Established in the USA in 1941, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association that serves more than 70,000 members from more than 100 countries. The IIA Moscow Chapter has been operating in Russia since 2000.
The IIA has developed a syllabus and been administering examinations required for an individual to obtain a professional degree in internal auditing, i.e. to become a Certified Internal Auditor (or CIA). Since the first examination in 1974, some 30,000 professionals have obtained the CIA Certificate.
Value of CIA Certificate
The CIA Certificate is the only international certificate for internal auditors. It is one of the most valuable professional certificates all over the world (comparable to the CPA, CMA, ACCA,
CIMA).
Theoretical and practical requirements that need to be met to pass the Exam enable candidates for the CIA Certificate to systematize and improve their knowledge in internal auditing and risk
management.
The CIA Certificate enhances the status and confirms the professional qualification of its holder. It provides evidence of high class expertise and paves the way for successful career development.
Requirements for Candidates
The CIA degree is granted if candidates have passed a qualification exam and met certain academic and experience requirements. To be eligible to obtain a degree, a person must:
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hold a baccalaureate degree in any area (a degree from a Russian university is recognized as sufficient evidence of higher education),
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complete two years of professional experience in external or internal auditing (work experience must be verified by documents),
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undertake to abide by the IIA Code of Ethics (the Russian language version of the Code may be found at the IIA Moscow Chapter's web site http://www.iia-ru.divo.ru),
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provide written reference from his or her supervisor/employer.
Either a Master's degree or work experience in finance or law can be substituted for one year of experience. Candidates may sit for the CIA exam prior to satisfying their experience requirement (e.g. after the graduation from a university) which can be met after passing the exam.
Exam
The CIA Exam is made up of four parts, 80 multiple-choice questions each. Each question has four choices one of which is correct. Each part of the CIA Exam is three and a half hours. An individual can either take all the four parts at a time or can break the CIA Exam down into several stages and take any number of parts at each stage. It is necessary to achieve, at least, 75% in order to pass a part. The average pass rate is 45%. Only 20% out of those who register for four parts at a time pass all the parts at
once.
The CIA Exam may be taken twice a year – in May and November. A computer based exam is expected to be introduced, which will be available throughout the
year.
The Exam can be taken in more than 200 cities across the world in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Chinese and some other languages. In the future, the CIA Exam is planned to be taken in Russian. The first Exam was held in Moscow in November 2000.
The registration for the Exam is quite simple and described in detail at the web site of the Institute of Internal Auditors (http://www.theiia.org). A person can register by mail, fax or via Internet.
The first two parts entitled «Internal Audit Process» and «Internal Audit Skills» cover the concepts of internal control and internal auditing, building and management of the internal audit department, standards for the professional practice of internal auditing, internal auditing principles and methodology. Part III «Management Control and Information Technology» includes the following sections: management control, planning and budgeting, operations management, information technology and some others. Part IV «The Audit Environment» includes areas such as financial and managerial accounting, financial statements, financial analysis, corporate law, etc.
Preparation for the Exam
The preparation for the Exam involves studying internal audit process and skills required to perform successfully internal audit functions as well as covers more than 20 special
areas.
There are a lot of publications on internal auditing which include, primarily, classical books in English. There are also some special training manuals for the CIA Exam, including a computer based study program. A list of books and manuals can be found at the IIA web site. Unfortunately, internal auditing is not properly covered in Russian language
publications.
Education obtained from one of the universities in Western Europe or USA and/or work experience in an international company might be helpful in the preparation for the Exam but are not prerequisites for passing the Exam. It should be noted that all current Russian holders of the CIA Certificate are graduates of Russian universities and colleges.
The next CIA Exam is scheduled for 16-17 May 2001. Moscow is one of the examination centers. More details about the Exam and registration process can be found at http://www.theiia.org in the «Certification» section. Also, please, visit the IIA Moscow Chapter's website http://www.iia-ru.divo.ru. For further information, please, contact Mr Pavel Doulepov by e-mail 922845N@isbpgate.kodak.com or Mr Alexei Sonin at asonin@eur.ko.com.