Our Certifications
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
The CIA journey begins with a focus on The IIA’s International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) and aspects of mandatory guidance under the IPPF. The journey continues with a focus on managing an internal audit project and culminates with concepts related to internal control, risk, governance, and technology. The CIA is a 3-part process for establishing your foundational core and starting point for career growth to:
- Distinguish yourself from your peers.
- Demonstrate your proficiency with internal staff and external clients.
- Develop your knowledge of best practices in the industry.
- Demonstrate your proficiency and professionalism.
- Lay a foundation for continued improvement and advancement.
Internal Audit Practitioner: A New First Stop on Your Road to Success
The Internal Audit Practitioner designation is a great way to quickly demonstrate your internal audit aptitude. You can earn this new designation through social badging by completing the Internal Audit Practitioner application and taking and passing the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Part One exam.
Candidates who have successfully completed the CIA Part One exam within the past 24 months are also eligible to apply.
For more information, please visit the Internal Audit Practitioner web page.
Six Steps to Certification
If you need help getting started, refer to the six steps to certification an internal auditor should review when making the decision to become certified in the profession.
Quick Links
Qualification in Internal Audit Leadership (QIAL)
Demonstrate Your Leadership Excellence
Today, growth and change in the internal auditing field is demanding a new type of leader — one who drives a high performing audit team while delivering value by consistently addressing stakeholder needs, top-down risks, and expectations of an evolving marketplace. The IIA has developed the Qualification in Internal Audit Leadership® (QIAL®) to support you on this journey to be included among the next generation of visionaries for the profession.
So whether you’re an aspiring leader, an audit executive (AE), or an experienced instructor, the QIAL is the right qualification for the next stage in your career progression.
Who Can Benefit from Earning the QIAL?
If you are aspiring to be a leader in your organization or looking to add credibility to your current leadership role with stakeholders and peers, the QIAL will help you build and enhance skills to further establish your credibility as a leader of the future.
Aspiring Leaders
The QIAL provides you with credibility by demonstrating you have key leadership competencies valued by executives and stakeholders.
“The QIAL has aligned my priorities as a leader and reinforced my mindset that we are agents of change with a challenging but exciting and evolving task on our hands.” Joanne Paula Traice, QIAL – Director, Group Internal Audit & Risk, DP World
New Leaders
The QIAL will help provide you with the focus you need to become the best audit executive you can be.
“As an individual, the QIAL has been a big confidence booster. I’m now a member of an elite global club of qualified CAEs. Further, I’ve gained additional respect from my subordinates and have earned the admiration of many of my peers. In short, I believe I am a better CAE as a result of the QIAL experience.” Farah Araj, CIA, QIAL – Chief Audit Executive, National Holding, LLC
Experienced Leaders
The QIAL will sharpen the essential skills that have brought you success and develop new ones to solidify future achievements.
“To me [QIAL] signifies excellence and recognition as it further enhances my status in the field of internal auditing. Completing the QIAL also provided me with the professional development I was seeking.” Aldrin Sequeira, QIAL – Chief Internal Audit Officer, Jumeirah Group
Experienced Instructors
The QIAL also benefits experienced instructors who have worked with senior practitioners in helping prepare them for leadership positions or have been engaged in postgraduate academic research in internal auditing and related fields.
How Will I Benefit from Earning the QIAL?
The program includes highly transferable skills suitable for any senior leadership position, but the emphasis throughout is on how these skills coalesce around the qualities of leadership in the specific case of the audit executive.
The QIAL will help drive your success by providing you with confidence and credibility in the following areas:
- Internal Audit Leadership
- Organizational Leadership
- Ethical Leadership
- Innovation and Change Leadership
Access CCMS to begin the application and registration process or contact QIAL@theiia.org for more information.
Download the Qualification in Internal Audit Leadership (QIAL) Brochure.
QIAL Study Resources
Now Available
The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA‒United Kingdom and Ireland) has developed a QIAL online study system that combines user-friendly functionality with access to study texts, case studies, and other resources, such as podcasts and a collaborative “wiki.”
- You will have access to a tutor who will assist you in your preferred areas of study. You can contact your tutor with questions.
- The learning resources are interactive. Podcasts, videos, and case studies will make learning stimulating, rather than a chore.
- You can contact other QIAL students via online forums to share and discuss ideas and issues.
- The learning system offers the flexibility to study on your own schedule.
Click here to access the QIAL study materials.
Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA)
Demonstrate Your Environmental Knowledge and Expertise
The Certified Professional Environmental Auditor® (CPEA®) credential demonstrates one’s understanding of today’s ever changing environmental, health and safety regulations. The CPEA designation is fully accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). CPEAs qualify for Professional Membership status with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).
Whether you are seeking a promotion, exploring a position outside your organization, or simply pursuing professional development opportunities to help you tackle increasingly complex responsibilities while preparing for future challenges, an IIA certification can:
- Increase your earning potential by up to 40 percent.*
- Help you gain credibility and respect in the field.
- Enhance your skills and knowledge.
- Demonstrate your commitment to the profession.
*According to The IIA’s 2015 Internal Audit Compensation Study, the average salary of internal auditors who hold one or more certifications is 35 percent higher than that of peers with no certifications (based on U.S. responses).
BEAC also issues the Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA®) designation. The CPEA credential demonstrates one’s understanding of today’s ever changing environmental, health & safety regulations. The CPEA designation is fully accredited by the Council on Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). BEAC CPEAs qualify for Professional Membership status with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE).
Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA)
Earning a professional credential from The IIA is the best way to demonstrate your commitment to advancing in this competitive niche and communicating your breadth of knowledge.
If your goal is to become a trusted advisor to the audit committee and executive management in the critical areas of risk assurance, governance processes, quality assurance, or control self-assessment, the CRMA designation is for you.
Be a Key Advisor to the Audit Committee and Executive Management for Risk Management
Job analysis and stakeholder surveys have indicated a key element to unlocking internal audit’s full potential can be found in a professional’s ability to provide advice and assurance on risk management to audit committees and executive management. In response, The IIA developed the CRMA designation.
The standard CRMA Core Exam will be a 100-question, multiple-choice exam, with a seat time of two hours. These exams will be instantly scored like all of the other IIA exams, and will be administered at Pearson VUE testing centers around the world. All Certification in Risk Management Assurance® (CRMA®) eligibility requirements will apply.
The CRMA: Your Key to Career Success
The CRMA is designed for internal auditors and risk management professionals with responsibility for and experience in providing risk assurance, governance processes, quality assurance, or control self-assessment (CSA). It demonstrates an individual’s ability to evaluate the dynamic components that comprise an organization’s governance and enterprise risk management program and provide advice and assurance around these issues.
The CRMA is one more mark of professional distinction for internal audit practitioners. Earning the CRMA will assist you in demonstrating your ability to:
- Provide assurance on core business processes in risk management and governance.
- Educate management and the audit committee on risk and risk management concepts.
- Focus on strategic organizational risks.
- Add value for your organization.
Computer-based Testing
The CRMA exam is available through computer-based testing, allowing you to test year-round at more than 500 locations worldwide. Candidates are able to sit for exams at any IIA-authorized Pearson VUE testing center worldwide, regardless of whether the testing center is located in your hometown or country. To locate the testing centers nearest you, visit the Pearson VUE website. You must apply and register in The IIA’s Certification Candidate Management System (CCMS) prior to scheduling an exam.
Six Steps to Certification
If you need help getting started, refer to the six steps to certification an internal auditor should review when making the decision to become certified in the profession.
Quick Links
- CRMA Eligibility Requirements
- CRMA Exam Syllabus
- CPE Requirements for CRMAs
- CRMA Exam Preparation Resources
- CBT Exam Tutorial
View Important Videos on AuditChannel.tv
View a video message from IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers pertaining to the new CRMA certification.
Steve Goepfert, the new Chairman of the Professional Certification Board (PCB), discusses the Certification in Risk Management Assurance, the reasons behind the certification, why it was launched, and how this new certification helps individuals demonstrate commitment, competence, and credibility.
Access CCMS and visit the Complete a Form section to begin the CRMA application process.
*This offer applies only to the CRMA application fee. This offer may not apply in countries where exams are administered through Institutes with certain agreements. Please contact your local Institute to verify if the offer is valid in your county. Excludes exam registrations.
CPSA Certification
The Board of Environmental Health & Safety Auditor Certifications® (BEAC®) is an independent, nonprofit corporation established in 1997 to issue professional certifications relating to environmental, health, and safety auditing, and other scientific fields. BEAC is a member of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB). CESB has granted full accreditation to BEAC’s Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA®) certification. This recognition and accreditation is tangible evidence of BEAC’s commitment to excellence of its CPEA program and provides assurance to applicants, certificants, and employers of certificants that the BEAC CPEA certification program is operated consistent with recognized credentialing practices.
BEAC has signed a Letter of Agreement with the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and CPEAs qualify for ASSE Professional Member Status. BEAC has also signed a letter of agreement with the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), whereby the AIHA recognizes and endorses BEAC’s CPEA certification.
BEAC and the Auditing Association of Canada (AAC) have signed a Declaration of Cooperation to provide mutual recognition of certification and training programs. In April 2009, BEAC and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) renewed a memorandum of understanding giving BEAC an oversight role in implementing the ACC’s Responsible Care® (RC) third-party certification requirements. BEAC is the only organization currently offering the RC Auditor examination. BEAC certification qualifies for the U.S.