ISACA Updates Model Curriculum

Recent events, corporate scandals, government regulations and changes in the business environment have increased the importance of IS audit and affected the methodologies that auditors use.

To reflect the growing demands of the field and help universities develop and update relevant courses, ISACA has released a second edition of its Model Curriculum for IS Audit and Control.

“Information systems auditors must regularly update their skills to match the rapid pace of technological change, and must possess strong written and oral communication skills,” said Scott Summers, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting information systems at Brigham Young University and chair of ISACA’s Academic Relations Committee.

“The ISACA model curriculum reflects both of those needs and helps universities produce graduates with a marketable skill set for the IS audit and control profession.”

ISACA, a nonprofit association serving 86,000 IT audit, security and governance professionals around the world, based the model curriculum on the needs and expectations of the IS audit and control profession, as well as the research of academics, practitioners, audit organizations and professional associations.

The topics in the model reflect the skills and knowledge that graduates will need to obtain entry-level jobs in the field.

It matches academic courses with professional requirements and provides a framework for universities to use when developing or redesigning courses.

“Universities with a curriculum tailored to match the real-world needs of the IS audit and control profession are very desirable to students pursuing a degree in that field,” said Summers.

ISACA also publishes the Model Curriculum for Information Security Management, released in 2008. Both model curriculum guides are available as free downloads at www.isaca.org/modelcurricula.