CISA Review Manual 2008 - Download

The CISA Review Manual 2008 has been completely revised and updated with new content to reflect changing industry principles and practices, and is organized according to the current CISA job practice areas. The manual features detailed descriptions of the tasks performed by IS auditors and the knowledge required to plan, manage and perform IS audits. The new edition also features new case studies to assist a candidate s understanding of current practices. Also included are definitions of terms most commonly found on the exam, practice questions similar in content to what has previously appeared on the exam and references to additional study materials on specific topics. This manual can be used as a stand-alone document for individual study or as a guide or reference for study groups and chapters conducting local review courses.

The 2008 edition has been developed and is organized to help prepare the CISA candidate in studying the following job practice areas: The IS audit process IT governance Systems and infrastructure life cycle management IT service delivery and support Protection of information assets Business continuity and disaster recovery

User review
Not the most well written book of all time, but absolutely necessary for the exam
I understand the criticisms of this book, and agree with many of them. However, the most essential point is that this book is a necessity for the CISA exam - it is the only book that covers all the material on the exam itself. I purchased both this book and the popular David Cannon CISA book before taking the Dec 2008 exam. I can tell you that although it was easier to read, the Cannon book only covers around 60% of the material on the exam. If you are taking the CISA exam, you need this book from ISACA to ensure you can review all the topics that you will see on the test. I was tempted to give this less than 4 stars due to the excessive cost and the relatively poor integration of material. However, I decided to stick with 4 stars because it is the only book that covers everything you need.

User review
Not a great book but good to start
Frankly speaking I haven't read the book completely or I should say I have not read any CISA book in depth. I however did try some CISA practice questions(thanks to my generous friend-Anu) and managed to clear the exam. I only had this book for reference and I wasn't very happy with the content. It gets too dull/bland at times. Some parts (business continuity/IT governance) is interesting but overall I would say keep this book for quick reference. I cannot recommend any other book ''coz I haven't referred to any other book.
If you are planning for a CISA, do do give loads of practice questions. I would say it takes time to get into a security professional's shoes and think like him/her.(I am from a s/w development background and have only recently entered this field,,oh yeah you can call me a kiddo here!)
Something that might boost your confidence if you are someone liek me who just gives the paper with least prep: For 98% of the questions, it takes only about 5 seconds to boil down to two choices. then you gotto think!
It's not an impossible task to clear this but takes a little bit of focus/concentration.
Good luck!

User review
Far too expensive for its quality.
I do not counsel you to buy this guide.
It is extremely expensive, and it is not well written.
It contains lots of information written without much logical connection, and that makes it difficult to follow.
ISACA relies on volunteers to write this manual, most probably assigning a few headers to each one and possibly without much further edition, and the result is quite chaotic.

You'd better do by buying for example the `CISA Certified Information Systems Auditor Study Guide by David L. Cannon (Paperback - Mar 24, 2008) for a mere 38 USD.