CIA Vs. CISA certification for IT professional 2102



  • Hi,
    I am a PMP certified Sr. IT consultant and project manager. I have around 10 years experience. I am trying to explore the fields of IT auditing. In consulting I have done work on SOX on the architect level. Also, as a PM I have worked on quality assurance. I have the following questions:
    I know that a lot of IT auditors get into auditing after 2 - 3 years of work experience. I have around 10 years exp. Is it too late to get into IT audit make a career out of it? Will my overall IT experience be considered as valuable or will I be considered as an entry level IT auditor?
    I am interested in working on higher organizational level. That’s why I wanted to either get CIA or CISA certification. For the CIA, you need only 2 years audit exp. where quality assurance exp. counts (I hope IT quality assurance counts too). For CISA, you need to 5 years of exp. to get certified. Also, CIA seems to well regarded when compared to CISA (correct me if I am wrong). For these reasons, I am thinking of getting certified in CIA. Does CIA certification help in IT environment?
    Any sggestions are greatly appreciated.
    Thanks



  • Hi - Personally, I see moving to an IT Auditor as possibly a lower position in the organizational structure when compared to the IT Project Manager role. Still with that said, there might be a little less stress, the opportunity to learn new skill sets, and perhaps following your career desires. A job or profession is more than just USDUSDUSD or rank in the company. You want to be happy as you devote the best hours of your day to earning a living.
    Usually in entering a new profession or career, you may need to start a little lower than your current position. It probably would not be entry level, as an organization would likely take your skills and experience into consideration. A factor would be how much knowledge you have in the IT Audit area and whether you have any training or certifications in the Audit profession.
    To me, a Project Manager spends more time with people, where as an IT auditor might work more from a technical standpoint with tools (but with some exposures to working with others, e.g., interviewing, analysis of work flows, some meetings, etc.). The role of an IT auditor will certainly vary from organization to organizaiton.
    As one approach for analyzing this, you might research IT Audit positions available at Monster, Dice, and other job search firms (you can find links in the post shared at the bottom). Research some of the current IT Audit positions that might be open in your area looking at job skills, training, education, and other credentials the firm is asking for. You might even contact or call a few firms to ask about salary ranges for these positions.
    Good luck as you explore this further 🙂
    P.S. Some advice generic to any profession can be found in this thread (esp. sections 2-4, where you can substitute your desired profession in place of ‘Project Manager’)
    ALLPM Project Management forums
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