| Because the scope of the CISA certification is so broad, you could spend months, or even years, reading the myriad of books recommended by ISACA. Unfortunately, there is not much available for the individual seeking a concise distillation of the exam topics onlyhence the need for this book! However, other resources are available via additional books and instructor-led training. Information Systems Audit and Controls Association (ISACA) ISACA sells exam-preparation materials on its website, and we recommend that you seriously consider augmenting your studies with these two: CISA Review Manual Note that this book is purposed as a review manual. As such, many of my students have found it difficult to prepare for the CISA exam with this book because it tends to focus on strictly review points rather than teaching the supporting concepts. It has been my experience that much of the exam relates to the content of ISACA's CISA Review Manual , but you should be forewarned that it does not seem to provide 100% of the content necessary to pass the exam. We personally found it impossible to do well on ISACA's practice exams after having thoroughly read this book. In spite of this, we recommend it as a supplemental resource. This book is available for purchase at www.isaca.org. CISA Review Questions, Answers, and Explanations CD-ROM (650 Questions) Edition. This is an excellent resource, if you can afford it. Although you should not expect to see a great deal of direct overlap with your real exam, the practice questions provided in this resource nicely fortify your ability to achieve success on exam day. We found the questions to relate much more closely to the actual exam than the content from the CISA Review Manual. The questions might not teach you necessary concepts as well as other mediums, but this is an excellent resource for final exam preparation. This resource is available for purchase at www.isaca.org.
Instructor-led training Instructor-led training for CISA exam preparation is somewhat scarce. As a matter of fact, comprehensive training for information systems and controls auditing is scarce as well. Some ISACA chapters provide review sessions in the months just before the exam. These sessions can vary in price and are not controlled for content quality or consistency by ISACA itself. Whereas ISACA provides template material to present from, the chapters have complete discretion regarding what is actually delivered and how it is delivered. Typically, the sessions are provided by chapter members on a volunteer basis in their spare time. As you can see, it is difficult to really be sure of what to expect in terms of the quality of content and presentation style. Session locations and registration information is available at www.isaca.org. A few professional training organizations are starting to offer specialized training for systems auditing and assurance. One of the authors of this book, Allen Keele, is the lead content developer and lecturer for IT auditing and assurance courses provided by Certified Tech Trainers. As such, he has developed a very specialized custom curriculum focused on the core essentials of IT auditing and IT governance best practices. Certified Tech Trainers provides these courses at various locations throughout the world. These courses are far more than simple exam-preparation reviews and are priced accordingly. However, if you are looking for a complete course on IS auditing so that you can learn about CISA exam topics, as well as many other critical IS auditing topics not covered on the exam or in this book, you might want to take a look at CTT's course offerings and decide whether instructor-led training is a viable and attractive alternative for you. Session locations and registration information are available at www.certifiedtechtrainers.com.
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