The anxiety and stress about passing the CPA exam is not new. But the CPA Evolution 2024 is definitely new; making candidates lose some sleep. Over the past decade, the pass rate of the CPA exam has been around 50%, which is not the best prospect.
The CPA exam is considered one of the most difficult and time-consuming exams and unfortunately, that is true. Passing the CPA exam on the first attempt and obtaining the CPA licensure is a tough road to travel. However, the final destination of this journey is fulfilling and worthwhile to many professionals, which inspires accounting people to take this path. Even Andrew Katz, the best CPA exam tutor has been encouraging candidates and making their journey to CPA license easier.
Since the 2024 CPA Evolution has brought various changes to the pattern, Andrew Katz CPA tutoring is ensuring candidates sitting for the exam in 2024 or afterward embrace the changes carefully and be fully prepared for the new pattern exam.
So here’s a CPA exam guide to help you study and prepare.
CPA Exam Structure
In 2024, students will have to take three sections: FAR, AUD, REG, and one of the three disciplines on selection – BAR, ISC, and TCP. Each of the three cores and three disciplines comprises multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations. The test lasts 16 hours in total—four hours for each section—and applicants can take these exam sections on different days rather than all at once.
As earlier, candidates must complete and pass all four sections within 18 months (often commencing on the day a candidate takes the first passed section) to pass the exam and proceed with the licensing process. The four sections are discussed in detail below.
Auditing and Attestation
The AUD section assesses a candidate’s knowledge of the technical and ethical elements of auditing for both public and private businesses. AUD also addresses reporting obligations, risk assessment methodologies, evidence gathering, and CPAs’ ethical duties.
AUD is divided into four content parts:
Area I: Ethics, professional responsibilities, and general principles
Area II: Evaluating risk and developing a planned response
Area III: Carrying out further dealings and finding evidence
Area IV: Creating conclusions and reporting
Financial Accounting and Reporting
The FAR section’s questions and tasks focus on three topic areas:
Area I: Financial reporting
Area II: Select balance sheet accounts
Area III: Select transactions
Candidates in this section demonstrate their ability to generate and evaluate financial statements and balance sheets with various forms of revenue and costs, rectify accounting mistakes, and track the variations in financial accounting and reporting for for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
Taxation and Regulation
The REG section examines tax regulations for firms and people in the United States, ensuring that CPA candidates learn the importance of and methods for compliance. Candidates examine data and regulate the proper methods for precision and comprehensiveness using taxation technology and resources.
To prepare for this section, candidates need to focus on the following five content areas:
Area I: Ethics, professional responsibilities, and federal tax procedures
Area II: Business law
Area III: Federal taxation of property transactions
Area III: Federal taxation of individuals
Area III: Federal taxation of entities
Disciplines
CPA candidates must choose one of three disciplines as the fourth section of the CPA exam.
The discipline part has replaced the BEC section, which was the fourth section in the previous version of the CPA exam. This allows applicants to test in an area of interest or expertise.
The three disciplines offer the following testing areas:
Business analysis and reporting: BAR extends on key topics in FAR, including data gathering and sourcing, financial analysis and reporting, and business analysis, as well as municipal and state governmental accounting.
Information Systems and Controls: ISC emphasizes accounting data collection, storage, and analysis techniques that are secure and accurate. Candidates must be familiar with information technology audits, security threats and mitigation, and security governance.
Tax Compliance and Planning: TCP delves further into taxation for people and corporations, going beyond REG. TCP concepts and activities include- calculating expected tax payments, examining shareholder obligations and investments, and differentiating between different corporate organizations for tax reasons.
Conclusion
This is just the basic idea about the CPA exam structure. To learn more about CPA Evolution 2024 and prepare for the newer pattern, you can reach out to the best CPA exam tutor Andrew Katz. Not only you will get personalized assistance, but the courses offered by Andrew Katz Tutoring are also designed through the latest model and approved syllabus by AICPA, so you don’t miss the updates.