Choosing the best CIA study materials is critical to passing the Certified Internal Auditor exam. CIA study materials will prepare you for what you’ll see on exam day and pass with ease, but it’s worth doing some research to find the best fit. Thankfully, we’ve done all of the hard work for you!
Each course has its own strengths and weaknesses and appeal to different learning styles. For this post, I sat down and tested each course myself, testing everything from the course design / UX, volume and quality of the study materials, course access, customer support, price, and more!
After reading my reviews below, you should be able to identify 1-2 courses that match your learning style and budget. If you’re having trouble deciding, sign up for free trials and test out your top courses yourself before making a decision.
Let’s dive in and see how the best CIA study materials stack up!
CPAExamMaven has been featured in:
- Best Overall: Gleim CIA Review
- Best Value: Surgent CIA Review
- Most Comprehensive: Gleim CIA Review
- Best Student Support: Hock International CIA Review
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Contents
Learn More About the Best CIA Review Courses in 2023!
Best Overall and Most Comprehensive CIA Review Course: Gleim CIA Review
Gleim is an established exam prep company with nearly 50 years of experience preparing accountants for professional exams.
Gleim CIA is a comprehensive CIA review course that packs 3,500+ practice questions, 6 simulated mock exams, digital & printed textbooks, a study planner and short video lessons to prepare you for the CIA exam.
Gleim’s CIA review course pairs their huge practice library with their proprietary SmartAdapt technology, which quizzes you on a lesson’s core concepts before each lesson. This lets you focus your efforts on the topics that need the most improvement.
Finally, Gleim offers their trademark personal touch by assigning you a personal counselor to guide you through your exam prep process. Gleim’s counselors have helped tens of thousands of students pass their exams, and will be your biggest cheerleaders as you prep for the exam.
For more info, here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons I see with Gleim’s CIA review course:
Pros
- HUGE test bank
- SmartAdapt technology saves time
- Detailed answer explanations
- Clean UX
- Access Until You Pass
- Personal Counselors
Cons
- May be more study material than you really need
- Premium-only access to videos, digital flashcards and experts
- No Live Instruction
Bottom Line
Gleim has every tool you need in a CIA review course. It offers the most comprehensive set of study material for an affordable price.
This course is great for self-studiers who want to crush as many practice questions as possible and streamline their CIA review process where possible with Gleim’s SmartAdapt technology.
You likely won’t need all of the practice material in Gleim’s CIA review course, but you’ll have the peace of mind that it’s there.
Gleim CIA Coupons and Promo Codes
Best Value: Surgent CIA Review
Another great option and our Best Value pick is Surgent CIA Review. Surgent offers several accounting and financial prep courses, and is best known for its AI-powered adaptive learning approach.
Surgent’s goal is to prepare you for the exam as efficiently as possible and cut out the fluff. So, how does their course work?
At the start of the course, you’ll take an intro exam to form a baseline assessment. From there, the Surgent’s A.S.A.P. technology creates a custom-tailored study plan. The goal is to allow you to focus your time and attention on the topics that you need to improve upon the most.
While no official CIA exam stats are published on Surgent’s website, Surgent reports that its system can shave at least 20-30% off your total study time. YMMV, but Surgent’s ability to tease out and prioritize your most challenging topics is definitely worth considering.
If there’s one criticism of Surgent’s CIA course, it’s that the multiple choice question bank isn’t as big as some other courses out there. If you’re brand new to internal audit and auditing in general, then it’s possible that you may need to supplement with other learning materials
Pros
- Efficient learning path saves time
- Unlimited access until you pass
- 2,000+ mulitple choice questions
- Unlimited practice exams
- Mobile friendly access
Cons
- No live instruction option
- 18-month course access
Bottom Line
Surgent CIA Review is a comprehensive CIA review course at an attractive price. The course is designed to save you as much time as possible on your exam prep.
Surgent CIA is ideal for busy students that want to take a smarter approach to their exam prep and can’t simply dump countless hours into studying. Surgent’s ability to help you prioritize certain topics over others makes it stand out from the crowd.
Surgent CIA Discounts
Best Student Support: Hock International CIA Review
Founded over 20 years ago by Brian Hock, CMA, CIA, CRMA, CSCA, Hock International is a widely respected exam prep company offering prep courses for the CIA, CMA and EA exams.
In addition to their online courses, Hock licenses their courses to education partners and Fortune 500 companies around the world, so their course is well respected.
Hock offers a great set of CIA study materials, including:
- PassMap 2.0 exam readiness tool
- Easy to read PDF textbooks
- 40+ hours of lecture videos
- 2,500+ multiple choice questions
- 6 mock exams (2 for each part)
- 650+ flashcards
- Unlimited access
- “Best Price” & “You Pass or We Pay” Guarantees
If there’s any knock on Hock, it’s that parts of their textbooks don’t go into as much detail as they can. However, in our opinion Hock’s Expert Support service more than makes up for this shortcoming. You can ask Hock
Hock also sells their lecture videos, test bank and textbooks separately. This makes them a great option for students using another review course that are just looking for supplemental study materials.
Pros
- Top-notch expert Support
- Full courses and a la carte options
- Unlimited access and Pass Guarantees
- Mobile friendly
Cons
- Practice questions can be light in certain topics
- Can get pricey
Bottom Line
Hock CIA Review offers a well-balanced review course and supplemental study materials at a range or price points.
Hock is great for students that looking for excellent student support on and/or just need supplementary study materials to pair with their main review course.
Certified Internal Auditor Exam FAQs
Pass rates for the CIA exam range between 45-54%, which puts it on par with similar professional licenses. The CIA exam isn’t a walk in the park, but it’s completely passable if you take your exam prep seriously and master the learning material.
Given that the exam focuses on auditing concepts and techniques, your work experience and familiarity with the subject matter will be huge factors in determining “how difficult” the exam is.
For the 3-part CIA exam, expect to study a minimum of 40-50 hours for each part, or 120-150 total hours. Your work experience and familiarity with auditing concepts may impact how much time you’ll need to study though.
The three-part CIA exam is administered throughout the year, so you don’t have to cram your exam studying into specified testing windows. Schedule the exam for when you’ll be ready.
The only exception to this is for retakes. Re-take testing windows are in February, June, August and November of each year.
CIA exam fees vary and depend on whether you’re a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors or a student.
Non-members can expect to pay ~$1,500 total for application fees and individual exam fees. IIA members can expect to pay ~$1,000, while student rates come to about $750.
If you’re an active professional then we recommend joining the IIA for the obvious career benefits and biggest possible savings.
Conclusion
Still undecided on which CIA study materials to go with? Leave a comment or email us at csmith@cpaexammaven.com and we’ll help you figure out which course is best for your needs!
