST answer choice.

Discovering the CIA Exam Duration

Because the CIA exam has so many questions,

you’ll want to be a reasonably fast reader to do well on the exam.

Part 1 contains 125 challenging multiple-choice questions.

In contrast, Parts 2 and 3 each contain 100 multiple-choice questions.

Furthermore, the IIA provides CIA candidates 2.5 hours to complete Part 1

and 2 hours each for Parts 2 and 3.

With about one point two minutes dedicated to each question,

slower readers are more likely to struggle to complete the entire exam in the allotted time.

The CMA and CPA exams are both fairly lengthy,

with the CMA allowing three hours to answer 100 questions.

CPA candidates can use up to 4 hours of time to complete their exams,

but many CPA candidates still run out of time!

The number of CPA Exam questions varies by section,

but the total for any part neither meets nor exceeds 100 questions.

However, the CMA and CPA both contain complex essay and simulation questions,

so the CIA is unique in that only multiple-choice questions are included.

What Steps Can You Take to Alleviate the CIA Exam Difficulty?

You need to invest in a high-quality CIA prep course.

Many online options include:

professor-led lectures,

vast test banks,

access to accountants and/or tutoring,

and more!

Visit IPasstheCIAExam.com

and click on “CIA Review Courses” at the top of the website to learn more.

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