Need help deciding what you want to be when you grow up? Check out the rest of our posts on credentials for accountants. If you're really into internal audits and information systems, want to make decent money and never want to worry about having to find a job, you may want to look into the CISA. Education Requirements None that we know of, beyond what you'd need to secure a job in the field to gain required professional experience. Professional Requirements CISA candidates must have 5 years of relevant experience in IS auditing, control or security work and adhere to the IASCA Code of Professional Ethics. Experience must be obtained in the 10 years before taking the exam. CISA Exam The exam is administered twice a year (June and December) and candidates must register no less than two months before the exam date. The exam is made up of 200 multiple choice questions that must be answered within 4 hours. The score is graded from 200 – 800 points and a CISA candidate must score at least 450 points to pass. It covers the following areas: IS Audit Process (10%) IT Governance (15%) Systems and Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (16% of Exam) IT Service Delivery and Support (14%) Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (14%) The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) sets the standards of and administers the CISA examination. Compensation PayScale has some interesting figures on compensation for those with the CISA and we have to say, it's one of the more lucrative credentials we've covered thus far. Interestingly, GT pays its CISAs far better than P-Dubs.

IS Auditors make between $60,047 – $82,842 while IS Audit Managers can make up to $108,226. The money is good if you're willing to put in the hours and pass a little more than half of the exam. Adrienne Gonzalez is the founder of Jr. Deputy Accountant, a former CPA wrangler and a Going Concern contributor. You can see more of her posts here.

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