CIA Exam Difficulty -- How Hard is the CIA Exam | Certified Internal Auditor

What’s the CIA Exam difficulty, and how hard is it compared to the CPA and CMA Exams? This video will answer those questions and provide other insights to help you pass the CIA Exam on your first try. For more information, check out this full-length article: https://ipasstheciaexam.com/cia-exam-....

The difficulty of the CIA Exam is based on six factors:

1. Typical pass rates
2. Exam format
3. Extent of the exam content
4. Depth of the exam content (basic knowledge vs. the application of concepts)
5. Types of questions
6. Overall duration

The pass rate for the CIA Exam averages about 43%, while the CMA Exam pass rate is 45% and the CPA Exam rate is about 50%. So, based on the pass rates alone, the CIA Exam is slightly more difficult for most candidates. It’s possible that the pass rates are reflective of each exam’s education requirements.



To sit for the CIA Exam, candidates need as little as an associate’s degree, depending on their length of work experience as an internal auditor. By comparison, a large number of accountants who take the CPA Exam have a master’s of accountancy or other advanced degrees in the accounting field. Therefore, the CIA Exam applicants may have less formal academic accounting training, unlike most CPA candidates.

The CIA Exam has three sections that cover broad content areas. You can take the sections in any order, and you don’t have to take them all at the same time.

• Section 1: Essential skills for internal auditing
• Section 2: Practical skills
• Section 3: Business knowledge as it relates to internal auditing

You have to pass all three sections within a 3-year completion deadline. This deadline mirrors the CMA requirement, which requires you to pass the two-part test in 3 years. However, you must complete all four sections of the CPA Exam within an 18-month rolling window. Therefore, you have a longer period to successfully pass all portions of the CIA Exam.

In terms of content, most of the CIA Exam focuses on internal auditing concepts that require a deep understanding of fraud, financial management, governance, information technology and security, general business practices, risk management, and more.

The CIA Exam requires candidates to go beyond basic internal auditor concepts. You must be able to apply your knowledge to complicated scenarios. Depending on the level of your accounting experience, the CIA Exam content might be more challenging for you than the CPA or CMA Exams. Even most professionals who have worked as internal auditors might struggle with some of the content, as it’s not the type of material they use on a daily basis. Therefore, before you sit for the CIA Exam, you should have proficient knowledge of internal auditing practices.

Unlike the CPA and CMA Exams that incorporate essays and written problems, the CIA Exam format only has multiple-choice questions. However, these multiple-choice questions might be the hardest you’ve ever encountered in your academic career. In fact, it’s really hard to make educated guesses because some questions only have “best” answers.

Section 1 of the CIA Exam lasts 2 ½ hours and has 125 multiple-choice questions, while sections 2 and 3 each have 100 questions and run for 2 hours. So, you have just over 1 minute to answer each question. Therefore, it’s important to be prepared so you don’t have to spend too much time on any particular question. The CPA and CMA Exams both have longer durations with fewer questions, making them a little less challenging for candidates who are not great test-takers.

If you want to increase your chances of passing the CIA Exam on the first time, many tools are available to help you study. You can choose from traditional lectures and training, question test banks, personal tutors, or online review courses.

To find more information about passing the CIA Exam, check out the articles at https://ipasstheciaexam.com/. You’ll even find a link to sign up for a free CIA Exam course.