I passed the AAIA on my first attempt while working full time as a CIO. More hours wasn’t the answer. Studying the right things in the right order — weighted to how the exam actually scores — was. This is the plan I wish I had on day one.
90 scenario-based questions, 2.5 hours (150 minutes), passing score 450 on a scaled 200–800 range. Exam fee: US$459 (member) / US$599 (non-member) plus a US$50 application fee. Prerequisite: an existing credential with an IT audit or advisory focus — CISA, CIA, a recognized CPA designation, or ACCA/FCCA. Domains: AI Governance & Risk (33%), AI Operations (46%), AI Auditing Tools & Techniques (21%).
Map your study hours to the domain weights, not to your comfort zone. AI Operations is 46% of the exam — give it roughly half your time. AI Governance & Risk is 33%. AI Auditing Tools & Techniques is 21%. A 50/30/20 split mirrors the exam and protects your scaled score where it counts.
Domain 1 (AI Governance and Risk, 33%): anchor around NIST AI RMF Govern/Map/Measure/Manage functions, EU AI Act risk tiers, ISO/IEC 42001 and 23894. Domain 2 (AI Operations, 46%): model drift, bias, explainability, AI lifecycle controls, AI-specific threats including prompt injection, data poisoning, and model inversion. Domain 3 (AI Auditing Tools and Techniques, 21%): translate IT-audit discipline into the AI context — what counts as sufficient, appropriate evidence for a probabilistic model.
The AAIA asks you to act, not recognize a term. Practice should be scenario-based in ISACA’s reasoning style, with explanations for every option and domain tracking so you redirect time to weak areas.
Weeks 1–2: Read the blueprint, study Domain 2 first, start daily flashcards. Weeks 3–4: Domain 1 and framework deep-dive, begin daily question sets. Week 5: Domain 3, ramp question volume. Week 6: Full timed mock, remediate, then book the exam. Compress to four weeks if you hold CISA and audit AI systems day to day.
Studying domains evenly. Memorizing instead of reasoning. Skipping the timed mock. Ignoring AI-specific threats. Treating it like CISA.
AAIA Prep: 1,155 scenario questions mapped to the 33/46/21 blueprint, 200 spaced-repetition flashcards, eight adaptive study modes, 90-question timed mock. First 50 questions free at the App Store.