How valuable is the CISA certification to employers and individuals?
Sometimes the best measure of a certification's value is reflected by how certification holders feel about the certification after having achieved it.
In 2001, ISACA surveyed its membership to obtain feedback from CISA certified professionals as to whether obtaining the certification had advanced their careers. Seventy-one percent of members holding the CISA certification affirmed the value of the certification toward career advancement, and 75% of all members, certified and noncertified alike, felt that the CISA certification would be valuable for career advancement in the future.
Another measure of a CISA certification's value can be found by assessing the desirability of the certification to employers. How many employers desire the certification as an employment prerequisite? Looking to popular job boards on the Internet such as Monster.com, TotalJobs.com, and Workthing.com, we can see that the quantity and quality of jobs requiring CISA certification are growing every month.
What is driving the employer demand for the CISA certification? Companies are under growing pressure to improve, document, and test their methods for managing information. As the late Dr. W. E. Deming (1900–1993) was able to prove, the quest for quality of processes and product is achieved through careful measurement of what exists, thorough analysis of defects, and effective remediation and correction. The quest for quality is just that: a quest. This means that quality improvement is an ongoing process that requires continuous reassessment. Assessing the capability of information systems to support business goals while maintaining information confidentiality, integrity, and reliability is exactly what a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) does well.
Likewise, other U.S. legislation, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (affecting financial institutions) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (affecting all organizations that are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange), are forcing companies to change they way they do business and manage information. Other countries around the world have instituted similar laws or are in the process of creating similar laws. Just look at the United Kingdom's Combined Code, more commonly known as the Turnbull report, and you will see what we mean. Proving compliance with any legislation requires testing and documentation. Testing and documentation of systems controls is what a CISA systems auditor does. The simple fact is that there are new and compelling reasons for companies and government agencies to increase and improve systems auditing, and they need CISA professionals to help them.
Another popular certification from ISACA is the CISM
Professional certification gives you and your organization a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Although certification may not be mandatory for you at this time, a growing number of organizations are recommending that employees become certified. To help ensure success in the global marketplace, it is vital to select a certification program based on universally accepted technical practices. CISA delivers such a program. CISA is recognized worldwide, by all industries, as the preferred designation for IS audit, control and security professionals.
More than 40,000 professionals have earned the CISA since inception, so clearly many people agree: earning the CISA is a good career move.