Dear CIA Part 2 Candidate, Studying for and passing the CIA Exams is a mission that requires dedication

and hard work. From our experience at HOCK with thousands of candidates, we know that planning makes this process much easier. Because the exam is available on an ongoing basis and there is no date by which you need to be prepared, studying can seem endless without a proper plan. We know it is easy to put things off until tomorrow. We believe that you will find studying easier and less time consuming if you have a solid plan that targets passing the Part 2 Exam within two months after you begin studying. Set out below is an 8 week plan, studying 8 to 10 hours per week. This is simply a guide based on the expected amount of study time for a person with some accounting background who is familiar with the basic exam concepts. As you go through your schedule, you may find yourself getting ahead or somewhat behind due to changes in your work or personal commitments. This does not matter. Each person should study at his or her own pace and feel comfortable with the study process and time required to prepare for the exams. While studying, there are sure to be topics that are not clear to you and perhaps some that you find incredibly difficult. When encountering these topics, you can always contact HOCK and we will help you as much as possible. Also, keep in mind that you do not need to have 100% knowledge of 100% of the exam content in order to pass. At certain points you will need to decide whether the extra time spent learning something is worth the extra knowledge gained. When in doubt about what to do, contact us and we will guide you. I wish you great success in your studies and look forward to helping you pass the exams. Sincerely,

Brian Hock, CIA, CMA President and CEO

June 2011

HOCK international www.hockinternational.com 1-866-807-4625 1-281-652-5768

CIA Part 2 Study Plan General Information and Study Methodology

Part 2 is divided into 5 study units; it should take you about 8 weeks to study all of the material, including 3 weeks of review at the end. Our basic study methodology is the same for each study unit:
1)

Carefully read through the textbook to learn and understand the concepts. We include multiple-choice questions in the book to help you better understand the subject matter and help you get used to the style of the questions on the exam. After reading each section, you should answer all of the study questions in ExamSuccess. At first, it will take you longer than it should for each question, but for the exam you should take no more than a minute and a half on each question. Continued practice will improve your test taking skills and you will get faster as you become more familiar with the process and how questions are asked. We include detailed explanations so you can understand why an answer is right or wrong. Develop a 75+ proficiency level within each Section. Your goal is to improve your knowledge, not just memorization. You should have enough understanding of the subject matter to be able to explain it to someone else.

2)

3)

Note: Flash cards are included in the HOCK study material. We consider the flash cards to be a useful study tool. You can study them when you have only a few minutes of time to spare, while riding into work, or simply before going to bed.

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CIA Part 2 Study Plan Unit 1: 1 Week Section A Conducting and Monitoring Engagements
Sections A comprises from 30 to 50% of the Part 2 Exam. The main topics of interesting in this section include: 1) engagement information, 2) working papers, 3) communicating results, and 4) monitoring process. ExamSuccess After completing the reading, create and complete a Study Session in ExamSuccess consisting of all of the questions in Section A Conducting and Monitoring Engagements. Re-study all questions missed by creating a new Study Session from all incorrectly answered questions.

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CIA Part 2 Study Plan Unit 2: 2 Weeks Section B Conduct Specific Engagements and Fraud Knowledge Elements
Section A covered the process of conducting an engagement. Now, we will study the elements of the specific engagements. There are two types of services that an internal auditor conducts: assurance and consulting. Assurance services are when the auditor examines evidence for the purpose of giving an independent assessment of risk management, control, and governance processes. Assurance engagements can be either financial, operational, or compliance. Consulting services, on the other hand, are advisory and related client service activities that are intended to add value and improve the organizations governance, risk management, and control processes. In addition, the internal auditor may be involved in special engagements, which include due diligence and fraud. This Unit ends before the Information Technology portion of Section B. Information Technology is the next Unit. ExamSuccess After completing the reading, create and complete a Study Session in ExamSuccess consisting of all of the questions in Section B Conduct Specific Engagements and Fraud Knowledge Elements except for the questions in the Information Technology and Systems Control subtopics. Re-study all questions missed by creating a new Study Session from all incorrectly answered questions.

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CIA Part 2 Study Plan Unit 3: 1 Week Section B Information Technology (IT)
The use of computers in a companys operations and accounting systems has become very common and very useful. Computers have led to increased production, but have also led to increased exposure to inaccuracies and fraud. Thus, IT that is used by a company is of particular interest to auditors. It is important for you to have a good understanding of the elements of the IT function and its basic control concepts. This would include understanding the basics of system and application controls, systems design, what computer networks are, the use and development of databases, contingency planning, and an understanding of electronic data interchange (EDI) and enterprise resource planning (ERP). ExamSuccess After completing the reading, create and complete a Study Session in ExamSuccess consisting of all of the questions in the Information Technology and Systems Control subtopics of Section B Conduct Specific Engagements and Fraud Knowledge Elements. Re-study all questions missed by creating a new Study Session from all incorrectly answered questions.

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CIA Part 2 Study Plan Unit 4: 1 Week Section C Engagement Tools

This last Unit is probably the most difficult in Part 2 because it involves some mathematical problem solving. The first part of Section C involves sampling and statistics. This part entails memorizing some basic formulas, but we recommend not to get too hung up on them. An auditor tests only a portion of items because it is not always feasible to test every transaction. The auditor then applies statistics to test the accuracy and reliability of the sample results. Most of your time should be spent understanding sampling and statistics. The section also includes topics such as data gathering tools, analytical review techniques, decision-making process, computerized auditor tools and techniques, and process mapping. ExamSuccess After completing the reading, create and complete a Study Session in ExamSuccess consisting of all of the questions in Section C Engagement Tools. Re-study all questions missed by creating a new Study Session from all incorrectly answered questions.

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CIA Part 2 Study Plan Unit 5: 3 Weeks Review

Prior to your exam and after you have completed studying, you will want to at least skim through the entire material one more time. While doing this, you wont want to focus on any individual idea or topic or try to memorize the formulas. Simply make certain that you are familiar with all of the topics, both large and small, and refresh your memory as to the key terms and ideas. After you skim through the materials, you will want to focus on the main topics, which are identified in the Section Overviews. If you have not been using them up to this point, now is a good time to use the flash cards. The flash cards do not cover every little detail in the materials, but they address the main topics, definitions and formulas that are most likely to be tested. Get out the flash cards whenever you can, even for a few minutes. During the final week or two before your exam, create several Exam Simulations in ExamSuccess. Each of these Exam Simulations will contain 100 questions selected randomly from the entire question base in approximately the same distribution as the questions will be on the real exam. For example, if a particular major section will account for 25% of the questions on the real exam, 25% of the questions on the simulation exam will also come from that section. The simulation exams will be timed for 2.75 hours, so set aside this much time when you will not be interrupted for taking each test. You need to become accustomed to sitting for almost three hours in one place and answering questions on the computer. And as always, if you have any questions at all, contact the HOCK team and we will be happy to help you.

Mock Exam: You should be prepared to take the Part 2 Mock Exam and then pass the real exam shortly after. Email us at [email protected] and ask for the mock exam to be emailed to you. It is a paper and pencil exam containing 100 questions to be completed in 2.75 hours.

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