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CISA Real Exam Questions

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). Everything you need to prepare, practice, and pass.

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5

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Certification Overview

CISA covers the complete IT audit and governance landscape: from establishing audit plans and assessing organizational governance structures, through evaluating IT acquisition/development and operational controls, to protecting information assets through proper access controls, data integrity measures, and security protocols. The exam emphasizes risk-based audit methodology and your ability to advise on control improvements across IT operations and emerging technologies.

What This Certification Proves

CISA validates expertise in information systems auditing, governance, and control—making it the gold standard credential for IT audit professionals. This certification proves you can design, implement, and manage comprehensive audit programs that assess IT systems' effectiveness, security, and compliance with organizational objectives.

Who Should Take This Exam

IT audit professionals, governance specialists, and compliance officers with 5+ years of IT audit or related experience (or 3+ years with relevant advanced education). Candidates should have hands-on experience evaluating IT controls, assessing risk, and working with IT management on audit findings.

Topic Breakdown

5 domains covering 530 questions

DomainQuestionsWeight
Protection Of Information Assets19637%
Governance And Management Of It11422%
Information System Auditing Process10620%
Information Systems Operations And Business Resilience10620%
Information Systems Auditing Process82%

Study Plans

Choose a study plan that matches your schedule and experience level

30 Days

Intensive Sprint

Week 1-2

  • Master fundamentals: Protection Of Information Assets
  • Read Isaca official documentation
  • Complete 22 questions daily

Week 3

  • Deep dive: Governance And Management Of It
  • Review weak areas from results
  • Take 2 full-length exams

Week 4

  • Review all flagged questions
  • Timed exams to build stamina
  • Final revision of key concepts

60 Days

Balanced Approach

Week 1-2

  • Survey all exam domains
  • Set up study environment
  • Begin with foundational topics

Week 3-4

  • Focus: Protection Of Information Assets
  • Focus: Governance And Management Of It
  • 11 questions daily

Week 5-6

  • Focus: Information System Auditing Process
  • Hands-on labs if applicable
  • Review explanations for wrong answers

Week 7-8

  • Complete all 650 questions
  • Identify and eliminate weak areas
  • Take 3 full-length timed tests

90 Days

Comprehensive Study

Month 1

  • Learn all exam domains at a comfortable pace
  • Build strong foundational knowledge
  • 8 questions daily

Month 2

  • Deep dive into each domain
  • Hands-on practice and labs
  • Take weekly timed exams

Month 3

  • Work through all 650 questions
  • Identify and eliminate weak areas
  • Take 3 full-length timed exams

CISA-Specific Tips

  • Master the audit lifecycle: Spend significant time on Planning and Scoping, Risk Assessment, and the actual audit execution process—these appear heavily in domains 1-3.
  • Focus on IT governance frameworks (COBIT, ITIL): The Governance domain tests your ability to align IT with business objectives; know frameworks deeply, not just surface-level definitions.
  • Study change management and configuration controls thoroughly: Change Management appears in the domain distribution and is critical for operations and development lifecycle audits.
  • Practice risk-based audit thinking: 652 questions will test your ability to prioritize audit efforts based on risk assessment—not memorized procedures.
  • Deep-dive into cryptography and access controls: These appear in Protection of Information Assets; understand encryption standards, key management, and authentication mechanisms specific to audit contexts.
  • Learn IoT and emerging security implications for auditors: This modern topic (in Top Topics) tests whether you understand risks in newer technology environments—crucial for staying relevant.
  • Work through scenario-based questions: CISA tests judgment calls auditors face (e.g., 'What control gap should you prioritize?'), so practice applied thinking, not just definitions.

Relevant Career Roles

IT AuditorInternal Audit Manager (IT/Systems focus)IT Governance SpecialistIT Risk ManagerCompliance Officer (Technology/Systems)IT Control Assessor

Sample Questions

Try 5 free questions from the CISA question bank

Q1Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation

An organization has engaged a third party to implement an application to perform business- critical calculations. Which of the following is the MOST important process to help ensure the application provides accurate calculations?

Q2Information System Auditing Process

An organization has outsourced its internal audit activity to a third-party service provider due to financial constraints and the lack of appropriate skill sets. Which of the following should be the PRIMARY focus for the quality assurance (QA) team within the internal audit group?

Q3Governance and Management of IT

One advantage of managing an entire collection of projects as a portfolio is that it highlights the need to:

Q4Protection of Information Assets

Which of the following types of firewalls provide the GREATEST degree of control against hacker intrusion?

Q5Protection of Information Assets

An IS audit reveals that a privileged user account was used to delete some transactions from application logs. Which of the following would BEST prevent the recurrence of similar irregularities?

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