ISACA opens beta applications for an AI governance certification due in early 2027

Every figure in the case for this credential comes from ISACA, the training and certification body that will run the exam ^[1]. Infosecurity Magazine attributed the adequacy number to previous ISACA research ^[3]. The training and skills figures come from ISACA's 2025 AI Pulse Poll and its State of Cybersecurity 2026 report ^[5][10].

The two 32% figures measure different things. One counts digital trust professionals who believe their organisations adequately address AI risks such as privacy, bias and security ^[3]. The other 68% did not say so ^[12]. In the 2025 AI Pulse Poll, which surveyed more than 3,000 digital trust professionals, 32% said no employee at their organisation receives any AI training ^[5].

"The governance certification is important in terms of providing an umbrella around the operations of professions from cyber to audit to risk," Chris Dimitriadis said at a media roundtable at ISACA's Europe conference in Munich on 8 October ^[6][7]. He also set a bar for the training itself. "We need this to be holistic and well rounded with soft skills in order for them to be successful in their job," he said ^[8].

ISACA's 2026 research expects AI to take over most technical and orchestration tasks. People would keep the work that needs context, intuition and communication: governance, AI configuration and monitoring, and final decisions ^[9]. The same body's security survey ranks a different set of skills first. Threat detection and response, alongside identity and access management, was the most important security skill cited in the State of Cybersecurity report, with vulnerability management, data security and incident response also highlighted ^[10].