CISA Practice Questions (Free Sample)

Free practice sample

Fifteen original CISA practice questions, unlocked with no signup and instant scoring. The sample draws proportionally across all five domains of the exam content outline in force since August 1, 2024, so the mix you see here reflects the shape of the real exam rather than a single topic slice.

Nearly every hard CISA question turns on judgment rather than recall: not what a control is, but what the auditor should do first, which finding is the greatest concern, what constitutes the best evidence. These questions are written to that standard, and every explanation names the winning answer and the near-miss it beats, so a review pass teaches the reasoning ISACA rewards rather than a letter to memorise.

Vendor · ISACA Questions · 150 Duration · 240 min Scaled 200-800 · pass 450 No penalty for wrong answers 5 domains 5 yrs experience (waivers) 120 CPE / 3 yrs
Information Systems Auditing Process Domain 1 · 18%
Governance and Management of IT Domain 2 · 18%
Information Systems Acquisition, Development and Implementation Domain 3 · 12%
Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience Domain 4 · 26%
Protection of Information Assets Domain 5 · 26%

ISACA CISA — Free Sample Questions

  1. Question 1 of 15Information Systems Auditing Process

    What should an IS auditor do first when planning an audit?

  2. Question 2 of 15Information Systems Auditing Process

    Why does an IS auditor use a risk based audit approach?

  3. Question 3 of 15Information Systems Auditing Process

    An auditor gathers evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to do what?

  4. Question 4 of 15Information Systems Auditing Process

    What is the value of maintaining auditor independence?

  5. Question 5 of 15Governance and Management of IT

    IT governance primarily ensures what?

  6. Question 6 of 15Governance and Management of IT

    A steering committee for IT projects mainly provides what?

  7. Question 7 of 15Information Systems Acquisition Development and Implementation

    During acquisition and development, why should controls be considered before a system goes live?

  8. Question 8 of 15Information Systems Acquisition Development and Implementation

    What is the purpose of user acceptance testing before a system is deployed?

  9. Question 9 of 15Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience

    Why are regular backups a key part of IS operations and resilience?

  10. Question 10 of 15Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience

    A recovery point objective defines what?

  11. Question 11 of 15Information Systems Operations and Business Resilience

    Why should an organization periodically test its disaster recovery plan?

  12. Question 12 of 15Protection of Information Assets

    What is the primary goal of the principle of least privilege?

  13. Question 13 of 15Protection of Information Assets

    Encrypting data at rest primarily protects against what?

  14. Question 14 of 15Protection of Information Assets

    Segregation of duties in a financial system reduces the risk of what?

  15. Question 15 of 15Protection of Information Assets

    An auditor reviews access logs and finds a terminated employee account still active. What does this indicate?

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Frequently asked questions about CISA

How many questions are on the actual CISA exam?

150 multiple-choice questions in a 240-minute window. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so leaving anything blank is strictly worse than a considered guess. Confirm current logistics on isaca.org when you book, since ISACA sets format and may change it.

What score do I need to pass CISA?

ISACA scores CISA on a scaled range of 200-800 with 450 required to pass. That conversion does not map linearly to a raw percentage, so 450 is not “56%”. The prep community’s long-standing working proxy is roughly 65% raw, which is where the Certifym practice pass line sits. Treat it as a floor rather than a target, candidates scoring consistently in the mid-70s on realistic practice exams walk in with genuine margin.

Which domains should I spend the most time on?

Domains 4 and 5 carry 26% each, together 52% of your scored questions. The August 2024 outline shifted weight decisively toward the operational end of the job, so if your study materials still show the older 21/17/12/23/27 split, they predate the current exam. Domain 3 is the lightest at 12% and rarely justifies proportional study time.

Do I need five years of experience before I can sit the exam?

No. You can sit the exam at any time; the experience requirement applies to certification, not to testing. ISACA requires five years of information systems auditing, control, or security experience, with waivers available for relevant degrees and other credentials. Many candidates pass the exam first and complete the experience requirement afterwards. You have five years from passing to do so.

Is CISA harder than CISM?

They are different rather than ranked. CISA rewards an auditor’s mindset (evidence, independence, and defensible conclusions) while CISM rewards a manager’s, weighing business risk and programme design. Candidates from an audit or assurance background usually find CISA the more natural first step; those already running a security function often find CISM reads more like their day job.

How long should I study for CISA?

Working IT auditors typically report 80-120 hours of focused preparation, weighted toward Domains 4 and 5. Candidates coming from a security or engineering background rather than audit generally need more, because the exam’s framing (independence, sufficiency of evidence, the auditor’s role versus management’s) is unfamiliar territory regardless of technical depth.

How is this free sample different from the full Certifym bank?

The sample is a fixed 15-question set spread across the five domains at blueprint proportions. The full Certifym bank is 1,500 original CISA questions across ten industry-vertical sets, with each full-length exam stratified to the exact outline (27 questions each from Domains 1 and 2, 18 from Domain 3, and 39 each from Domains 4 and 5) on a 240-minute timer. None of the paid-bank items appear in this sample.

Is Certifym affiliated with ISACA?

No. Certifym.net is operated by Certifym Exam Services, LLC and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ISACA. All questions and explanations on this site are original content produced by Certifym and are not sourced from actual ISACA exam questions.

Trademark notice & independence. Certifym.net is operated by Certifym Exam Services, LLC and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ISACA. CISA® and ISACA® are registered trademarks of ISACA, used here only to identify the certification these study materials are intended for. The CISA Exam Content Outline and its domain structure are the property of ISACA; download the current outline directly from isaca.org.

All practice questions, answers, and explanations on this page are original content produced by Certifym Exam Services, LLC. They are not actual ISACA examination questions and are not represented as such. Exam format, domain weights, and eligibility criteria are set by ISACA and may change; verify current details at isaca.org before scheduling.