Going for CISA on 20th

I am going to sit for CISA on 20th, I don't feel much prepared to be honest. I will rely on my technical IT background and experience with auditors. Read the all-in-one book watched videos but didn't have access to Q&A so let's see how I do. I just hope that the questions won't be like the one in the assessment test in ISACA's website. Fingers crossed.

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Info_Sec_Wannabe

Good luck on your exam!

I would recommend keeping a mindset of not being too technical when interpreting or understanding the questions so you won't get thrown off. Also, in my opinion, the assessment test questions in the ISACA website are easier (or more straightforward) than the actual questions.

boringIT

Thanks for your post Info_Sec_Wannabe. What I understood from various sources is that essence of IT auditing overall revolves around minimization of risk to business to acceptable levels by being compliant with laws and regulations, enforcement of company's IT security policies while keeping in mind that preserving human life no matter what. I will definitely read the questions twice and not jump to conclusions without reading all the choices. I think this is the most important thing for me to keep in mind. There maybe a choice which includes and something more than the choice I previously thought was correct. Let's see, tomorrow is the big day

jumblerr

boringIT wrote: »

Thanks for your post Info_Sec_Wannabe. What I understood from various sources is that essence of IT auditing overall revolves around minimization of risk to business to acceptable levels by being compliant with laws and regulations, enforcement of company's IT security policies while keeping in mind that preserving human life no matter what. I will definitely read the questions twice and not jump to conclusions without reading all the choices. I think this is the most important thing for me to keep in mind. There maybe a choice which includes and something more than the choice I previously thought was correct. Let's see, tomorrow is the big day

Report back-I'm taking it 12/22!!

Mudcat3434

Good luck to both of you! I just took it today. Got an initial unofficial pass. Just relax at this point guys. I’m a bit of a hypocrite as I didn’t relax approaching the exam, but if you can trust your preparation to this point. Go in with a positive and confident mindset. And of course get in that ISACA mindset. Just review a few (10-15) questions about an hour or so before your exam. Not necessarily to study but to get in that frame of mind. Like I said try not to stress and trust your preparation at this point.

boringIT

Passed. I think the exam's approach is really good to filter people with experience from those only with theoretical knowledge based on the books. The testing center didn't give me a print out, is this normal? They usually printout pre-liminary results I found this unusual

Mudcat3434

Completely normal. They don’t do printouts from what I’ve heard. As long as you saw that PASSED you should be good! Congrats! Now we just wait for that official email so we can apply!

TechGuru80

No printout is standard for ISACA...results email and posting of score takes anywhere from like 1-14 days...mine showed in about 1.5 weeks but other people have had faster or slower.

boringIT

I think, I will go for CCIE and CEH which I was studying in and out for 2 years now

. They've been always under my radar but because I am an expat, finding a job is not easy when I don't speak the local language here. Anyway see you in the other threads, thanks for your help!

Gbl123

I did not pass the test today.Well I had always scored above 80% in QAE database.I don’t know where I lack.Will wait for the results to come in,however I feel The computer based test is not adequate to test an experience of auditing.Well I would need help from those who have passed to give some tips of preparation.The questions are weird and I did not show any hurry to answer them.

mattster79

Gbl123 wrote: »

I did not pass the test today.Well I had always scored above 80% in QAE database.I don’t know where I lack.Will wait for the results to come in,however I feel The computer based test is not adequate to test an experience of auditing.Well I would need help from those who have passed to give some tips of preparation.The questions are weird and I did not show any hurry to answer them.

Sorry to hear that. You’ll nail it next time.

Gbl123

I wish someone just could help me to prepare.Someof The questions in the test just abruptly ends and what would you do to analyse to give the answer.I have heard you get previous year questions for practice .Where would I find it?People who have passed requesting you to kindly help me.I am really devastated.

Mudcat3434

boringIT wrote: »

I think, I will go for CCIE and CEH which I was studying in and out for 2 years now . They've been always under my radar but because I am an expat, finding a job is not easy when I don't speak the local language here. Anyway see you in the other threads, thanks for your help!

My advice would be to really focus on the explanations in the Q&A Database. Getting a certain percentage is not indicative of whether you know the material. I averaged about 77%, however, I probably didn't go through the database at the rate I have seen people talk about on here. I think the database is a great tool, but in some ways is fool's gold. My strategy was to proceed through the database and understand more of WHY the incorrect answers were in fact incorrect rather than why the correct answer was correct. In that way I felt like I was absorbing more and not relying on subconsciously memorizing what the answer was. Also, helps with getting into the "ISACA" frame of mind.

That being said the MOST important study material for me was the Review Manual. It is such a valuable resource for the test. Obviously because the test is straight from there. You will learn from this and as another poster said nail it the next time around.

Info_Sec_Wannabe

Gbl123 wrote: »

I did not pass the test today.Well I had always scored above 80% in QAE database.I don’t know where I lack.Will wait for the results to come in,however I feel The computer based test is not adequate to test an experience of auditing.Well I would need help from those who have passed to give some tips of preparation.The questions are weird and I did not show any hurry to answer them.

Don't worry, you'll pass it the next time around.

boringIT

Gbl123 wrote: »

I did not pass the test today.Well I had always scored above 80% in QAE database.I don’t know where I lack.Will wait for the results to come in,however I feel The computer based test is not adequate to test an experience of auditing.Well I would need help from those who have passed to give some tips of preparation.The questions are weird and I did not show any hurry to answer them.

Don't be discouraged. I didn't buy/have access to QAE nor the official review manual. I finished it 3 hours including review. I was in a loud room with other people perhaps your exam conditions were even more uncomfortable so you couldn't concentrate enough.

I agree that questions are weird and if you really think deep you can level yourself and go into what/if they really mean this or that mode. What I do in such situations is remembering from other exams that you should not look for a deeper meaning in the questions but literally take it for what it is. I would recommend you to read the manual if you have it. Without taking notes just read it and then hit the QAE again. You will do good next time

Gbl123

Requesting people who have passed can anyone help me with the preparation.

Info_Sec_Wannabe

Gbl123 wrote: »

Well I had always scored above 80% in QAE database.I don’t know where I lack.Will wait for the results to come in

If I may ask, despite scoring above 80% in the QAE DB, did you spend time to go back and review those items that you got wrong? When I did the QAE DB, I made sure to note down such items so I can review it and understand the rationale behind the correct answer. Further, I did the same for those items that even though I got correctly, was only due to the fact that I know the other answers as being totally wrong.

Also, when doing the QAE DB, did you check your scores on each domain? It would be helpful to know so you could focus your attention / efforts on those domains which you need to improve on.

Gbl123

Each domain I had scored above 80%.Every time when I get answers wrong I do read and when I get correct I do read the reasons as well.The exam is difficult and totally different to what QAE DB questions are.For eg I have always learnt that VPN is a secure way of transmitting the message.If a question comes like how can you ensure to protect your message being read by unauthorised users when the message is in transit?1)vPN 2)encryption 3)digital signature.For me I will always think VPN is correct because ssl being a type of vpn secures your message through encryption.Let me know your thoughts.

TechGuru80

You wouldn’t use a VPN to send a message because they are used to create secure connections to your network...you would use encryption to make the message only readable by those intended.

The exam is definitely challenging depending on your experience and knowledge, but the database has a lot of good information to help.

za3bour

boringIT wrote: »

Passed. I think the exam's approach is really good to filter people with experience from those only with theoretical knowledge based on the books. The testing center didn't give me a print out, is this normal? They usually printout pre-liminary results I found this unusual

Congratulations.

I received the results exactly 10 days after the test.

jumblerr

boringIT wrote: »

Passed. I think the exam's approach is really good to filter people with experience from those only with theoretical knowledge based on the books. The testing center didn't give me a print out, is this normal? They usually printout pre-liminary results I found this unusual

Congrats!

boringIT

my result is still not emailed... I think it will arrive after new year.

Mudcat3434

boringIT wrote: »

my result is still not emailed... I think it will arrive after new year.

You took it the day after I did and I got mine yesterday, so I would expect you might see the results today!

Btw, I did much better than I thought although I don’t know exactly where my score would put me among those who take it. I got a 610. All that matters is that it’s official now! Even though you get that preliminary pass it is still a slight uneasiness until you get that official email. Congrats on passing it Boring!

boringIT

Mr. X Y

This email is being sent to notify you of your 20 December 2017 exam results. A scaled score of 450 or higher is required to pass, which represents the minimum consistent standard of knowledge as established by ISACA's CISA Certification Working Group.
We are pleased to inform you that you successfully PASSED the exam with a total scaled score of 633. For your information, your exam results by area are provided below.
SCALED SCORES BY CONTENT AREA:
The Process of Auditing Information Systems 617
Governance and Management of IT 655
Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation 549
Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and Service Management 648
Protection of Information Assets 678

Gbl123

@boringIT congratulations for your score.Hats off to you even without QAE database questions you scored so excellent marks.I just failed and was short of 10 marks.I scored 440.Anyways congratulations would like to ask you how did you prepare?i know you read AIO and watched videos.Is there anything You can suggest to improve to pass the exams.I don’t think I can score like you.Your score is a dream score.

boringIT

Gbl123 wrote: »

@boringIT congratulations for your score.Hats off to you even without QAE database questions you scored so excellent marks.I just failed and was short of 10 marks.I scored 440.Anyways congratulations would like to ask you how did you prepare?i know you read AIO and watched videos.Is there anything You can suggest to improve to pass the exams.I don’t think I can score like you.Your score is a dream score.

Well I don't want to brag but I worked for one of the big Anti-virus companies for 2 years where I learned a lot about malware analysis (viruses, trojans, rootkits, spyware, spam etc.) then I worked at HP as a network security engineer acquired a lot of skills while working to be honest. Fortune 500 companies would outsource their operations to HP so I am more or less familiar with outsourcing strategies, what are the benefits and pitfalls. You would also experience the benefits of security awareness trainings and various phases of projects. All these things I think helped me grasp the concepts. Knowing networking technologies, standards as well as some pentesting experience was again really helpful. I am not sure how the other people managed to pass it by only studying QAE, I guess everyone has his/her own way.

I am not affiliated to Safari Online Books but I think it's worth the money to have access to variety of books and video tutorials. I watched 2 video tutorials, one from iCollege and another from Sari Greene Pearson IT Certification. I really liked where Sari Greene goes into a meeting room and would explain why/what/how the audit would be conducted to various stakeholders in a company.

When I wrote that I hope the questions would not be like pre-assessment test, I had not read the AIO book and watched the videos yet. I did the pre-assessment test solely based on my real life experience and managed to score 56%. So my recommendation for you is to focus on areas which you are lacking experience/knowledge. That's what I did while studying. It's really important to be brutally honest with yourself.

Don't worry you will pass it next time. Don't be discouraged by our comments as you can see I had underestimated the level of my knowledge. Everyone on techexams.net who passed the exam is saying QAE is a must to pass the exam. Well I think it's nice to understand the way ISACA think but if you really concentrate on the question and try to reduce the things to why an audit, information systems are important to business then you would most probably find the correct answer. Happy new year!

cisanut

@boringIT,
Good write up! Congrats to you and mudcat3434 for passing with such impressive scores!

@Gbl123,
Based on reading the comments in this forum, and having passed the CISA exam recently (12/20/17), I believe the key to passing the CISA exam is to achieve a balance of learning the concepts well from reading the CRM/AIO/CISA Study Guide, and doing the QAE DB. As others have mentioned, when doing the QAE DB, don't simply memorize the answer but find out why an answer is correct, and why the other 3 are incorrect. The QAE DB is a tool designed to help learn the concepts, not to recognize the questions on the real exam. The questions on the real exam will always be different anyway! The level of studying the CRM/AIO/CISA Study Guide & QAE DB could be offset by an individual's work experience in IT Audit/IT Security. Those with more experience may not require as much studying, while those with less experience may require more studying. As boringIT mentioned, be brutally honest with yourself, and identify where your weakness is. The exam score breakdown should give you a good clue as to which domain you need improvement on. Study hard using the CRM/AIO/CISA Study Guide & QAE DB in the domain needing improvement on, in addition to doing an overall review prior to your retake, and you should be fine.

czarul

Yes, I agree with the previous statements that learning by remembering is the stupidest thing you can do. I did it and did not pass the exam. I spent 10 months studying and I've processed 1177 + 1000 around about 2000 questions. I received the results on the exam

e are sorry to inform you that you were not successul in passing the CISA exam. You received a total scaled score of 395. For your information, your exam results by area are provided below.
SCALED SCORES BY CONTENT AREA:

The Process of Auditing Information Systems
378

Governance and Management of IT
308

Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation
349

Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and Service Management458Protection of Information Assets 465

I had not access to ISACA database, read only Cisa Maunal book 26th edition.
So , the questions on the exam just shocked me and last quesion I answered in lat 5 minut.

If any one would like to help me and share some material , please please, please contact me on marina dot mokotow at gmail com