What’s Changing on the 2025 CIA Exam?

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) has announced that the three-part CIA exam will undergo changes effective May 2025. These updates ensure that the CIA exam syllabus reflects today’s global practice of internal auditing, while reducing duplicate coverage among the various exam parts. The 2025 exam is aligned with the IIA’s new Global Internal Audit Standards, which complement the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) released in 2017. The overall timing and structure (# of multiple-choice questions) of each exam part will remain as is.

Here are the significant changes for the three-part CIA exam effective May 2025.

Part 1: Essentials of Internal Auditing

On the new 2025 exam, Part 1 section count will be reduced from six core domains to four. This impacts the overall percentage of content each section accounts for on the Part 1 exam, as well as the overall focus. In other words, the Part 1 exam will be organized a bit differently beginning in 2025, with an expanded emphasis on ethics and foundations of internal auditing.

Current Syllabus

Section 1: Foundations of Internal Auditing (15%)
Section 2: Independence and Objectivity (15%)
Section 3: Proficiency and Due Professional Care (18%)
Section 4: Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (7%)
Section 5: Governance, Risk Management, and Control (35%)
Section 6: Fraud Risks (10%)

New 2025 Syllabus

Section 1: Foundations of Internal Auditing (35%)
Section 2: Ethics and Professionalism (20%)
Section 3: Governance, Risk Management, and Control (30%)
Section 4: Fraud Risks (15%)
N/A
N/A

Key topics from Independence and Objectivity, Proficiency and Due Professional Care, and Quality Assurance and Improvement Program sections have been incorporated into the revised Foundations of Internal Auditing and Ethics and Professionalism sections. They will no longer exist as their own Part 1 exam sections in 2025.

Part 2: Practice of Internal Auditing

The new Part 2 exam section count has been reduced from four to three core domains. Note that Planning the Engagement and Performing the Engagement sections have been combined into a single domain to account for 50% of the 2025 exam.

Current Syllabus

Section 1: Managing the Internal Audit Activity (20%)
Section 2: Planning the Engagement (20%)
Section 3: Performing the Engagement (40%)
Section 4: Communicating Engagement Results and Monitoring Progress (20%)

New 2025 Syllabus

Section 1: Managing the Internal Audit Function (25%)
Section 2: Planning and Performing the Engagement (50%)
Section 3: Engagement Results and Monitoring (25%)
Section 4: N/A

Part 3: Business Knowledge for Internal Auditing

The section count for the Part 3 CIA exam will also be reduced from four core domains to three. See the chart below for percentage breakdowns:

Current Syllabus

Section 1: Business Acumen (35%)
Section 2: Information Security (25%)
Section 3: Information Technology (20%)
Section 4: Financial Management (20%)

New 2025 Syllabus

Section 1: Organizational Strategic Planning and Management (25%)
Section 2: Common Business Processes (45%)
Section 3: Information Technology (30%)
Section 4: N/A

Common Business Processes will become the largest section on the 2025 Part 3 CIA exam, so it is important to use a trusted review provider like UWorld to master its concepts.

For the latest detailed updates on the 2025 CIA exam, visit the Institute of Internal Auditors’ page dedicated to this transition here.