Exam strategy, GRC studies, applied AI.
Expert articles to help you pass CIA, CISA, CRMA — and the rest — on the first attempt. Exam strategies, learning science, and AI-powered preparation. Native EN + FR.
37 published articles
- Certification Guides12 min read
CISA vs CISM: Which Certification Is Right for Your Career?
A detailed comparison of ISACA's two flagship certifications to help you choose the path that aligns with your career goals.
DODavid OkonkwoApr 5, 2026 - AI & Tools7 min read
How AI Is Revolutionizing Certification Exam Preparation
Discover how artificial intelligence is transforming the way GRC professionals study for certification exams — from adaptive learning to weakness diagnosis.
JPJames ParkMar 28, 2026 - Study Tips6 min read
The Science of Spaced Repetition: Remember More, Study Less
Learn how the spacing effect can dramatically improve your retention of certification material, and how to implement it in your study routine.
SCSarah ChenMar 20, 2026 - Exam Strategy5 min read
5 Time Management Strategies for Exam Day Success
Master the art of time management during your certification exam with these proven strategies used by top-scoring candidates.
MTMichael TorresMar 15, 2026 - Certification Guides13 min read
ISO 31000: A Practical Guide to Enterprise Risk Management
Everything you need to know about the ISO 31000 framework and how to prepare for the certification exam.
ARAisha RahmanMar 8, 2026 - Industry News6 min read
Understanding the Three Lines Model: A Modern Framework for Governance
How the IIA's Three Lines Model reshapes the relationship between management, risk functions, and internal audit.
MTMichael TorresMar 1, 2026 - Study Tips6 min read
How to Build an Effective Study Schedule (That You Will Actually Follow)
Practical tips for creating a realistic, sustainable study schedule that fits your busy professional life.
SCSarah ChenFeb 22, 2026 - Industry News7 min read
Fraud Examination: A Growing Career Path for GRC Professionals
Why fraud examination is one of the fastest-growing specialties in GRC, and how the CFE credential can accelerate your career.
ELEmma LindqvistFeb 15, 2026 - Certification Guides7 min read
CRISC Certification: Your Path to IT Risk Management Leadership
How the CRISC certification can position you for senior IT risk management and governance roles.
DODavid OkonkwoFeb 8, 2026 - AI & Tools5 min read
How to Use Mind Maps to Master Complex GRC Concepts
Visual learning techniques that help you understand and retain the interconnected frameworks, standards, and processes tested on GRC certification exams.
JPJames ParkFeb 1, 2026 - Success Stories8 min read
From Internal Auditor to CISO: A GRC Career Progression Blueprint
A strategic guide to building a career path from internal audit through risk management to the C-suite, with the right certifications at each stage.
SCSarah ChenJan 25, 2026 - Certification Guides11 min read
CRMA Exam Guide 2026: From CIA to Risk Management Assurance Specialist
A complete walkthrough of the IIA Certification in Risk Management Assurance — exam structure, the three domains, prerequisites, and how to prepare in 80–120 hours.
ARAisha RahmanApr 22, 2026 - Industry News7 min read
The Inner Album of the Auditor: 8 Ideas That Carry Every Engagement
The partners who sound brilliant in a kickoff meeting don't know more than you. They know less — and they've thought about each idea ten thousand times. This is how articulate auditors are actually built.
SCSarah ChenApr 28, 2026 - Industry News7 min read
Your Risk Register Is a Fossil (And What to Replace It With)
The first time I saw a risk register that mattered, it was a single A4 page. Twelve risks. Present tense. A column called "what we're watching this week." Here's why most registers are dead the day they're approved — and how to keep yours alive.
ARAisha RahmanMay 1, 2026 - Industry News8 min read
The Auditor's Paradox: Why More Evidence Often Means Less Assurance
The most valuable shift in modern internal audit is moving from "more evidence" to "better evidence" — and most teams are moving in the wrong direction. A pyramid-style argument for sparse, hypothesis-driven engagements.
MTMichael TorresMay 4, 2026 - Industry News8 min read
Every Control Is a Hypothesis
I was a physics student before I was a compliance specialist, and the transition has taken me a decade to make peace with. Under the surface, the two crafts are the same — and treating controls like hypotheses changes almost everything.
ELEmma LindqvistMay 6, 2026 - Industry News8 min read
Findings Are Tuition, Not Penalties
Three engagements into my career, I made my first significant finding. I walked into the closing meeting expecting a thank you. I got forty-five minutes of negotiation instead — because the COO and I were having two different conversations about what a finding even is.
MTMichael TorresMay 8, 2026 - AI & Tools9 min read
AI Doesn't Replace the Auditor; It Replaces the Spreadsheet
Every wave of new technology spawns the same dumb headline. "Will AI replace the auditor?" The question is almost always wrong in the same way — and chess and photography tell us most of what we need to know about how this actually plays out.
JPJames ParkMay 10, 2026 - Industry News8 min read
Context Beats Data: Why a Finding Without Owner, Process, and Entity Is Just Noise
The first time I "delivered" a finding to a CEO, she handed it back. I had given her data. I had not given her context. And without context, the data was unactionable — which is to say, it was noise. What cartographers figured out 500 years before we did.
ARAisha RahmanMay 11, 2026 - Industry News9 min read
Compliance Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling (And Most Teams Sleep on the Floor)
Compliance is the minimum your regulator demands. Security, trust, and resilience live above that line — and most GRC teams have built their entire operating model around the line, not the room above it. An answer-first argument for treating compliance as table stakes.
DODavid OkonkwoMay 13, 2026 - Industry News8 min read
Audit Fatigue Is a Feature, Not a Bug (Of How You Operate)
Last quarter, a CFO told me she'd started blocking calendar time labeled "audit fatigue recovery." Real label. Recurring meeting. Nine senior executives at one company, all blocking explicit time to recover from us. Then I started paying attention.
ELEmma LindqvistMay 15, 2026 - Industry News9 min read
Board Reporting Is a Translation Problem, Not a Data Problem
The first time I sat in a board meeting, I'd prepared 40 slides. The chair flipped to slide three and asked one plain question I couldn't answer. Not because I didn't know — because I'd translated my knowledge into the wrong language. What literary translators figured out, and we never did.
SCSarah ChenMay 18, 2026 - Certification Guides10 min read
CIA Exam Cost in 2026: Complete Fee Breakdown (Members & Non-Members)
The full cost of becoming a Certified Internal Auditor in 2026 — application fees, per-Part exam fees, retake fees, member vs non-member pricing, hidden costs, and the total budget to plan for.
MTMichael TorresMay 4, 2026 - Certification Guides12 min read
CIA Challenge Exam 2026: Complete Guide for CCSA, CFSA, CGAP, and CPA Holders
The CIA Challenge Exam lets eligible professionals earn the full CIA in a single 4-hour exam instead of three Parts. Who qualifies, how much it costs, what it covers, and the prep approach that gets most candidates through in 60–80 hours.
MTMichael TorresMay 7, 2026 - Certification Guides13 min read
CIA Exam Pass Rates 2026: Part-by-Part Reality Check (And How to Beat Them)
The 2026 first-attempt pass rate for the full CIA exam is roughly 42% globally — but the breakdown by Part tells a very different story. A data-driven look at where candidates actually fail, and the preparation patterns that produce 70%+ pass rates.
MTMichael TorresMay 9, 2026 - Certification Guides13 min read
CISA Exam Difficulty: A Domain-by-Domain Reality Check for 2026 Candidates
The CISA exam is famously demanding — but the difficulty is concentrated in specific domains. A data-driven breakdown of where candidates actually struggle, the hardest sub-domains, and the time-allocation strategy that pushes pass rates above 75%.
DODavid OkonkwoMay 12, 2026 - Certification Guides11 min read
CRMA vs CIA: Which Should You Take First (And When)?
The CRMA is built on top of the CIA — you generally need an active CIA to qualify. But the decision of whether to pursue CRMA at all, and when, hinges on three specific factors. The complete decision framework for 2026.
ARAisha RahmanMay 14, 2026 - Certification Guides13 min read
Best CIA Prep Courses & Materials in 2026: Complete Price Comparison (Gleim, Wiley, HOCK, Surgent, NexusGRC)
A side-by-side comparison of every major CIA prep provider in 2026 — prices, question bank sizes, AI features, pass guarantees, and the verdict by budget and learning style. Indicative pricing as of Q2 2026; verify with provider before purchase.
MTMichael TorresMay 20, 2026 - Certification Guides12 min read
Best CISA Prep Courses & Materials in 2026: Complete Price Comparison
A 2026 side-by-side comparison of every major CISA prep provider — ISACA Official, Wiley, Hemang Doshi, Cybrary, Surgent, NexusGRC Academy. Prices, question banks, AI features, pass guarantees, and the verdict by budget and learning style.
DODavid OkonkwoMay 22, 2026 - Certification Guides12 min read
Best CISM Prep Courses & Materials in 2026: Complete Price Comparison
A 2026 side-by-side comparison of every major CISM prep provider — ISACA Official, Cybrary, Wiley, NexusGRC, and key bootcamps. Prices, question banks, AI features, pass guarantees, and the right pick by budget and learning style.
DODavid OkonkwoMay 24, 2026 - Certification Guides11 min read
Best CRISC Prep Courses & Materials in 2026: Complete Price Comparison
A 2026 side-by-side comparison of every major CRISC prep provider — ISACA Official, Wiley, Cybrary, Surgent, NexusGRC. Prices, question banks, AI features, and the verdict for the IT risk and control specialist.
DODavid OkonkwoMay 26, 2026 - Certification Guides10 min read
Best CRMA Prep Courses & Materials in 2026: Complete Price Comparison
The CRMA prep market is small — fewer than 25,000 holders globally means fewer third-party options than CIA or CISA. A 2026 side-by-side comparison of IIA Learning, HOCK, NexusGRC, and the boutique providers worth knowing.
ARAisha RahmanMay 28, 2026 - Certification Guides14 min read
Best GRC Certifications in 2026: The Complete Ranking (By Salary, Demand, and ROI)
A data-driven ranking of the 10 most valuable governance, risk, and compliance certifications in 2026 — with salary data, demand trends, cost, time to certification, and our recommendation for each career stage.
SCSarah ChenJun 1, 2026 - Certification Guides13 min read
CIA Part 1: Essentials of Internal Auditing — Complete Deep Dive (2026)
The most-failed Part of the CIA exam (47% first-attempt pass rate in 2025) doesn't have to be your obstacle. A domain-by-domain breakdown of Part 1's six domains, the IIA Standards you must memorize, and the study allocation that pushes pass rates past 80%.
MTMichael TorresJun 3, 2026 - Certification Guides12 min read
CIA Part 2: Practice of Internal Auditing — Complete Deep Dive (2026)
CIA Part 2 has the highest pass rate of the three Parts (51% in 2025) — but only marginally. It rewards practitioners and punishes academic preparation. A domain-by-domain breakdown of engagement methodology, scenario questions, and the right study allocation.
MTMichael TorresJun 5, 2026 - Certification Guides13 min read
CIA Part 3: Business Knowledge for Internal Auditing — Complete Deep Dive (2026)
CIA Part 3 has the second-lowest pass rate (43% in 2025) and the lowest-passing sub-domain on the whole exam (Information Security, 39%). A breakdown of why candidates underestimate it — and the study allocation that turns the breadth into your advantage.
DODavid OkonkwoJun 7, 2026
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