US CPA Exam Syllabus

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C PA U SA

US CPA Exam Syllabus S EP TEM BER 26, 202 0

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The Uniform Certi ed Public Accountant examination is a credentialing exam for professionals seeking to become CPAs. It is graded by AICPA (American Institute of Certi ed Public Accountants) and administered with NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy).

CPA Exam Format: The CPA exam consists of 4 sections.

1. Auditing and Attestation (AUD) 2. Regulation (REG) 3. Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) 4. 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, lling out a form with MCQs, or lling 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)

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

&

Analysis

Application

Evaluation

15

to

30 to 40%

5 to 15%

to

35 to 45%

–

to

50 to 60%

–

to

50 to 60%

–

Understanding AUD

30 to 40%

25% REG

25 to 35%

25 35%

FAR

10 to 20%

25 35%

BEC

15 to 25%

20 30%

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 • Speci c 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 rm’s system of quality control • Obtaining Evidence & Performing Further Procedures (30 to 40%) • Sampling techniques • Acquisition and disposition of assets • Internal control de ciencies and misstatements • Performing speci c 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 nancial 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 bene ts • Inventory • Select Transactions (20 to 30%) • Business combinations

• 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) • Speci c types of transactions and events: calculation, measurement, presentation in a governmental entity, and valuation.

• State and local government concepts • Government-wide nancial 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 in uences 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

• Process management

Related Article: CPA-BEC Exam Study Strategies Conclusion: CPAs have a huge demand in different

elds like public accounting, business and

industry, non-pro t, 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.

SIMANDHAR EDUCATION Simandhar is the of cial partner of Becker and AICPA – The largest Training provider for US CPA, US CMA, IFRS and EA, HRCI courses in India.

Learn how to clear your CPA exams with extremely satisfying results by getting proper guidance and knowledge through our online courses and video tutorials taught by Industry Experts. We’re here to provide you with all the help that you need in order to ace your CPA, CMA exams. We are just a call away for any assistance. Simandhar Education is the leading training provider for the CPA Exam in India. Contact us@ 91 9390584166.

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2 Comments

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11 M ONTH S AGO

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Nora Kohrs 7 MO NTH S AG O

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