The Uniform Certified Public Accountant examination is a credentialing exam for professionals seeking to become CPAs. It is graded by AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) and administered with NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy).
The CPA exam consists of 4 sections.
Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
Regulation (REG)
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)
There are 3 types of questions in the CPA exam:
Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) vary from one sentence to paragraph length questions with 4 options. Task-Based Simulations (TBS) require candidates to type in answers and may include research questions, journal entries, reconciling accounts, filling out a form with MCQs, or filling out sections of reports. Written communication tasks test the candidate’s ability through writing; these are a must in the BEC section.
Each exam section is broken into 5 tests:
Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
Testlet Questions
1 36 MCQs
2 36 MCQs
3 2 TBS
4 3 TBS
5 3 TBS
Regulation (REG)
Testlet Questions
1 38 MCQs
2 38 MCQs
3 2 TBS
4 3 TBS
5 3 TBS
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
Testlet Questions
1 33 MCQs
2 33 MCQs
3 2 TBS
4 3 TBS
5 3 TBS
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)
Testlet Questions
1 31 MCQs
2 31 MCQs
3 2 TBS
4 2 TBS
5 3 Written Communication Questions
CPA Exam by Sections and Question Type:
Sections Time MCQs TBS Written communication
AUD 4 Hours 72 8 –
REG 4 Hours 76 8 –
FAR 4 Hours 66 8 –
BEC 4 Hours 62 4 3
Skills Tested by Section:
Section Remembering & Understanding Analysis Application Evaluation
AUD 30 to 40% 15 to 25% 30 to 40% 5 to 15%
REG 25 to 35% 25 to 35% 35 to 45% –
FAR 10 to 20% 25 to 35% 50 to 60% –
BEC 15 to 25% 20 to 30% 50 to 60% –
Related Article: US CPA Exam Score Release Dates 2021
CPA Exam Content Areas by Sections:
Auditing and Attestation (AUD):
Developing a Planned Response & Assessing Risk (20 to 30%)
Debtor-creditor relationships
Entity’s internal control
Planning an engagement
Assessing and identifying the risk of material misstatement
Materiality
Specific areas of engagement risk
Professional Responsibilities, Ethics & General Principles (15 to 25%)
Nature and scope
Engagement documentation
Ethics and professional conduct
Communication with management
Communication with component auditors
A firm’s system of quality control
Obtaining Evidence & Performing Further Procedures (30 to 40%)
Sampling techniques
Acquisition and disposition of assets
Internal control deficiencies and misstatements
Performing specific procedures to get evidence
Subsequent events
Written representation
Reporting and Forming Conclusions (15 to 25%)
Reports on attestation engagements
Reporting on compliance
Reports on auditing engagements
Review service engagements
Other reporting considerations
Related Article: ALL ABOUT CPA-AUD EXAM
Regulation (REG):
Federal Tax Procedures, Professional Responsibilities and Ethics (10 to 20%)
Federal tax procedures
Responsibilities in tax practice
Legal duties
Licensing and disciplinary systems
Business Law (10 to 20%)
Contracts
Business structure
Agency
Government regulation of business
Debtor-creditor relationships
Federal Taxation of Property Transactions (12 to 22%)
Estate and gift taxation
Determination of taxable estate
Acquisition and disposition of assets
Gift tax deductions
Gift tax annual exclusion
Cost recovery
Federal Taxation of Individuals (15 to 25%)
Passive activity losses
Computation of tax and credits
Gross income
Filing status
Reporting items from pass-through entities
Alternative Minimum Tax
Computation of tax and credits
Federal Taxation of Entities (28 to 38%)
S corporations
C corporations
Liquidation of business entities & tax treatment of formation
Trusts and estates
Limited liability companies
Partnerships
Tax-exempt organizations
Related Article: CPA Study Strategy of FAR, REG, BEC, AUD by Laxmikant
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
Standard-Setting, Conceptual Framework, and Financial Reporting (25 to 35%)
Public company reporting topics
The standard setting for non-business entities
Conceptual framework
Special purpose framework
Standard setting and conceptual framework for nonbusiness entities
General-purpose financial statements
Select Financial Statement Accounts (30 to 40%)
Property, plant, and equipment
Cash and cash equivalents
Intangible assets
Investments
Long-term debt
Income taxes
Compensation benefits
Inventory
Select Transactions (20 to 30%)
Business combinations
Derivatives and hedge accounting
Leases
Research and development costs
Subsequent events
Differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP
Accounting changes and error corrections
Contingencies and commitments
Foreign currency transaction and translation
Nonreciprocal transfers
Software costs
Fair value measurements
State and Local Governments (5 to 15%)
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)
Specific types of transactions and events: calculation, measurement, presentation in a governmental entity, and valuation.
State and local government concepts
Government-wide financial statements
Related Article: Tips to Clear CPA FAR Exam
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)
Corporate Governance (17 to 27%)
ERM (Enterprise Risk Management) frameworks
Internal control frameworks
Regulatory frameworks and provisions
Economic Concepts and Analysis (17 to 27%)
Market influences on business
Economic business cycles
Financial risk management
Financial Management (11 to 21%)
Working capital
Capital structure
Financial valuation methods
Information Technology (15 to 25%)
Information security/availability
IT governance
Role of information technology business
Processing integrity
Systems development of maintenance
Operations Management (15 to 25%)
Cost accounting
Planning techniques
Performance management
Process management
Related Article: CPA-BEC Exam Study Strategies
Conclusion:
CPAs have a huge demand in different fields like public accounting, business and industry, non-profit, government, and education. Check out the CPA exam syllabus given above to be aware of the subjects. Hope the detailed information provided in this article about the CPA exam syllabus has been helpful to you. Feel free to comment if you have any other doubts.
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