CIA 2025 EXAM

Last update: January 2024.

The CIA exam will undergo major changes in 2025. The changes are partly due to changes in the “Standards”, now referred to as the Global Internal Audit Standards, that were released in January 2024, and that will be effective by January 2025. The current CIA exam is based on the Standards that were released in 2017. Read through to learn more about the changes to the CIA exam, and how they may affect your exam preparation.

What is the CIA exam syllabus?

The CIA exam syllabus is an outline that summarizes the topics covered in the CIA exam. The exam syllabus serves as a guide to help candidates identify the content on which they will be tested to earn the CIA certification. For more details about the current exam syllabus click here.

What is changing?

The IIA will announce the changes to the exam syllabus in May 2024. What we know so far is that the 2025 exam will reflect changes in internal audit Standards. The IIA released an updated version of the Standards, Global Internal Audit Standards, in January 2024. The updated Standards are set to be effective by January 2025. The CIA exam syllabus will be updated to reflect the changes in the standards, in addition to other changes based on feedback that the IIA collected through a global job analysis.

Why is it changing?

The CIA exam syllabus is changing to ensure that the exam’s content remains current and valid. The IIA periodically conducts a global job analysis study. The IIA conducted a global CIA job analysis study in 2023 using an external psychometrician to ensure the independence of the study. The results of the study confirmed the need to revise the current three-part CIA exam, another reason for the change is to align the exam with the new Global Internal Audit Standards.

According to the IIA, the updated CIA exam syllabus will:

• be up to date with the current global practice of internal auditing,
• create greater alignment between the CIA syllabus and the new IIA’s Global Internal Audit Standards,
• minimize duplication and overlap among the three exam parts, and clarify the knowledge, skills, and abilities that exam candidates must possess to pass the exam.

What are the new Standards?

The Standards consist of 15 guiding Principles. Each Principle is supported by Standards that outline requirements, considerations for implementation, and examples of evidence of conformance. Taken together, these elements assist internal auditors in achieving the Principles and fulfilling the Purpose of Internal Auditing. You can find the new 2024 standards here.

When will the changes be applied to the exam?

The new syllabus will be published by May 2024 and will take effect for the English version of the exam and Challenge exams starting May 1, 2025, while other languages will be updated later. Candidates will continue to sit for the current exams until the revised exams are released. Here are the new exam release dates for all languages:

How will these changes affect exam takers?

Those who have completed all three CIA exam parts and earned the CIA certification do not need to take any action other than fulfilling the annual certification renewal requirements. Candidates retain all completed exam parts.

The IIA will release further information for candidates who haven’t passed the 3 exam parts by the release date of the new exam. We will post all updated related to the 2025 CIA exam on this page. Stay tuned.