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Sharing thoughts and ideas on business, security and photographyDiscussion of 2013 CISA Review Q,A&E sample exam:ISACA CISA Exam (Session 15) live on Hangouts OnAir
Posted on June 09, 2015On Saturday the study group went through a mock exam, and using the Sample Exam from the 2013 Review Questions, Answers and Explanations Manual. This evening we will be discussing questions and areas which the participants struggled with from the Exam as well as any other areas of concern. Please join us.
This session will be hosted by yours truly, Justin Williams. Top placed candidate in the Dec 2014 exam.
Hangout link : https://plus.google.com/events/c9rkl5fnpaavk2m6n0u66loopsc
Youtube link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxbIgR6kuOw
Tips and Techniques for the ISACA CISA Exam (Session 14)
Posted on June 06, 2015Apologies for the delay in getting up the slides from Tuesday’s session. The video is up on Youtube and you can find it below. I have also uploaded a copy of the very useful guide by Shirish Deshpande & Rafeq. Goodluck to all candidates, hope that things are going well with your studies, and don’t forget to use the CISA discussion forum on the ISACA website if you have any specific challenges.
Link to video on Youtube
Download the slides : ITSec CISA Prep June 2015 session 14 2nd June 2015 Exam tips
Download Shirish Deshpande & Rafeq’s excellent Tips guide : tipsforcisaexam
The last session before the exam will be next week Tuesday. The video will be broadcast live through hangouts and available on Youtube pretty soon thereafter.
Slides for Facilitated CISA Study Sessions 24/3/2015 & 31/3/2015 : Chapter 1 Part 2 & Chapter 2 Part 1
Posted on March 31, 2015Last week we held the third of the CISA facilitated study sessions at the ITSec offices. The number of attendees is still growing and we have an increasingly diverse group of attendees which is greatly beneficial to all participating. The last two sessions were broadcast on Google Hangouts on Air. Our listener count was up to two 
The benefit of doing the broadcast is that it is recorded and now available for anybody to watch / listen to. Check it out (links in post below) and let us know if it is useful.
This evening’s session beings in about two hours. Please feel free to join us.
Attached below are the slides from the session of 24/3/2014 as well as tonight’s session (they are also in the recorded hangout).
ITSec CISA Prep June 2015 session 3 24th March 2015 Chapter 1 pt 2
ITSec CISA Prep June 2015 session 4 31st March 2015 Chapter 2 pt 1
Facilitated CISA Study Session 31/3/2015 : Chapter 2 Part 1 to be broadcast via Google Hangouts
Posted on March 31, 2015The sessions from the last two weeks have been reasonably successfully broadcast and recorded on Google Hangouts On Air so we will try and do the same for this afternoon’s session. If there is something we can improve ahead of the next session please let us know.
Link to the Google Hangout event
Link to Youtube live broadcast
Hangouts are limited to a maximum of 10 people participating via video / audio and many more who can watch the video feed and participate in the chat. First come first serve.
Facilitated CISA Study Session 24/3/2015 : Chapter 1 Part 2 to be broadcast via Google Hangouts
Posted on March 19, 2015Last week’s session seemed to work reasonably well on Google Hangouts On Air so we will try and do the same for the next session. If you have missed it the recording is available. If there is something we can improve ahead of the next session please let us know.
Link to the Google Hangout event
Link to Youtube live broadcast
Hangouts are limited to a maximum of 10 people participating via video / audio and many more who can watch the video feed and participate in the chat. First come first serve.
Slides for Facilitated CISA Study Session 17/3/2015 : Chapter 1 Part 1
Posted on March 18, 2015Last night we held the second of the CISA facilitated study sessions at the ITSec offices. The number of attendees is growing and we have an increasingly diverse group of attendees which is greatly beneficial to all participating. We also broadcast the session on Google Hangouts on Air. We had a total of zero 
live listeners to the event. The benefit of doing the broadcast is that it is recorded and now available for anybody to watch / listen to. Check it out (links in post below) and let us know if it is useful. I encourage anybody who would like to join the live session next week to listen to this week’s session and just leave a comment here or pop me a mail / message on twitter to let me know you will be joining.
Attached below are the slides from last night for your reference (they are also in the recorded hangout).
ITSec CISA Prep June 2015 session 17th March 2015 Chapte 01 part 1
Solution to CISA 2014 Self-Assessment
Posted on March 18, 2015A number of the participants in our weekly CISA study session asked for the solution to the 2014 CISA self assessment hosted on the ISACA website.
Summary
Below is a PDF print of the answers. Please use responsibly and goodluck with your studies.
Facilitated CISA Study Session 17/3/2015 : Chapter 1 Part 1 to be broadcast via Google Hangouts
Posted on March 16, 2015ITSec is hosting CISA Exam Preparation facilitated study sessions at our offices in West Riding, Durban. Last week we had the kickoff session where we just did some introductions, discussed expectations of the participants for the exam and for the study sessions, spoke a bit about the structure of the exam and the five practice domains, spoke through Geroge Pajari’s Ten Steps to acing the exam, agreed and approach to the studies and set some objectives and pre-work for the next study session (to be held on Tuesday 17th March 2015).
If you are based in KZN you are welcome to join us for these sessions. Take a look on the ITSec website for directions to our offices (a map is included in the presentation pack).
On Tuesday 17th March at 4:45pm South Africa time (GMT+2) we will be covering Chapter 1 of the study guide. Participants were asked to do the self assessment on the ISACA website, read Chapter 1, note down area of concern, do some of the sample questions and come with a list of questions that went wrong.
For those not close enough to join us for the sessions, download the slides, read through and see if you can find some useful tips in there. You can also use the study schedule, customise it for your use, and then have a structured plan for your exam prep. Having a structure to assist in your study discipline is always a good idea.
We are going to try and set up a Google hangout for the session Tuesday afternoon. I am not sure how that will work out, we don’t have professional equipment to broadcoast the session, so it will be done off a reasonable webcam. Feel free to join us.
Download a copy of the introductory presentation from last week.
ITSec CISA Prep June 2015 session 1 10th March 2015 with slides for Prep 17th March
CISA, CGEIT, CRISC. What is a good score in an ISACA exam?
Posted on March 11, 2015Please note these are all my own opinions and comments, based on my experiences and results. This is not an official ISACA post in any way.
There is not a lot of information available on ISACA exam scores and what would constitute a “good” score. After I received my exam results from the most recent CISA exam (and before receiving confirmation of a placing), I thought I had done quite well and wanted an idea of just how good a score this was. I looked around and really couldn’t find much.
Many years ago ISACA used to score their exams with a simple percentage score. 75 was required to pass the exam. A number of years ago they switched to a new system, where the results are provided on a scaled score with the maximum score of 800. A scaled score of 450 or higher is required to pass, which represents the minimum consistent standard of knowledge as established by ISACA’s Exam Certification Committee (there is one for each qualification). The score represents a conversion of individually weighted raw scores based on a common scale. As such you cannot apply a simple arithmetic mean to convert area scores to your total scaled score. (Wording from various ISACA sources).
A comment on one site that a score of over 700 was a tremendous achievement was the best I could see. I had written two other ISACA exams over the last few years so went back and looked at those scores and I could see I had done quite a bit better this time, although I had done well in those exams too.
So for those interested, I publish my results from the last three exams. The information below is edited from results emails received from ISACA after each of the exams in question. I am fairly sure that a “good” score would be exam dependent and vary from exam to exam and year to year. Nonetheless, take this for what it is, set yourself a lofty goal, and good luck with your studies towards achieving one of ISACA’s globally recognised and universally accepted qualifications in the space of Risk, Security, Governance and Compliance.
If you happen to be based in Durban and are planning to write the CISA exam (or one of the others), we are hosting a facilitated study group at the ITSec offices in Durban. This is a no-cost endeavour for the good of the community. Come along and join us. We had a planning session last night and will be meeting weekly from next Tuesday. Studying with a diverse bunch of your peers is a whole lot better than doing it alone. More details here : ITSec facilitated study group.
Justin J Williams
CA(SA), CISSP, MBA (UKZN), CISA(pend), CGEIT(pend),CRISC(pend)
Director, ITSec.
Exam Results : December 2014 CISA exam
We are pleased to inform you that you successfully PASSED the exam with a total scaled score of 727.Your score was in the top 5 percent of those testing. For your information, your exam results by area are provided below.
SCALED SCORES OF YOUR PERFORMANCE BY AREA:
- The Process of Auditing Information Systems: 800
- Governance and Management of IT: 714
- Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation: 767
- Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and Support: 615
- Protection of Information Assets: 759
This score of 727 was ranked 1st in the World for the December 2014 CISA exam.
As an aside, this is not the first time I had written the ISACA exam. I wrote and passed it back in 1996 with a score of 83% under the old scoring system. Why would I write it again? A little “oopsie” with CPE credits along the way meant I lost the certification at some point. Based on a new position I took late last year my new employer asked me to write the exam again.
Exam Results : June 2013 CGEIT exam
We are pleased to inform you that you successfully PASSED the exam with a total scaled score of 644.Your score was in the top 5 percent of those testing. For your information, your exam results by area are provided below.
SCALED SCORES OF YOUR PERFORMANCE BY AREA:
- Framework for the Governance of Enterprise IT: 722
- Strategic Management: 702
- Benefits Realization: 615
- Risk Optimization: 598
- Resource Optimization: 540
This score of 644 was ranked 1st in South Africa for the June 2013 CGEIT exam.
Exam Results: December 2012 CRISC exam
We are pleased to inform you that you successfully PASSED the exam with a total scaled score of 634. For your information, your exam results by area are provided below.
SCALED SCORES OF YOUR PERFORMANCE BY AREA:
- Risk Identification, Assessment and Evaluation: 534
- Risk Response: 688
- Risk Monitoring: 650
- Information Systems Control Design and Implementation: 650
- Information Systems Control Monitoring and Maintenance: 727
Again, congratulations on passing the CRISC exam, we look forward to having you join the more than 16,000 professionals worldwide who have earned the CRISC credential.
This score of 634 was ranked 3rd in South Africa for the December 2012 CRISC exam.
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