Part 1, Internal Audit Fundamentals, has four sections. The foundations of internal auditing carry 35% of the exam and governance, risk management and control 30%, so those two decide most of your score.
Questions
125, multiple choice
Time
150 minutes (2.5 hours)
Where
Pearson VUE test centers
Passing score
600 on a 250 to 750 scale
The sections and their weights
Section
Weight
Questions in our mocks
1. Foundations of Internal Auditing
35%
about 44
2. Ethics and Professionalism
20%
about 25
3. Governance, Risk Management, and Control
30%
about 37
4. Fraud Risks
15%
about 19
What each section includes
Foundations: the purpose and mandate of internal auditing, the charter, assurance and advisory services, independence and the Three Lines Model.
Ethics and professionalism: integrity, objectivity and its impairments, competency, due professional care and confidentiality.
Governance, risk management and control: governance and culture, ethics and compliance programs, types of risk, the risk management process, and internal control design.
Fraud risks: types of fraud, red flags, fraud controls, and investigation techniques and internal audit's role.
Where the syllabus comes from
The sections and weights are from the Part 1 expanded test specifications (version V2.09.2024), published on the CIA syllabus page for the 2025 syllabus.
Try 4 questions
Question 1The internal audit mandate and the board's and chief audit executive's roles
While helping the board update the mandate, the chief audit executive of a utility reviews the work of the compliance, risk management and external audit functions. Why is this step useful?
Question 2Competency: communication, critical thinking, persuasion and continuing development
Internal audit engages an external engineering specialist to help assess a dam's maintenance program at a water utility. Before relying on the specialist's work, what should the chief audit executive do?
Question 3Internal control concepts and control types
At a tech firm, the system accounts of employees who have left often stay active for months. Which control best addresses this risk?
Question 4Fraud risks and types of fraud
A hospital's head of pharmacy owns half of a drug wholesaler and did not disclose it. She has directed most of the hospital's purchases to that wholesaler, whose prices are close to market rates. In which main category of occupational fraud does this fall?