Having spent the past 3+ years in internal audit, first for a global building materials manufac­turer and now with a Canadian retailer, I figured I ought to go for the certi­fi­cation and make it official.

So, a couple months ago I committed to earning the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) desig­nation. The first step was to register with the IIA as a candidate, which is done entirely online.

The next step was to select and acquire study materials. The IIA has their own package, which they’re quite fond of based on some phone conver­sa­tions I had with one of their repre­sen­ta­tives, and Gleim is another popular one, as far as I can tell from cruising the various LinkedIn internal auditor group discussions.

I went a different route. I had attended an IIA social event for new members (Toronto chapter) back in April, where I met a fellow CA who had more recently achieved her CIA as well, and she recom­mended Hock as a cost-effective alter­native. So far I’m liking it, having worked my way through the textbook for Part 1 of the exam. I’ve begun to use their software (ExamSuccess) to take even more practice questions. (The textbook also has them, sprinkled throughout.)

The CIA exam is four parts, but if you’re a CA or CPA you can apply to be exempted from the final part. Part 4 covers strategic management, global business environ­ments, organi­za­tional behaviour, management skills and negotiating.

I’m quite a nerd, so I actually enjoy studying and answering practice questions. Now that I’ve begun the process, I’m surprised I didn’t start it sooner!

Update (Dec. 6, 2011): The budget dropped out for training for the rest of the year and the CIA fell by the wayside. Maybe in 2012!