In these current times marked by rapid digital transformation, mounting regulatory requirements, and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, organisations are seeking professionals who can both understand and manage information systems beyond just technical execution. The Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification has become such a powerful asset not just for those in IT, but also for many other specialists whose work intersects with governance, risk, compliance, privacy, and security.

While some confusion persists between CISA and other credentials—such as CISSP certification, which focuses more on security architecture and design—CISA’s unique strengths lie in assessing, auditing, governing, and assuring that organisations’ information systems meet internal controls, regulatory demands, and risk management benchmarks.

Below, we present five non-IT professions that should consider CISA certification and how they can derive significant professional and organisational benefit from obtaining it. For each, we explain how their responsibilities intersect with the domains covered by CISA, and what advantages accrue in skills, credibility, and operational effectiveness.

1. Risk Programme Managers and Risk Analysts

Risk programme managers and risk analysts are entrusted with identifying, assessing, monitoring, and mitigating risks that may affect an organisation’s assets, reputation, finances, or operations. These risks are increasingly technology-driven: whether stemming from cyber-incidents, system failures, third-party services, or legal/regulatory non-compliance.

CISA certification provides a structured, comprehensive approach to risk management that goes well beyond simple checklists. Professionals with this certification learn how to identify and prioritise risks associated with information systems; evaluate the adequacy of controls; monitor ongoing risk exposure; and prepare audit and assurance reports that translate technical vulnerabilities into business impact.

Specific Benefits

• Conducting risk assessments: Risk analysts can apply techniques covered in the CISA syllabus—such as risk identification, risk scoring, and control evaluation—to appraise exposure in both operational and strategic contexts.
• Implementing and testing risk mitigation strategies: Understanding how to design, deploy, and audit controls ensures that strategies are not simply theoretical but operationally effective.
• Integrating governance with risk frameworks: CISA bridges gaps between governance (how decisions are made, oversight functions, segregation of duties, accountability) and day-to-day risk management processes.
• Communicating with stakeholders: Because CISA’s content emphasises reporting, practitioners become better able to explain risk in business terms (costs, compliance exposure, reputational harm), thus improving decision-maker engagement.

2. Accountants and Financial Auditors

Accountants, whether internal or external auditors, traditionally focus on financial statements, taxation, compliance with accounting standards, and ensuring accuracy in reporting. However, with finance increasingly interwoven with IT systems (ERP solutions, cloud-based reporting, automation, digital controls), the reliability of financial numbers depends heavily on information systems controls and data integrity.

By acquiring CISA certification, accounting professionals enhance their ability to assess whether IT controls are reliable, whether financial reporting systems are secure, and whether risks arising from system dependencies are sufficiently mitigated. This makes their audits more robust and credible, especially in sectors regulated by SOX, IFRS, or sector-specific standards.

Key Advantages

• Diversification of skill set: An accountant who also understands systems auditing, control frameworks, and risk governance is more versatile and can offer deeper insights.
• Alignment with emerging trends: As financial systems move into ERP platforms, cloud services, and automation—technologies which have both efficiency and risk implications—understanding vulnerabilities and auditability of such systems becomes essential.
• Enhanced credibility with regulators and stakeholders: An accountant with demonstrable knowledge of IT controls (as validated via CISA) is better placed when regulators inquire about system integrity or when investors demand assurance over information security.

3. Compliance Programme Managers and Analysts

Compliance professionals oversee how an organisation adheres to laws, regulations, internal policies and industry standards. especially where data privacy, cybersecurity, financial regulation, or consumer protection are concerned. They must ensure that the organisation’s policies, processes, controls, and audits are aligned with both current requirements and emerging legal obligations.

CISA’s curriculum includes auditing practices, control frameworks, risk evaluation and governance—all of which improve a compliance professional’s ability to design and monitor effective compliance programmes. Furthermore, CISA encourages continuous professional education, allowing practitioners to stay abreast of regulatory changes, privacy law developments, and new risk vectors.

Specific Advantages

• Regulatory framework analysis: Professionals learn how to interpret and apply laws like GDPR, HIPAA, SOX and other sector-specific regulations, including translating them into executable internal controls.
• Audit management: Planning, executing, and documenting compliance audits becomes more systematic and effective when regulators, internal stakeholders, or external auditors rely on well defined control objectives and sampling plans.
• Risk management: CISA equips compliance officers to not only identify compliance gaps, but also assess their materiality, likelihood, and impact, supporting prioritisation and resource allocation.
• Uniformity of controls across the organisation: CISA teaches how to avoid piecemeal controls and ensure harmonised control frameworks, which reduces duplication of effort and inconsistency in audit outcomes.

4. Data Protection Officers / Data Protection Managers

Data protection officers (or managers) ensure that an organisation’s handling of personal and sensitive data meets legal, regulatory, and ethical standards. They oversee policies, ensure data security, respond to breaches, facilitate data subject rights, and act as a bridge between privacy law, information security, regulatory compliance, and organisational governance.

For data protection professionals, acquiring CISA certification offers rigorous grounding in auditing data security controls, assessing risk to privacy, implementing compliance with data protection laws (e.g. GDPR, CCPA), and in navigating what can sometimes be divergent requirements between legal obligations and technical controls.

Particular Benefits

• In-depth knowledge of privacy regulation: Enhanced understanding of laws affecting data protection, and how legal requirements translate into technical and operational controls.
• Risk-based approach to data security: Ability to perform threat modelling, risk assessments, and ensure proportionality of security measures.
• Auditing data security measures: Proficiency in testing, monitoring, and evaluating whether data security policies are implemented correctly and whether they succeed in practice.
• Incident readiness and post-breach auditing: Should a breach occur, a CISA-certified individual is better equipped to examine what controls failed, what documentation or reporting is required, and how remediation should be structured.

Practical Considerations for Those Considering CISA

While the benefits are clear, professionals contemplating CISA certification should also weigh the practical elements:

• Eligibility and prerequisites: Be sure you meet the experience requirements prescribed by ISACA (the body that administers CISA), including specified years of professional work in auditing, controls, governance, risk, or related fields.
• Time and investment: CISA requires a significant time commitment involving preparation, examination, and continuing professional education. Nonetheless, many find that the return on investment, in terms of career opportunities, salary potential, and professional credibility, justifies the effort.
• Synergy with other certifications: For example, combining CISA with credentials focusing more on technical security (such as CISSP) or privacy law (like CIPP/E) can yield a well-rounded profile. It’s not unusual to see risk managers or senior leaders holding multiple certifications to span both control/assurance and technical/security domains.
• Organisational recognition: Depending on the industry (financial services, healthcare, government, consulting) and region, recognition of CISA may vary. Research whether your organisation and relevant regulators value the credential.
• Continuous learning: The information systems landscape evolves rapidly—new compliance regulations, cyber-threats, privacy expectations, emerging technologies (AI, blockchain, IoT). CISA requires continuing education, which ensures certified professionals keep their knowledge current.

Conclusion

Certifications such as CISA are no longer exclusive to those working in IT. In contemporary organisations where information systems pervade every function, from finance to compliance, data protection, and governance, having personnel across varied roles who can assess, audit, and assure the integrity, resilience, and compliance of digital systems is essential.

Professionals such as risk analysts, accountants, and more can all derive substantial benefit from the structured frameworks, audit discipline, risk-based thinking, and governance awareness that CISA certification promotes. In short, obtaining CISA credentials more so equips diverse professionals with the means to navigate complexity, uphold accountability, and ensure organisational resilience in a digital age.