Test setters: Could you write Chartered IA questions?
Have you ever wondered who writes the questions for the CIA exam? If so, you may be interested to hear how I joined IIA Global’s Test Development Team (TDT) and what I see as the benefits of getting involved.
The CIA qualification has three computer-based exams, each of which is around two hours long and consists of approximately 100 multiple-choice questions. Among other benefits, writing these gives suitably qualified internal auditors a different option for maintaining their technical competence and gaining their continuing professional education (CPE) credits.
The CIA volunteer writers were initially all based in the US, but when the Chartered IIA adopted the CIA exams in 2015-16 it seemed a good idea to create a team of writers in the UK and Ireland.
The Chartered IIA asked me whether I would be interested and I joined a new team of eight volunteers with a brief to draft questions. Over the next year or so we met virtually each quarter (this was before everyone met virtually during the Covid crisis) to discuss our submissions and ensure they had the best chance of being accepted.
Since 2016, the team has changed shape. I have become the team’s champion and it is no longer just UK-based, but has members who live and work in Singapore, Oman, Poland, Italy and France as well as in the UK.
What is a TDT?
A Test Development Team (TDT) is a group of certified members who write exam questions for IIA Global’s certification exams. To join a TDT, you must be an IIA member, hold an active CIA qualification and be willing to give up some time each month to write questions.
How does a TDT operate?
The IIA Global Exam Development team provides initial training workshops to teach participants how to write exam questions. Each month I receive an email with an Excel spreadsheet attachment that I coordinate for my team to use to write the multiple-choice questions. Each question comprises a stem (the question), one correct answer and three distractors.
The topics change each month, so writers need to spend time researching the IIA Standards and approved reading material to write relevant and applicable questions.
IIA Global wants question-writers to bring the questions to life using real experiences, rather than just copying the text from the reference material. This makes it interesting and helps to keep your own knowledge up to date by heightening your awareness of genuine issues. Questions can therefore be currently topical, and I hope these will help to equip exam candidates better to conduct and lead successful audits in the future.
How much time does it take?
The initial training is typically two 90-minute webinars, one week apart. After that, a minimum of four hours each quarter is typical (approximately two hours for writing and two hours for peer review and discussion). This is a minimum – some may choose to contribute more items.
What are the benefits?
IIA Global lists the following benefits:
You can earn CPE credit for writing questions that are accepted
You network with peers in different types of organisations
You deepen your knowledge of the IIA Standards and guidance
You earn textbooks and reference materials
You collaborate and share experiences in a group setting
You learn best practices in internal auditing
You gain satisfaction from contributing to the advancement of future internal auditors
For me, the best part of the experience is the buzz of having a question that you have painstakingly researched, referenced to IIA Standards, written and re-written accepted and put into the question bank to be answered by CIA students across the globe. In addition, you then receive a certificate of acceptance and CPE points.
Recently, the Exam Development Team has also introduced an awards ceremony to reward writers for their hard work. Categories include an award for the member with the most submitted items, the most improved writer and, of course, the person who has had the most questions accepted.
Further information about the TDT teams, benefits and time commitment plus a video are available online.
Mark Harris QIAL, CIA, CMIIA, PIIA, FMAAT, is audit manager, Nationwide Building Society, and champion of the Global TDT UKI team.
This article was published in March 2022.