The CIA exam information on this website about CIA exam languages is applicable to North America. The following countries have separate CIA certification processes. Please contact the local IIA representatives for more information.
If you don’t see your country listed above, use the main U.S. website for registration.
Source: IIA global website
The CIA exam is offered in Arabic, Chinese (simplified and traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish.
CIA exam language options are available in every Pearson VUE center, except for Thai, which can only be taken in testing centers in Thailand.
My general recommendation is this: If you have a reasonably good command of English comprehension (e.g. reading a page of the New York Times without much struggling), take the original English version. That’s the easiest option instead of picking from one of the CIA exam languages.
I have readers reporting frustration in the translated version of the exam. The questions can be complex, and exact meanings are somewhat lost in translation.
Having said that, there are different schools of thought and CIA exam language. We have a lively discussion in the comment section here:
The same issue applies to the review courses as well. While major review providers may have translated courses in selected languages (e.g. Spanish), my readers don’t seem to like them. If your English is good enough, I would stick with the original versions.
If you are about to study for the CIA, it’s a great time to check out our free mini-course. You may also want to sign up directly below:
I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley) and the publisher of this and several accounting professional exam prep sites.