Benefits of Obtaining CISA Certification: Elevate Your Career

The Benefits of CISA Certification include equipping individuals with the skills necessary to become technically resilient experts. An acronym for ’Certified Information Systems Auditor,’ CISA certification helps IT professionals progress in multiple industries. More importantly, mid-level professionals can use the certification to upskill themselves in the Information Security (IS) domain. The growing IT industry requires experts who can handle and mitigate risks in information systems.   

The ISACA’s State of Cybersecurity Report of 2022 reveals that 48% of the survey’s respondents are cybersecurity professionals. The same report reveals that over 90 per cent of cybersecurity professionals are members of the ISACA. Furthermore, the CISA certification is tailor-made for employees keen to be employed abroad and across the IT industry. In this blog, we will discuss the Benefits of CISA Certification, its global reputation, and the beneficiaries of the certification. 

Table of Contents

1) A brief look at the CISA Certification

2) Benefits of the CISA Certification 

    a) Stand out in an evolving industry 

    b) Negotiate higher salaries 

    c) Wide range of opportunities 

    d) Globally recognised certification

    e) Expertise in a niche market 

    f)  Learning additional skills 

    g) Beneficiaries of the certification

3) Conclusion

A brief look at the CISA Certification 

The CISA certification is one of the most highly demanded certifications. Acquiring this certification will help you demonstrate your auditing and security management skills. Candidates committed to the training program become expert IT auditors with a competitive advantage over their non-certified counterparts.   

The field of information security needs IT professionals with proven work experience, and the CISA certification makes them indispensable employees in the workplace. ISACA has designed the training program and the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) to train professionals rigorously. The process trains certified professionals to oversee and assess an organisation’s information systems architecture and security. They ensure that the systems comply with industry standards and pass audit tests.   

IT Auditors identify loopholes in an information system’s architecture and can provide recommendations and solutions to implement the necessary rectifications. The CISAs can then conduct follow-up audits on the organisation’s IT systems to check if they comply with auditing standards.   

Furthermore, the duties of CISA-certified professionals generally extend beyond audit controls. They are also expected to collaborate with management teams to plan the implementation of organisational processes and run deployed systems. As a result, they can assist organisations in promoting their strategies for further awareness.   

Benefits of the CISA Certification
 

Some key benefits of the CISA Certification include the following: 

1) International recognition as an audit professional for IT systems 

2) Perceived as highly skilled professionals 

3) Contributing more value to an organisation 

4) Gaining a competitive edge over counterparts 

5) Prosperous career growth 

Here are a few more benefits described in detail: 

a) Stand out in an evolving industry: IT auditing in the Information Security industry is suited to individuals who thrive with various technology. Information systems are pivotal to a changing business world, which means that after receiving the CISA certification, you must demonstrate adaptivity and resiliency. These characteristics validate the forward-thinking perspective of CISA-certified individuals to prospective employers and clients.

b) Negotiate higher salaries: CISA-certified IT auditors are specialists who can command higher salaries after certification. An IT Auditor is typically more experienced than other kinds of auditors. 

According to Indeed UK, a CISA IT Auditor with intermediate to high-level experience can earn between 70,000 to 140,000 GBP annually. According to Morgan McKinley, the average salary range for IT Auditors is between 55,000 to 70,000 GBP annually.   

c) Wide range of opportunities: Information Security is a continuously evolving industry, with new software tools and applications regularly emerging. The domain of IT auditing also shows constant growth, which is a huge motivation for professionals to acquire CISA credentials. They can quickly advance in their careers to top managerial positions, especially for the Chief Information Officer (CIO) post.

d) Globally recognised certification: CISA-certified professionals are recognised as technical experts with a huge competitive advantage in the auditing industry. More importantly, professionals seeking employment abroad can relocate seamlessly worldwide as the certification is recognised globally. Furthermore, considering the globalised nature of the economy, employees need to adapt their perspectives and decisions on a global scale. They can leverage their CISA credentials to prove their skills of adaptability.   

e) Expertise in a niche market: Although only some IT Auditors need to acquire CISA certification, the rapid growth of the IT industry calls for more certified professionals. These professionals turned technical experts can analyse and protect assets in information systems. Some employers do require CISA credentials as a mandatory requirement for the job. Individuals who acquire these credentials are automatically perceived as serious and dedicated IT Auditors in the industry.

f) Learn additional skills: CISA-certified professionals learn the execution and evaluation of governance standards in the IT industry. They are further trained in the organisational structure of IS, measures, mechanisms and control practices to satisfy the requirements of IT governance. Furthermore, they learn about the best practices in management to test, implement and maintain the infrastructures satisfying the organisation’s objectives. 

Beneficiaries of the certification: The beneficiaries of the CISA certification can be the Head of Compliance, Chief Risk or Privacy Officers, IS professionals handling information security, Information Security Auditors, Information Security Consultants and so on.  

Conclusion

The Benefits of CISA Certification span multiple industries, even outside the IT industry. Professionals are equipped with advanced technical skills that supplement their knowledge base and resilience to stay committed to their careers. The willingness to train further through the CPE program by ISACA proves their professional tenacity to prospective employers and clients. The CISA certification best suits employees who desire to work in foreign lands and across other IT industries.   
 
Learn about the audit process for information systems by signing up for the Certified Information Systems Auditor course now!