If your CISA exam is just around the corner, I want you to pause for a moment.
Take a breath.
Think about everything you have done to get here—the hours of studying, the practice questions, the concepts you struggled with, the mistakes you learned from and all those moments when you were tired but still kept going.
You have already done the hard part.
Now, please don't put yourself under enormous pressure to learn everything before you walk into that exam.
You won't. And you don't need to.
Tonight: Stop Learning and Start Trusting
For your final hour of preparation, revise the important concepts and exam strategies you have already studied.
- Don't suddenly start learning completely new topics.
- Don't jump from one video to another because you feel you haven’t done enough.
- Don’t try to master a technology you’ve never heard of at the last minute.
At some point, preparation has to end and trust has to begin.
Get some good sleep. A well-rested mind will serve you far better tomorrow than another few hours of anxious studying.
Tomorrow: Read the Question Carefully
When you sit down for the exam, remember one simple rule:
There are no prizes for finishing first. Take your time with every question.
Read the entire question carefully and pay particular attention to words such as: BEST. FIRST. NEXT. MOST.
These words can completely change what the question is asking.
Don’t simply read the options and look for something that sounds familiar. Understand the situation first. Then evaluate the answers.
Remember: CISA Is Not Just a Technical Exam
This is one of the most important things I want you to remember.
CISA is not about knowing everything about technology.
It is about applying your knowledge from the perspective of an IT auditor.
When you see a technical-looking question, ask yourself:
- What is the risk?
- What control addresses that risk?
- What would provide the greatest assurance?
- What is the BEST answer from an auditor's perspective?
Sometimes the most technical-sounding answer is not the right answer. Your job is not to prove that you know the most technology. Your job is to demonstrate that you can identify risk, evaluate controls and make the best audit decision.
Expect the Unexpected
There will likely be questions tomorrow that you have never encountered before.
You may see emerging technologies. You may encounter unfamiliar scenarios. You may get definition-based questions that weren’t emphasized during your preparation.
And that's okay.
Don’t let an unfamiliar question shake your confidence. If you don’t know something, you don’t know it.
- Use your knowledge.
- Use logic.
- Eliminate the weaker options.
If you can narrow four choices down to two, you’ve already made progress.
Make an educated choice, mark the question if necessary and move on.
One question does not decide your exam.
Manage Your Time
Pace yourself. Don’t rush through the exam simply because you see other candidates moving quickly. At the same time, don’t spend an unreasonable amount of time fighting with one difficult question.
Try to complete the exam with enough time to review the questions you marked or were uncertain about.
And remember: No one gets extra marks for finishing first.
When Anxiety Takes Over, Pause
If you suddenly feel overwhelmed during the exam, stop for a few seconds.
Take a breath.
If you can, try a simple box-breathing exercise: Breathe in → Hold → Breathe out → Hold.
Repeat it a few times. Then return to the question in front of you.
- Don’t think about the previous question.
- Don’t think about your score.
- Don’t think about what will happen if you fail.
Focus on the question you are answering right now.
Finally, Trust Yourself
A certification is important, but your CISA journey is about more than one examination. You are learning to look at systems, processes, risks and controls differently.
You are developing the ability to ask better questions, challenge assumptions and make sound decisions. Those skills will stay with you long after the exam is over.
So tomorrow, walk into that examination with confidence, not arrogance; preparation, not panic; patience, not haste.
Read carefully.
Think like an auditor.
Look for the BEST answer.
And when you encounter something you've never seen before, remember: You don’t have to know everything to pass CISA.
You just have to make the best decision with the knowledge you have.
I genuinely wish every one of you the very best.
Believe in yourself. Trust your preparation. You've got this.
All the very best, future CISAs. ❤️
— Chidambaram Narayanan, CISA
