DISA by ICAI

by ca.katariyaMarch 8, 20220 comment

DISA by ICAI is Diploma in Information Systems.

Contents of DISA by ICAI

Introduction
What is disa or what is disa full form?
Many people ask the difference between DISA and CISA
How to prepare for the DISA Exam
What is Course Curriculum for the ISA course
How to become Qualified

1. Introduction

Technology plays a major role in facilitating all functions of business in this era, not just in transaction capturing and processing but even in lesser known areas like Corporate Governance and Risk Management. Many businesses heavily rely upon digital systems. This will enhance the risk of fraud and forgery. Due to this DISA qualification has good value today. Many Chartered Accountants are opting for doing DISA after clearing CA exams. It opens up opportunities to provide IT risk advisory for Chartered Accountants.

2. What is DISA by ICAI ?

Full form of DISA is Diploma in Information Systems. Its a course offered by ICAI.

Diploma in Information System Audit, the disa course is offered by ICAI with the objective to enhance professional skills of its members. It is a Post Qualification Course. This course prepares members to offer services in the area of information security & business continuity which are relatively new avenues as compared to traditional practice.

For Internal Audits, audit firms with DISA qualified partners are preferred by the organisations.

RBI, SEBI and IRDAI has already mandated annual system audits of all banks, broking house and insurance companies.

Members in employment also benefit from diploma as it is in demand in employment also. If an employee’s work profile involves dealing with systems extensively to get your work done such as systems audit etc then he should consider doing DISA. If it involves use of basics such as Word, Excel, Power Point etc then it will only add value to his knowledge and resume.

3. Many people ask the difference between DISA and CISA

DISA is diploma course on systems security and audit issued by ICAI under the license obtained from ISACA whereas CISA is a certificate course on systems security and audit issued by ISACA based in US. CISA is global recognised certification for system audit and for that matter DISA is certification from the ICAI institute itself hence restricted to India and neighbouring countries. As far as content is concerned both DISA and CISA are similar. DISA course is known to be the smaller version of CISA course hosted by isaca. Its a general notion that passing DISA course would let you know the eligibility /possibility of you passing CISA exam.

DISA can be done by a member of ICAI however CISA is open to all which means CISA can be done by CA aspirant but not DISA

CISA is a globally recognised course while DISA being specifically seen as instrument to get bank audits. As per the members who have done both courses, Once one passes CISA, DISA is relatively easy to achieve. We are also told that DISA is more inclined towards CA profession has inclination towards attestation, assertions and supporting CA profession whereas CISA is has broader base and goes deeper in technology dimensions as well.

Cost of DISA is lower than CISA. If you want to work only in INDIA then the DISA certification will suffice.

There is also a view that ICAI has already included portions of DISA into the CA course at Intermediate and Final level along with the compulsory ITT training. Therefore it is not much of use to do DISA separately for a new CA. But it is their personal view which may not be true.

4. How to prepare for the DISA Exam:

Read your study material. although it is lengthy and boring, this will give you the gist of your course coverage.

Practice a lot of questions.

Refer institute’s DISA question bank.

5. What is Course Curriculum for the DISA by ICAI

The course curriculum for the ISA course is divided into eight modules as under:

1. Primer on Information Technology IS Infrastructure & Emerging Technologies

2. Information Systems Assurance Services

3. Governance & Management of Enterprise Information Technology, Risk Management and Compliance Reviews

4. Protection of Information Systems Infrastructure and Information Assets

5. Systems Development: Acquisition, Maintenance and Implementation

6. Business Applications Software Audit

7. Business Continuity Management

8. Information Systems Audit Process

9. Governance and Management of Enterprise Information Technology, Risk Management

10. System Development, Acquisition, Implementation, Maintenance Application System

11. Information Systems operations and Management

12. Protection of Information Assets

13. Emerging Technologies

6. How to become Qualified

1. Course registration.

2. Course fee payment.

3. Payment of fee is subject to cancellation charges i.e. 10% of gross fee paid, in case the cancellation request is placed by the participant before starting of batch.

4. Payment settles and gets approved in 24-48 hours.

5. Access to ISA course 3.0 E-learning (No License Code Required) is freely available at Https://Learning.Icai.Org/Committee/Digital-Insights/Information_System_Audit_Disa_30/ & it could be completed anytime.

6. Complete E-learning Assessment Test which will be enabled after successful completion of 08 Chapters of e-learning thereafter apply for the desired batch at PQC portal after passing E-learning test .

7. Apply for the batch as per location preference in case of physical classes only. Go to Forthcoming Events->ISA PQC ->View Details->Select Batch->Apply Batch.

8. Apply for the virtual batch at PQC portal as per the available timing and join sessions at DLH portal of ICAI for which SSP login is mandatory.

9. Virtual batches comprise of 18 days of Professional Training sessions whereas, Physical weekend batches comprises of 12 days of Professional Training sessions.

10. Minimum attendance required to successfully complete ISA PT is 90%.

11. Candidates enrolling for ISA ET for the first attempt will not pay any exam fees whereas, for all the subsequent attempts they need to pay Rs 500?-

12. ISA Assessment Test (ISA AT) : The ICAI conduct ISA AT. The forms for the same you can found at www.icai.org. The queries regarding the ISA AT / Result/ Certificate will be dealt by the Examination Department at 01203054842/36. In case of further queries, you may please drop mail at isa_examhelpline@icai.in.

DISA 3.0 (Diploma in Information Systems Audit 3.0)

Following are the steps for successful completion of ISA Course:

1. Completion of ISA E-Learning and ISA E-Learning Assessment Test: Before starting the Professional Training classes member has to complete the ISA Course 3.0 E-Learning. Please note that after completing the E-Learning of 20 hours it is mandatory to undergo ISA E- learning Assessment Test which is automatically enabled after completion of all the chapters of E-learning. After completing the E-Learning test member is eligible to apply for Professional Training classes organized in virtual as well as physical mode. Procedure to enroll in ISA Course is available at https://learning.icai.org/committee/digital-insights/pqc-information_system_audit_disa_30_reg2/

2. Professional Training classes for 18 days in case of virtual mode and 12 Day in Physical Mode: As you may be aware, ISA Post Qualification Course consist of Professional Training (PT) of 72 hours which is generally organized in virtual as well as physical mode. Please note that there will be 18 classes in virtual mode and 12 classes in physical mode and the name of the modules which are to be covered are as under:

Module 1Information Systems Audit Process2Governance and Management of Enterprise Information Technology, Risk Management, Compliance & BCM Section3System Development, Acquisition, Implementation and Maintenance Application System Audit4Information Systems Operations and Management5Protection of Information Assets6Emerging Technologies3. Other requirements of the ISA Professional training classes:

Three Module Tests of 20 Marks each (30 minutes duration) will be organized online through https://learning.icai.org/iDH/icai/.The test for the morning virtual batches will be conducted on the 06th, 12th & 18th day from 02:00 – 10:00 PM and the test for evening batches will be conducted on the 07th, 13th & 19th day from 08:00 AM – 04:00 PM. The test will be available in your login under the Professional Training tab. For Physical batches, Module tests will be on 4th, 8th and 12th day of classes after the class through https://learning.icai.org/iDH/icai/.

(Note: Member who misses the Module test will not be allowed to take the test again; except owing to exceptional circumstances and that too only with approval of the Secretary, Digital Accounting & Assurance Board)

A project work is also allocated to all the participants in a group of three and this project will also be of 20 marks (Project Work 10 Marks and VIVA of 10 Marks).

90% attendance is mandatory for completing the Professional Training classes i.e. out of 18 classes (for virtual batches) a member has to attend at least 17 classes to complete the Professional Training and out of 12 classes (for physical batches) a member has to attend at least 11 classes to complete the Professional Training.

Fees per member for virtual batches is Rs 10,000/- and Rs 20,000/- for physical batches.

4. ISA Eligibility Test: After completing the ISA Professional Training with minimum marks (Total 60% i.e. 48 out of 80) in Module Tests and Project Work + VIVA and 90% attendance in ISA PT classes, you have to register online for the ISA Eligibility Test that is generally organized on Second Saturday of May/ November.

Weightage for qualifying ISA ET:

WeightageMax. MarksClass Tests + Project Work4880Eligibility criteria to appear on ISA ET is to get 60% in aggregate i.e. 48 Marks Eligibility Test72120Passing criteria is 60% in aggregate i.e. 72 Marks
Candidates enrolling for ISA ET for the first attempt are not required to pay any fees whereas Rs. 500/- will be charged for all the subsequent attempts.

5. CPE Hours: After the successful completion of the ISA Professional Training with 90% percent attendance the members are awarded with 25 CPE hours. The remaining 5 CPE hours are awarded after the successful clearance of ISA AT Exam.

6. ISA Assessment Test (AT): After completing ISA ET with minimum marks, you have to register online for the ISA Assessment that is conducted by the Examination Department of the Institute. It is important to note that members have to fill the ISA AT Form issued/hosted on www.icai.org, by the Examination Department.

Total Marks: 200, passing criteria is 60% marks flat.

After passing the ISA AT, DISA Certificates are dispatched by the exam department. In Case of any difficulty, exam department should be contacted by e-mail at isa_examhelpline[at]icai[dot]in. Helpline Desk telephone Nos.0120-3054851/52/53/54/35/36.

Please do let us know if you require further assistance/ support/ clarifications by e-mail to isa[at]icai[dot]in or call at 01203045961

For any doubt feel free to DM us on our INSTAGRAM platform (105k plus family )

Click here to Redirect to our Test Series page for CA Students