CBCA study guide
CBCA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
CBCA - the Continuity Audit certification - is one of the individual credentials awarded by DRI International. On DRI's certification pages it sits in the Continuity Audit family alongside CBCLA, distinct from the core business continuity track (ABCP, CBCP, CBCV, CFCP, MBCP) and from the risk management, supply chain resilience, cyber resilience, healthcare and public sector tracks. DRI uses a letter prefix to signal level: certifications beginning with "A" are associate, "C" certified and "M" master - so CBCA is a certified-tier designation. It is aimed at practitioners whose job is to audit a continuity management program rather than only build one: assessing the program against recognized criteria, gathering and weighing evidence, writing findings, and tracking corrective action through to closure. The CBCA study guide has 5 sections and about 1,572 words.
01Audit fundamentals, professional standards, and auditor roles
An audit is a systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining objective evidence and evaluating it objectively against audit criteria . Most fundamentals questions test one of those words.
334 words, about 2 min02Audit planning, scope, and risk-based audit program design
An audit programme is the set of audits planned over a period, sequenced by risk. An audit plan covers one audit and states objective, scope, criteria, schedule, team and methods.
341 words, about 2 min03Audit execution and evidence gathering against continuity criteria
Evidence must be sufficient (enough to support the conclusion) and appropriate (relevant and reliable). The reliability hierarchy runs from the auditor's direct observation and re-performance, through documentary records created at the time, down to testimony and hearsay.
292 words, about 1 min04Audit reporting, findings, corrective action, and follow-up
Criteria (the requirement), condition (what was found, with evidence), cause (why it happened), effect or risk (business impact if it recurs), and recommendation . Missing cause produces findings that recur year after year; missing criteria makes the finding arguable.
281 words, about 1 min05Continuity management framework criteria and standards used as audit criteria
ISO 22301 is the certifiable requirements standard. ISO 22313 provides guidance, and ISO 22300 holds vocabulary.
324 words, about 2 min