The Uniform CPA Examination, otherwise known as the CPA Exam, is the licensing exam for professionals seeking to become certified public accountants. It is developed and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and administered in conjunction with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).
What comprises the CPA Exam?
The CPA Exam is a four-part exam that tests entry-level accountants’ skills to practice public accounting. The exam contains four separate exams, referred to as sections. Testing time totals 16 hours, equal to four hours per section, and assessment occurs at the Prometric test center.
CPA Evolution
The CPA Exam is changing in 2024! Check out our resources to help you strategize for the new exam and understand the transition process.
CPA Exam format
The exam includes four sections: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Regulation (REG). The following question types appear on the CPA Exam:
Multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
- One-sentence to paragraph-length questions
- Four potential answers
- Candidates select the best response
Task-based simulations (TBS)
- Practical questions
- Require typed-in responses
- May include research questions, journal entries, form completions or account reconciliations
Written-communication questions (WCQs)
- Evaluates candidates’ writing skills
- Test-takers type complete responses
- May include memos directed to a specific audience
Each of the four exam sections is subdivided into five testlets that contain a variety of question types. Here is a breakdown of the questions found within each section of the test:
AUD
- Testlet 1: 36 MCQs
- Testlet 2: 36 MCQs
- Testlet 3: 2 TBS
- Testlet 4: 3 TBS
- Testlet 5: 3 TBS
FAR
- Testlet 1: 33 MCQs
- Testlet 2: 33 MCQs
- Testlet 3: 2 TBS
- Testlet 4: 3 TBS
- Testlet 5: 3 TBS
BEC
- Testlet 1: 31 MCQs
- Testlet 2: 31 MCQs
- Testlet 3: 2 TBS
- Testlet 4: 2 TBS
- Testlet 5: 3 WCQs
REG
- Testlet 1: 38 MCQs
- Testlet 2: 38 MCQs
- Testlet 3: 2 TBS
- Testlet 4: 3 TBS
- Testlet 5: 3 TBS
CPA Exam by sections, time and question type
AUD
- 4 hours
- 72 MCQs
- 8 Task-based simulations
- –
BEC
- 4 hours
- 62 MCQs
- 4 Task-based simulations
- 3 Written communications
FAR
- 4 hours
- 66 MCQs
- 8 Task-based simulations
- –
REG
- 4 hours
- 76 Task-based simulations
- 8 Task-based simulations
- –
CPA Exam scoring by section and question type
AUD
- 50% MCQs
- 50% Task-based simulations
- –
BEC
- 50% MCQs
- 35% Task-based simulations
- 15% Written communications
FAR
- 50% MCQs
- 50% Task-based simulations
- –
REG
- 50% MCQs
- 50% Task-based simulations
- –
CPA Exam skills tested by section
AUD
- 30-40% Remembering and understanding
- 30-40% Application
- 15-25% Analysis
- 5-15% Evaluation
BEC
- 15-25% Remembering and understanding
- 50-60% Application
- 20-30% Analysis
- –
FAR
- 10-20% Remembering and understanding
- 50-60% Application
- 25-35% Analysis
- –
REG
- 25-35% Remembering and understanding
- 35-45% Application
- 25-35% Analysis
- –
CPA Exam content areas, topics and weightings by section
Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
AREA I: Ethics, professional responsibilities and general principles (15-25%)
- Nature and scope
- Ethics, independence and professional conduct
- Terms of engagement
- Requirements for engagement documentation
- Communication with management and those charged with governance
- A firm’s system of quality control, including quality control at the engagement level
AREA II: Assessing risk and developing a planned response (25-35%)
- Planning an engagement
- Understanding an entity and its environment
- Understanding an entity’s control environment and business processes, including information technology (IT) systems
- Assessing risks due to fraud, including discussions among the engagement team about the risk of material misstatement due to fraud or error
- Identifying and assessing the risk of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud and planning further procedures responsive to identified risks
- Materiality
- Planning for and using the work of others
- Specific areas of engagement risk
AREA III: Performing further procedures and obtaining evidence (30-40%)
- Sufficient appropriate evidence
- General procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence
- Specific procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence
- Specific matters that require special consideration
- Misstatements and internal control deficiencies
- Written representation
- Subsequent events and subsequently discovered facts
AREA IV: Forming conclusions and reporting (10-20%)
- Reports on auditing engagements
- Reports on attestation engagements
- Accounting and review service engagements
- Reporting on compliance
- Other reporting considerations
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)
AREA I: Enterprise Risk Management, Internal Controls and Business processes (20-30%)
- Enterprise risk management (ERM)
- Internal controls
- Business processes
AREA II: Economics (15-25%)
- Economic and business cycles
- Market influences on business
- Financial risk management
AREA III : Financial management (10-20%)
- Capital structure
- Working capital
- Financial valuation methods and decision models
AREA IV: Information technology (15-25%)
- Understanding of information technology (IT)
- Risk associated with IT
- Controls that respond to risks associated with IT
- Data management and relationships
AREA V: Operations management (15-25%)
- Financial and non-financial measures of performance management
- Cost accounting
- Process management
- Planning techniques
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
AREA I: Conceptual framework, standard-setting and financial reporting (25-35%)
- Conceptual framework and standard setting for business and nonbusiness entities
- General-purpose financial statements: for-profit business entities
- General-purpose financial statements: nongovernmental, not-for-profit business entities
- Public company reporting topics
- Financial statements of employee benefit plans
- Special purpose frameworks
AREA II: Select financial statement accounts (30-40%)
- Cash and cash equivalents
- Trade receivables
- Inventory
- Property, plant and equipment
- Investments
- Intangible assets – goodwill and other
- Payables and accrued liabilities
- Long-term debt (financial liabilities)
- Equity
- Revenue recognition
- Stock compensation (share-based payments)
- Income taxes
AREA III : Select transactions (20-30%)
- Accounting changes and error corrections
- Business combinations
- Contingencies and commitments
- Derivatives and hedge accounting
- Foreign currency transactions and translation
- Leases
- Nonreciprocal transfers
- Research and development costs
- Software costs
- Subsequent events
- Fair value measurements
AREA IV: State and local governments (5-15%)
- State and local government concepts
- Financial reporting concepts
- Deriving government-wide financial statements and reconciliation requirements
- Typical items and specific types of transactions and events: measurement, valuation, calculation and presentation in governmental entity financial statements
Regulation (REG)
AREA I: Ethics, professional responsibilities and federal tax procedures (10-20%)
- Ethics and responsibilities in tax practice
- Licensing and disciplinary systems
- Federal tax procedures
- Legal duties and responsibilities
AREA II: Business law (10-20%)
- Agency
- Contracts
- Debtor-creditor relationships
- Federal laws and regulations (e.g., employment tax, qualified health plans and worker classification)
- Business structure
AREA III : Federal taxation of property transactions (12-22%)
- Acquisition and disposition of assets
- Cost recovery (depreciation, depletion, amortization)
- Gift taxation
AREA IV: Federal Taxation of Individuals (15-25%)
- Gross income (inclusions and exclusions)
- Reporting items from pass-through entities
- Adjustment and deductions to arrive at adjusted gross and taxable income
- Passive activity losses (excluding foreign tax credit implications)
- Loss limitations
- Filing status
- Computation of tax and credits
AREA V: Federal Taxation of Entities (28-38%)
- Tax treatment of formation and liquidation of business entities
- Differences between book and tax income (loss)
- C corporations
- S corporations
- Partnerships
- Limited liability companies
- Trusts
- Tax-exempt organizations
