Latest Exam Format
Sections: The CPA examination is divided into four sections. Each section has its own time limit and syllabus. The details of the same are given below:
| SECTION | TIME | TOPICS | SHARE IN THE TOTAL SECTION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditing | 4 hours | Auditing and Attestation
|
70% |
| Professional Responsibility | 20% | ||
Accounting and Review Services
|
10% | ||
| Financial | 4 hours | Financial Accounting
|
80% |
| Government and Non-profit | 20% | ||
| Regulation | 3 hours | Tax
|
60% |
Business law
|
20% | ||
| Ethics, Professional and Legal Responsibilities AICPA Code of Professional Conduct | 20% | ||
| Business environment and concepts | 3 hours | Financial and Operations Management | 35% |
| Information Systems | 15% | ||
| Corporate Governance | 30% | ||
| Economic Concepts and Strategic Planning | 20% |
Types of Questions: The CPA examination contains various types of questions:
- Multiple Choice Questions: MCQ’s make up the majority of each exam. One question has four choices and one of them is the potential answer.
- Task-based simulations: There are questions where a candidate has to apply the practical knowledge found in various sections. In this question type, there are tasks of filling out a form or completing a research question.
The Auditing, Financial and Regulation exam formats are more or less the same. Each section has 60% multiple-choice questions and 40% task with simulations. The multiple-choice question portion is broken into three different testlets where Auditing and Financial contains 30 questions each and regulation contains 24 questions. Auditing and Financial has seven task-based simulations while regulation has six.
The business environment and concepts examination pattern varies from the other three. 85% of this section consists of multiple choice questions. The MCQs is broken into three individual test lets with 24 questions each. There is a written communication portion post the MCQ section where one contains a written response in a memo format.
