CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor Study Guide 4th Edition

This book was a good read and an excellent supplement to my CISA training. I plan to keep it around to use for reference. I wouldn't recommend just using this as your only training resource. Good Luck!

As Expected Received in Perfect Condition

My Experience:I will preface my review by saying that I had over 5 years of IT experience and over 3 years IT Security experience when I took the exam.I passed my CISA exam:Using this book in combination with the ISACA Question, Answer and Explanation database, I was able to pass the exam on my first attempt with a great score. I completed the answers I knew for my first pass on the exam, the second pass I went through the questions I was uncertain about and the third pass was for double checking the wording which I think is key!!I suggest:1. Build up your stamina for test taking to at least 5 hours and the 4 hours will be a breeze.2. Read and reread the questions carefully. I reread all the questions on my first pass and still found errors due to the way the questions were phrased when I double checked my work.3. If you have to take your last 5 hour practice test the day before the exam, do it first thing in the morning. ISACA does not wait for your biological clock to kick in...the exam is in the morning. This simulates the real thing! After that do not review any other material. Whatever you don't know by the morning of the exam...after investing hundreds of dollars and countless hours studying...you won't know the day before the exam. Give your brain a break so it is fully prepared for the next day.4.The morning of the exam, eat a good breakfast. Not too heavy on the fluids...And leave for the test center early.How I used(and still use) the book:1. I used the book by solely focusing on sections that I was not very familiar with or where there were questions/gray areas. Regardless of experience, I think this book provides useful, foundation level knowledge, helping you to understand why and how without overkill on samples and examples and providing a good review on areas where you may need a refresher.2. The author does a good job of clarifying what you need to know for the exam and when he includes a lot of information that you may not need for the exam, he tells you why you should know it as a professional in the field.3. The book is a good reference whether you are using it to pass your exam or to answer questions executives may have on practical approaches to solving a problem efficiently and effectively.

It is easy study material. I study this where ever I go. Useful, I am sure it will help in CISA exam.

So much of a better read than the official manual! The ISACA book is such a bore to read.

It arrive on time and the product is better than what I expected, thank you very much.

The fact that I bought this book shows that I am obviously an IS Audit novice. In the field the author can admittedly run circles over and around me. His credentials are as wide and long as the Mississippi River. However, I have nearly 30 years in the IT field, most of it in corporate America. I've read dozens of cert books and other educational books in the past and feel I know the genre well enough to leave a review (and, more importantly, to warn others who are considering buying this book instead of the official ISACA CISA book that is more than double the price). Don't do it.CONFUSING. This book is over-written. The author spends too much time pontificating and citing things that, though worthwhile for future study, are confusing references when someone is needing to pass a standardized test. Enough with the padding and showing off that you know this and that. For example, he spends pages telling us about the Business Scorecard and then says, 'Yeah well, you don't need to know this for test.' And throughout he references this regulation number or that standard number even though the student does not need to know them for the exam.ARROGANT. As already hinted at, the author is arrogant and it shows. He is quick to mention courses he's developed, committees he's played a significantly part of, etc. Your a big shot; we get it. There is way too much of the author in the pages.UNHELPFUL. In short, you never really get a sense of which sentences or things to really *know* for the exam because you never can tell where he stops and the exam materials begin. I tried to muddle through but I gave up half-way through and just ordered the official ISACA CISA material overnight from Amazon. I'm not even officially done with Chapter 1 and already it is much more clear and direct.On a positive note, I really do believe the author meant well. He makes it clear that he wants the reader not simply to pass an exam but to be a great auditor. I commend that. However, that is not really what the scope of the book is supposed to be. This is supposed to be the CISA Study Guide, not a book on how to be a great auditor. And since it missed its intended purpose entirely, I give it one star.

The book laid out the required information for the exam, but my complain was that the author spent way too much time telling us about things that do not matter. My studying would have gone much quicker if the author really drilled down what was most important.