(June 20 – 15:35 ET) – The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants’ National Specialization Council has signed an exclusive strategic alignment and accreditation agreement with the Institute of Internal Auditors. The agreement establishes IIA’s Certified Internal Auditor program as the Specialist Certification Program for CAs working in internal audit, offering a CIA designation.
CAs interested in the CIA designation will be able to write a single 3.5 hour challenge exam on November 16. The deadline to register for this exam is September 30. Local chapters of the IIA will be offering review programs for the challenge exam. CICA recommends checking the syllabus on the IIA Web site to “determine how much time should be devoted to studying for the exam”.
In addition to passing the exam with a minimum mark of 75%, CAs will have to join the IIA, abide by its Code of Ethics, provide a character reference, and have two years experience in internal auditing to earn the designation.
CAs who are CIAs will be able to use a specialist symbol, CA·CIA, providing they register in the specialty registry of their Provincial Institute. This isn’t available in Quebec, however, where specialists aren’t permitted. CICA says, “CAs can count on the CIA designation to bring them long-term value and credibility as internal auditing specialists.”
There are now 26,000 CIAs worldwide.
-IE Staff