FARB-FinAudRegB wrote: From my searching throughout the job postings is that the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) is pretty useful.

Yes, that's why I decided to pursue CIA rather than CFE.

bobthecpa wrote: J L S wrote: CFA then CMA / CIA then CFP / CISA / CFE  / CGFM then everything else Do a job search for each and see what comes up.  The above is just my guess and depends on where your working and  CIA is bigger than CMA. Candidates sitting for exam in 2007: CPA = 77,196 CIA = 57,040 CMA = 6,739 Source: Gleim Careers in Accounting

The above stats are a bit out of date now. As of the AICPA, there were 267,000 scheduled sections and more than 93,000 examinees. This is according to their 2010 Spring Newsletter. I'm curious to find out how the stats have changed. For example, CFE is gaining popularity, what with the increased sensitivity to fraud. I'm not sure which license/certification is "second best" but I think it's important to just go with what interests you. For example, if you like investigation, than the CFE makes sense. If you like internal auditing, CIA might be the way to go. To me, it's like college all over again where you get a degree but then also decide on a "concentration."