AAIA training: ISACA's courses and self-study

AAIA training comes in three forms: ISACA's live virtual workshop, ISACA's own self-paced materials, and independent self-study. ISACA's workshop is the most structured: two or four days of live instruction that, in ISACA's words, include the review manual, the questions database and the exam fee. Its self-paced options are an online review course of about 11 hours, the AAIA Review Manual and a questions database you can buy separately. Self-study with a course built on ISACA's outline is the third route, and for an experienced auditor who already holds a CISA or another qualifying credential it is often enough. This guide sets out each route from ISACA's own pages, with the prices its store listed, what each includes, how to judge any AAIA course, and how to choose.

The short answer

• ISACA's virtual workshop is "an immersive 2-day or 4-day virtual training event", and "Enrollment includes the AAIA Review Manual (eBook edition), AAIA Questions, Answers and Explanations Database (QAE) as well as the exam cost." It must be attended live, earns up to 16 CPE hours, and its December session was listed at US$1,950 for members and US$2,250 for nonmembers.
• ISACA's self-paced options: an online review course "that provides on-demand instruction and in-depth exam preparation", with "a seat time of approximately 11 hours" (US$449 or US$549), the AAIA Review Manual in print or as an eBook (US$89 or US$105), and a questions database of more than 200 items (US$249 or US$349).
• Self-study with a course mapped to ISACA's outline, practice in the exam's format and timed mocks is the third route; you pay the exam fee separately.
• The workshop is open to more people than the exam: "While the AAIA certification is exclusive to CISA and qualified credential holders, this training is open to all IT auditors."
• No training is required. ISACA's steps to certification list the prerequisite, the exam, the fee, the application, the ethics and CPE policies and the auditing standards; no course is among them.

Is AAIA training required?

No. The candidate guide's steps to certification are to hold an active credential from its prerequisite list, pass the exam, pay the US$50 application fee, submit the application, adhere to ISACA's code of ethics, terms and privacy policy, adhere to the CPE policy, and comply with the Information Systems Auditing Standards. None of them is a course. The guide describes preparation as your choice: "ISACA offers a variety of exam preparation resources including group training, self-paced training and study resources in various languages to help you prepare for your certification exam."

What the exam does require is the knowledge in ISACA's outline: three domains, 17 topics and 23 tasks, tested by 90 questions that each have "one best answer". The question for training is how you will get that knowledge and the skill of applying it, not whether ISACA will check that you took a class.

ISACA's AAIA virtual workshop

ISACA's page describes "an immersive 2-day or 4-day virtual training event" on the AAIA's topics, and says the workshop "will provide an overview of the concepts included in this certification and requirements to qualify for this designation."

What is included. "Enrollment includes the AAIA Review Manual (eBook edition), AAIA Questions, Answers and Explanations Database (QAE) as well as the exam cost." The page sums it up as "Registration fee + review manual + QAE + Exam", so the workshop price covers the exam registration as well as the training, and you should not pay the exam fee separately. ISACA adds: "Please allow 48 hours for the Review Manual, QAE, and the Exam Registration to appear in MyISACA Resources and Learning Access." Registering for the exam starts a six-month window to take it, so before you book a workshop long before your planned exam date, ask ISACA when the included registration starts that window.

How long it runs. Two formats: two days of eight hours, with a 30-minute lunch break, or four days of four hours. The page gives the session times in Chicago, London and Riyadh time, from 8:30 in the morning in Chicago, so check how they fall in your own time zone before you choose.

CPE. "Each AAIA workshop qualifies for up to 16 hours of CPE credit", and "One hour of CPE is earned for every 50 minutes of live attendance." The hours are earned only live: "This workshop must be attended live to earn CPE credit", and there is no recording to fall back on, since "On-Demand programming will NOT be available for this program." For a CISA holder who needs CPE every year anyway, that is part of the value.

Dates and price. When we checked on October 26, 2026, ISACA's page listed two 2-day sessions, on November 2 and 3 and on December 14 and 15, 2026; registration for the December session closes on December 8. ISACA's store listed the December session at US$1,950 for members and US$2,250 for nonmembers. Sessions come and go, so check ISACA's page for the current ones.

What it aims to teach. Among the course objectives on ISACA's page are to "Integrate AI into audit processes with confidence and accuracy", to "Evaluate AI models for fairness, reliability, and compliance" and to "Prepare for the Advanced in AI Audit certification exam". Materials arrive in advance: "Attendees will receive session links, course materials and presentations the week prior to the live event to the email used with registration."

Who it is for. Unlike the exam, the workshop has no prerequisite. ISACA's page calls it "Designed for all levels of audit professionals", and adds: "While the AAIA certification is exclusive to CISA and qualified credential holders, this training is open to all IT auditors." A colleague without a qualifying credential can take the training even though the exam is not yet open to them.

ISACA's self-paced AAIA materials

ISACA's AAIA page lists its preparation under "Getting ready for the exam", whether you prefer to study "on your own time or with the additional guidance and interaction that comes with live, expert instruction".

• AAIA Online Review Course. "Prepare for the AAIA Certification exam with this online course that provides on-demand instruction and in-depth exam preparation". ISACA's store adds that "This course has a seat time of approximately 11 hours", that learners "will earn 11 CPE upon completion", and that it "uses dynamic modules, with integrated videos, text, and interactive elements". Access lasts six months from purchase, and the terms are firm: "All purchases of online learning courses are final."
• AAIA Review Manual. Sold in two versions, digital and print. ISACA calls it "A comprehensive reference guide to prepare for the AAIA certification exam." Our guide to the AAIA study guide and review manual covers its formats, languages and limits.
• AAIA Questions, Answers & Explanation Database. Six months of access to "a comprehensive 200+ question database with the most sought-after questions for preparing for the exam".
• AAIA Study Groups, for members: "This member-exclusive online forum acts as a global virtual study group for those preparing to take the AAIA certification exam."
• A free practice quiz: "Test your knowledge with these 12 free questions."

One detail to check before you buy: ISACA's 2025 launch announcement said the online review course and the questions database came with "one year of access", while ISACA's store pages today say six months. Access periods can change, so confirm on ISACA's store what you are buying.

What AAIA training costs

The one fixed cost is the exam, US$459 for members and US$599 for nonmembers, paid in full for each attempt, plus the US$50 application fee once you pass. These are the training prices ISACA's store listed on October 26, 2026:

Bought item by item, the course, the manual, the database and the exam come to US$1,246 for members and US$1,602 for nonmembers. The workshop includes the manual, the database and the exam but not the online course, so on our arithmetic the live training itself accounts for about US$1,150 of a member's price and about US$1,200 of a nonmember's. Self-study is your course of choice plus the exam fee, with ISACA's free candidate guide, its free outline and its free 12-question quiz alongside.

Membership changes more than the exam fee: the guide says it brings "savings on ISACA products like Certification Exams, Conferences and Exam Prep materials", so price both ways before you decide. If your employer pays for training, the workshop's single invoice and its 16 CPE hours are often the easier case to make. Every AAIA fee lists the rest, from rescores and retakes to the annual maintenance fee.

Training from India, Singapore and elsewhere

ISACA's virtual workshop is online, so it can be joined from anywhere, but its sessions run on a North American working day. The page lists the times in Chicago, London and Riyadh time, which puts them in the evening and night across South and Southeast Asia; the four-day format's four-hour sessions may be easier to fit than two eight-hour days. Check the times in your own zone before you register, since the workshop "must be attended live to earn CPE credit".

The exam itself has one rule that matters for some regions. ISACA's AAIA page says that for residents of India, Mainland China and Hong Kong, "The AAIA exam is exclusively available at testing centers." Training can be online wherever you are, but if you live in one of those three, plan your exam day around a PSI test center.

Training partners and chapters

ISACA is not the only source of AAIA instruction. Its article on exam integrity says that "ISACA has chapter training and authorized trainers that use authorized materials for your training purposes", and ISACA's training menu includes training from accredited partners. Chapter courses can be a good middle path: live instruction, often in your time zone, from auditors who know the local market.

The same article warns about the other kind of training material: "When preparing to take any high-stakes exam, it is essential for test-takers to avoid unauthorized training materials and outside offers for someone to take the exam on their behalf." It also names "guarantees to pass" among the red flags. A course that promises questions from the exam itself, or promises that you will pass, is the kind ISACA means.

Self-study: when a course of your own is enough

Every AAIA candidate already holds a CISA or a listed audit or accounting designation, so every candidate has passed a demanding professional exam before and knows how they study best. For many, the most efficient route is self-study: a structured course mapped to ISACA's outline, practice in the exam's format, and timed mocks, at their own pace.

Self-study suits you if you can keep a schedule without a class, if you learn better by doing questions than by listening, and if the AI side of the outline is new but the audit side is not. It suits you less if you need a fixed date to make you start, or if your employer will pay for a workshop that also covers the exam fee.

Our AAIA course is built for this route: 18 lessons mapped to ISACA's three domains and 17 topics, 619 practice questions in the exam's one-best-answer format, each with a rationale for every option, 549 flashcards with spaced repetition, a timed mock of 90 questions on one 150-minute clock, and a study plan that paces the weeks to your exam date. Our estimate for it is about 29 hours in all, against the online review course's 11 hours of seat time, because most of ours is practice. Its prices are on the pricing page.

How to judge any AAIA training course

Whichever you consider, ISACA's or anyone else's, check it against ISACA's own documents.

1. Is it mapped to ISACA's outline? The AAIA has three domains, at 33%, 46% and 21%, with 17 topics and 23 tasks. A course should cover all of them, in proportion.
2. Does it practice the format? Four options and "one best answer", with qualifiers such as MOST or BEST. Knowing the material is half of the preparation; choosing between options that are each partly right is the other half.
3. Does it explain every answer? A rationale for why each wrong option falls short teaches more than the right answer alone.
4. Does it include a timed mock? 90 questions on a single 150-minute clock, the way ISACA's guide describes the exam.
5. Is it current? ISACA published ITAF's fifth edition in February 2026, the EU amended its AI Act in July 2026, OWASP published a 2026 edition of its Top 10 for LLM Applications in August 2026, and NIST is revising its AI Risk Management Framework. Ask how a course keeps up.
6. Is it honest? No promise that you will pass, no claim to hold questions from the exam itself, and no invented pass rates; ISACA publishes none.

A sample question: the auditor's own AI tools

ISACA's workshop sets out to help auditors "Integrate AI into audit processes with confidence and accuracy". The exam tests the other side of that: the risks an auditor's own AI tools carry.

How to choose

• Your employer pays and you want a deadline: ISACA's workshop. It bundles the manual, the questions database and the exam, and earns up to 16 CPE hours.
• You want ISACA's own materials at your own pace: the online review course, the review manual and the questions database.
• You study well alone and prefer your own pace: self-study with a course mapped to ISACA's outline, plus ISACA's free 12-question quiz and its free candidate guide.
• You are short of time: whichever route you take, spend the most hours on AI Operations, the heaviest domain, and on the topics you know least, and take at least one timed mock.

How to study for the AAIA turns any of these into a 4-week plan.

Where to start

You can test the self-study route before paying for anything. A free account opens AI models and requirements in full, lessons, questions and flashcards, plus a short diagnostic that asks about all 17 topics. AAIA practice exam explains how to use ISACA's free quiz and a full mock, and the AAIA exam guide shows every topic. Full access is a single payment, with nothing to renew. For ISACA's security credential, AAISM training compares the same routes.