Students taking the CPA exam in 2024 will have to face a new pattern with long time back announced CPA Evolution about to become effective. From candidates to CPA tutoring and review courses, everyone has braced themselves for Evolution 2024, keeping its blueprint in mind. However, students looking forward to obtaining their CPA license in 2024 or beyond are apprehensive about making the right discipline choice for a thriving future and career path. 

However, it is not that choosing a Discipline will hook you into a specific career. There are numerous opportunities that open up with every Discipline. It will be like a guide to start with the best foot forward in your career, you will always have the chance to change or branch out on your path. 

 Before Evolution 2024, the CPA Exam included four individual sections: 

  • Auditing & Attestation (AUD) 
  • Business Environment & Concepts (BEC)
  • Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR)
  • Regulation (REG)

 In order to obtain the CPA license, you had to pass all these four sections of the exam. With CPA Evolution in place, students in 2024 and onwards must pass the following sections 

  • Auditing & Attestation (AUD)
  • Financial Auditing & Reporting (FAR)
  • Taxation & Regulation (REG)

 CPA candidates who haven’t scored BEC before 2024 need to select from one of three Discipline sections, each focused on a different set of skills and knowledge:

  • Business Analysis & Reporting (BAR) 
  • Information Systems and Controls (ISC)
  • Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)

Find Your Career Path with Each Discipline Here:

 Business Analysis & Reporting (BAR)

For accountants and financial professionals who want to explore the technical sides of accounting and reporting, the BAR is the finest CPA Exam Discipline to go with. With a focus on this section, you will be able to demonstrate specific abilities and expertise to potential clients and employers in the following areas:

  • Data Analytics
  • Financial risk management and planning
  • Technical accounting and reporting
  • State and local government accounting

 This discipline leads to a wide range of career prospects, including: 

  • Auditor at a public accounting firm
  • Controller
  • CFO or CEO
  • Chief Accountant
  • Corporate Accounting 

 Information Systems & Controls (ISC)

If you are interested in how information technology, security, and data management relate to accounting and finance, the ISC Discipline is a great option to choose. When you pass this CPA Exam section, you will have demonstrated proficiency in the following areas:

  • Business processes
  • Information systems
  • Information security
  • IT audits
  • System and Organization Controls (SOC) engagements

 With this established understanding and expertise, the following job opportunities open for you: 

  • IT auditor
  • Data Manager
  • Data Engineer 
  • Data Scientist
  • Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

 Tax Compliance & Planning (TCP)

This may be the greatest CPA Exam Discipline if you are interested in all tax-related things, such as tax regulation and compliance. Passing the TCP section of the CPA Exam demonstrates your understanding of difficult tax problems and their following elements:

  • Advanced individual tax compliance
  • Personal financial planning
  • Property transactions
  • Advanced entity tax compliance and planning

Gaining a better grasp of international tax concerns, federal tax planning, corporate structures, and the tax consequences of planned transactions can place you in a better position to operate your own tax practice or take on roles such as:

  • Tax Analyst
  • Tax Compliance Officer
  • Tax Professional within the tax department of a company/ public accounting firm/ government offices/ banks or hedge funds

 Discover Your Discipline with Andrew Katz CPA Tutoring 

Choosing a discipline can be overwhelming and a tough decision to make. Don’t worry! This gets easy with Andrew Katz CPA Tutoring as you get gold-standard personalized assistance to help you understand the nitty-gritty of the CPA exam. Andrew Katz, a successful CPA, guides students toward the right direction of CPA exam preparation. He provides exam-readiness resources and tools with a comprehensive process that starts with creating a study plan tailored to your needs.