Certification Continues to Prove Its Worth
Holding the right certification is especially important now, thanks to Sarbanes-Oxley in the U.S. and increased scrutiny on security worldwide.
According to Certification Magazine’s 2007 Salary Survey, two of the five top paying certifications are ISACA’s Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). The CISM came in second with an annual average salary of $115,720, while the CISA scored fifth place with an average salary of $98,740. Clearly, as employers continue to realize the importance of information security and governance, they are relying on certifications to identify prospective employees with experience and expertise.
Increased scrutiny both in the US and worldwide has focused attention not only on enterprise finances, but on the IT processes that support financial system control and reporting at nearly all organizations. The IT Governance Global Status Report-2008 from the IT Governance Institute (ITGI) found that more than 93 percent of global CEOs, CIOs and other senior executives surveyed recognize that information technology is vital for delivering the organization’s strategy. IT has become so critical to the business, according to the report, that 70 percent of the survey’s respondents regularly or always have IT on their organization’s board agenda.
