Want to start your US CPA journey but unsure where to begin? Our comprehensive guide to the US CPA syllabus has you covered!
US CPA Exam Pattern
The CPA licensure model requires all candidates to pass three Core exam sections and one Discipline exam section of a candidate’s choosing.
The three Core exam sections are:
Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Taxation and Regulation (REG).
Whereas the three Discipline exam sections are
Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC) and Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).
The table below presents the design of the Exam by Core and Discipline section, section time and question type.
Section |
Section - Time |
Multiple-Choice Questions(MCQs) |
Tasked-Based Simulations (TBS) |
|---|---|---|---|
AUD - Core
|
4 hours
|
78
|
7
|
FAR - Core
|
4 hours
|
50
|
7
|
REG - Core
|
4 hours
|
72
|
8
|
BAR - Discipline
|
4 hours
|
50
|
7
|
ISC - Discipline
|
4 hours
|
82
|
6
|
TCP - Discipline
|
4 hours
|
68
|
7
|
The following table presents the scoring weight of MCQs and TBSs for each Core and Discipline Exam section.
Section |
Score Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|
MCQs
|
TBSs
| ||
AUD - Core
|
50%
|
50%
| |
FAR - Core
|
50%
|
50%
| |
REG - Core
|
50%
|
50%
| |
BAR - Discipline
|
50%
|
50%
| |
ISC - Discipline
|
60%
|
40%
| |
TCP - Discipline
|
50%
|
50%
| |
Each Exam section consists of five parts, called testlets. The first two testlets comprises of MCQs. The next three testlets contain the TBSs.
Section |
Testlet 1 (MCQ) |
Testlet 2 (MCQ) |
Testlet 3 (TBS) |
Testlet 4 (TBS) |
Testlet 5 (TBS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUD - Core
|
39
|
39
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
FAR - Core
|
25
|
25
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
REG - Core
|
36
|
36
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
BAR - Discipline
|
25
|
25
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
ISC - Discipline
|
41
|
41
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
TCP - Discipline
|
34
|
34
|
2
|
3
|
2
|
The AICPA designed the exam based on Bloom’s Taxonomy—a framework which ranks skills from basic to advanced to test what students can learn and apply.
The TBSs combines both the applicable content knowledge and skills required in the context of a CPA’s work.The following skills are tested in the CPA Exam, ranked by their level of importance:
Core Subjects : FAR, AUD, REG
Auditing & Attestation (AUD)
The AUD section of the US CPA Exam tests a CPA's knowledge and skills in planning, risk assessment, performing procedures, gathering evidence, and reporting for Audit & Attestation Service engagements.
The following table summarizes the content areas and the allocation of content tested in the AUD section of the Exam:
Content Area |
Allocation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area I
|
Ethics, Professional Responsibilities & General Principles
|
15 - 25%
| ||
Area II
|
Assessing Risk & Developing a Planned Response
|
25 - 35%
| ||
Area III
|
Performing Further Procedures & Obtaining Evidence
|
30 - 40%
| ||
Area IV
|
Forming Conclusions & Reporting
|
10 - 20%
| ||
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
The FAR section of the US CPA Exam tests the financial accounting and reporting concepts required by a CPA in the preparation and review of financial statements, account balances and transactions to ensure compliance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S. SEC) &/or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) frameworks.
The following table summarizes the content areas and the allocation of content tested in the FAR section of the Exam:
Content Area |
Allocation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area I
|
Financial Reporting
|
30 - 40%
| ||
Area II
|
Select Balance Sheet Accounts
|
30 - 40%
| ||
Area III
|
Select Transactions
|
25 - 35%
| ||
Area IV
|
Forming Conclusions & Reporting
|
10 - 20%
| ||
Taxation and Regulation (REG)
The REG focuses on the CPAs skills in the planning, preparation and review of federal tax returns for Individuals, Partnerships, S-corporations, C-corporations, Estates, Trusts & NPOs.
The following table summarizes the content areas and the allocation of content tested in the REG section of the Exam:
Content Area |
Allocation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area I
|
Ethics, Professional Responsibilities and Federal Tax Procedures
|
10 - 20%
| ||
Area II
|
Business Law
|
15 - 25%
| ||
Area III
|
Federal Taxation of Property Transactions
|
5 - 15%
| ||
Area IV
|
Federal Taxation of Individuals
|
22 - 32%
| ||
Area V
|
Federal Taxation of Entities (including Tax preparation)
|
23 - 33%
| ||
Discipline Subjects : BAR, ISC, TCP
Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR)
BAR is ideal for those pursuing careers in FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis), Business Reporting, and External Financial Reporting, as it deals with advanced accounting concepts.
The following table summarizes the content areas and the allocation of content tested in the BAR section of the Exam:
Content Area |
Allocation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area I
|
Business Analysis
|
40 - 50%
| ||
Area II
|
Technical Accounting and Reporting
|
35 - 45%
| ||
Area III
|
State and Local Governments
|
10 - 20%
| ||
Information Systems and Controls (ISC)
The ISC section of the Uniform CPA Examination (the Exam) tests the knowledge and skills that CPAs must demonstrate with respect to information systems, including processing integrity, availability, security, confidentiality and privacy.
The following table summarizes the content areas and the allocation of content tested in the ISC section of the Exam:
Content Area |
Allocation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area I
|
Information Systems and Data Management
|
35 - 45%
| ||
Area II
|
Security, Confidentiality and Privacy
|
35 - 45%
| ||
Area III
|
Considerations for System and Organisation Controls (SOC) Engagements |
15 - 25%
| ||
Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)
The TCP section assesses a CPA’s role in both federal tax planning and compliance with federal tax laws for individuals, partnerships, S corporations, C corporations, estates, trusts, and NPOs.
The following table summarizes the content areas and the allocation of content tested in the TCP section of the Exam:
Content Area |
Allocation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Area I
|
Tax Compliance and Planning for Individuals and Personal Financial Planning |
30 - 40%
| ||
Area II
|
Entity Tax Compliance
|
30 - 40%
| ||
Area III
|
Entity Tax Planning
|
10 - 20%
| ||
Area IV
|
Property Transactions (disposition of assets)
|
10 - 20%
| ||
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