CIA CPE Requirements & Course Recommendations

You’ve worked hard to become a Certified Internal Auditor, but don’t put your study books away just yet. To maintain your CIA designation, you are required to fulfill certain CIA CPE requirements (Continuing Professional Education).

There are two reasons why you must complete CIA CPE to stay in good standing with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA):

• Maintenance of your knowledge and skills
• Updating your knowledge and skills to reflect any improvements and developments that have been made to the internal auditing standards, procedures, and techniques

If you are already a CIA, it is your responsibility to certify that your CPE hours are complete and that they adhere to the IIA established guidelines. You can do this by submitting a form on an annual basis that serves as proof that your Continuing Education requirements have been met.

The annual submission of your CPE requirements is due by December 31st of each year and can be done on the IIA’s Certification Candidate Management System (CCMS).

Once you submit your completed CPE form, the IIA will send you a letter of acknowledgement that they have received, reviewed and viewed your CPE as being in accordance with their standards. This process allows them to keep track of active and inactive CIAs.

Making sure you know how to properly report your CIA continuing education will make maintaining your designation easier. To do so, make sure your report includes the following information:

• Title of CPE courses and/or the description of content covered
• All dates you attended
• List the location of your course or program
• If there was a sponsoring organization, include their name
• Contact hours of credit as recommended by your course sponsor
• Include verification of completion via certificate, letter or other written attestation
• Document any supporting publications, presentations, or participation you may have had

Each CIA who submits a report should keep all of this documentation on file for a minimum of 3 years. This will cover you in the event that the IIA (or its designee) requests this information.

There are 5 different reporting categories for CIA continuing education. Here are their descriptions and requirements:

A CIA who is currently performing auditing functions is required to complete 40 hours of CPE each year.

A CIA who is not currently practicing may change their certification status on their CCMS profile, but is still required to complete 20 hours of CPE each year.

Maintaining 20 hours of CIA CPE allows CIAs to maintain their designation, but they are not able to practice internal auditing functions.

CIAs who are not performing internal auditing functions because of retirement must change their status in the CCMS. They are not required to complete any CPE, but they are also not allowed to perform any internal auditing functions.

4. Inactive (Grace Period) Status

CIAs who fail to meet the IIA’s CPE requirements will automatically be placed in inactive status and may not use their CIA designation. This remains the case until they have submitted the previous year’s CPE report. Any wrongful use of their designation will be reported to the IIA for disciplinary action.

5. Reinstatement to Active Status

CIAs who have been inactive for longer than 12 months are required to report CPE hours at the status level that applies to their situation. They will also be required to pay a reinstatement fee when they complete their reporting.

ACCEPTABLE CPE COURSES

The following criteria are used to determine whether potential CPE courses are acceptable for CIA’s:
The course must be a formal program of learning that contributes directly to the professional competence of a CIA. Acceptable programs should:

• Contribute to professional competence.
• Specify the level of knowledge or competence that the participants should be able to display upon completion of the program.
• State education or experience pre-requisites, if applicable.
• Be developed by qualified individuals.
• Provide content that is up to date.
• Be professional.

BEST CPE COURSES FOR CIAS

Illumeo is an online platform for continuing education that we highly recommend for CIA’s interested in CPE credits. It features a large catalog of courses and webinars covering intricate aspects of internal auditing, as well as other finance and accounting based disciplines. For more information on this platform, take a look at our review below.