The Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints are meant to help candidates get ready for the CPA Exam and ensure they have the basic skills and knowledge needed to become CPAs. In addition, the CPA Exam Blueprints cover upcoming content changes and offer insights into noteworthy changes to the exam's structure and format. We'll delve into the details of the current blueprint below.
CPA Exam Structure
| Section | Section time | Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) | Task-Based Simulations (TBSs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 current format of the CPA Exam, launched in January 2024, has three core sections: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG). BEC is no longer on the CPA Exam. However, a large amount of BEC content is still tested, as it has been distributed among several of the core and discipline sections.
Candidates must choose one discipline section in addition to the three core sections: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP). Each discipline is an expansion of one of the core sections, allowing applicants to focus more deeply on a subject that suits their interests and areas of expertise.
The core and discipline sections are each four (4) hours long and have multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and task-based simulations (TBSs). Written communication (WC) questions are no longer included on the CPA Exam.
Score Weighting by Question Type
Most of the core and discipline sections have equal score weighting for MCQs and TBSs (50% for each). In ISC, however, the score weight is 60% for MCQs and 40% for TBSs.
| Score Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Section | Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) | Task-Based Simulations (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% |
Score Weighting by Skill Level
The skill level weighting across all core and discipline sections is as follows:
| Section | Remembering and Understanding |
Application | Analysis | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUD - Core | 30-40% | 30-40% | 15-25% | 5-15% |
| FAR - Core | 5-15% | 45-55% | 35-45% | - |
| REG - Core | 25-35% | 35-45% | 25-35% | - |
| BAR - Discipline | 10-20% | 45-55% | 30-40% | - |
| ISC - Discipline | 55-65% | 20-30% | 10-20% | - |
| TCP - Discipline | 5-15% | 55-65% | 25-35% | - |
Score weighting by content area
- Ethics, Independence and Professional Responsibilities
- Professional Skepticism and Professional Judgment
- Nature and Scope
- Terms of Engagement
- Requirements for Engagement Documentation
- Communication With Management and Those Charged with Governance
- Audit and Assurance Quality
- Planning an Engagement
- Understanding an Entity and Its Environment
- Understanding an Entity’s Control Environment and Business Processes, Including Information Technology (It)Systems
- Materiality
- Assessing and Responding to Risks Of Material Misstatement, Whether Due to Fraud or Error
- Planning for And Using The Work of Others
- Specific Areas of Engagement Risk
- Use of Data and Information
- Sufficient Appropriate Evidence
- Sampling Techniques
- Procedures to Obtain Sufficient Appropriate Evidence
- Specific Matters that Require Special Consideration
- Misstatements and Internal Control Deficiencies
- Written Representations
- Subsequent Events and Subsequently Discovered Facts
- Reports on Auditing Engagements
- Reports on Attestation Engagements
- Accounting and Review Service Engagements
- Reporting on Compliance
- Other Reporting Considerations
Score Weighting by Skill Level
- Remembering and Understanding (30-40%) : Areas I and IV are mostly focused on remembering andunderstanding. Area I covers a lot of the general auditing knowledge and Area IV covers reporting tasks.
- Application (30-40%) and Evaluation (5-15%): application skills are tested in all four AUDcontent areas. Candidates are evaluated based on tasks linked to their professional duties, documentation, andeveryday responsibilities.
- Analysis (15-25%): The majority of analysis and evaluation level skills are tested in Areas IIand III. These two areas require a deeper capacity for observation and comprehension.
Sample topics by area
Area I – Ethics, Professional Responsibilities and General Principles
| Skill | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content group/topic | Remembering & Understanding | Application | Analysis | Evaluation | Representative Task |
| A. Ethics, independence and professional responsibilities(continued) | |||||
3. Requirements of the Government Accountability Office andthe Department of Labor (continued) | Apply the ethical requirements and independence rules of theGovernment Accountability Office Government Auditing Standards to situations that couldpresent threats to compliance during an audit of, or attestation engagement for, agovernment entity or an entity receiving federal awards | ||||
| Apply the independence rules of the Department of Labor tosituations when an accountant would not be considered independent during an audit ofemployee benefit plans. | |||||
| B. Professional skepticism and professional judgment | |||||
| Understand the concepts of professional skepticism andprofessional judgment. | |||||
| Understand unconscious auditor biases and other impediments toacting with professional skepticism, including threats, incentives and judgment-makingshortcuts. | |||||
Sample topics by area
A. Ethics, independence and professional responsibilities (continued)
Content group/topic
Requirements of the Government Accountability Office and the Department ofLabor (continued)
Representative task
Apply the ethical requirements and independence rules of theGovernment Accountability Office Government Auditing Standards to situations that could presentthreats to compliance during an audit of, or attestation engagement for, a government entity or anentity receiving federal awards
Remembering & Understanding
–
Application
Analysis
–
Evaluation
–
Representative task
Apply the independence rules of the Department of Labor tosituations when an accountant would not be considered independent during an audit of employeebenefit plans.
Remembering & Understanding–
Application
Analysis
–
Evaluation
–
B. Professional skepticism and professional judgment
Representative task
Understand the concepts of professional skepticism and professionaljudgment.
Remembering & Understanding
Application
–
Analysis
–
Evaluation
–
Representative task
Understand unconscious auditor biases and other impediments to acting withprofessional skepticism, including threats, incentives and judgment-making shortcuts.
Remembering & Understanding
Application
–
Analysis
–
Evaluation
–
How Do I Use the CPA Exam Blueprints?
The CPA Exam Blueprints lay out the rules and regulations candidates need to know when preparing for the CPA Exam. The AICPA describes the blueprints as “a brief explanation of what the exam will test you on with a correlation to the skill that is being tested.”
- Candidates can use the blueprints to do a lot more than just check the quantity of content that needs to be covered. The blueprints help you to plan your exam preparation, make your own study schedule, and prepare yourself so there are no surprises on exam day.
- Plan one section at a time, as opposed to all four sections at once. This will help you concentrate your study efforts. You should also change the schedule as you hone in on your study habits. Our recommendation would be to prepare for difficult topics first, as it is a time intensive process.
- You can save a lot of time by focusing on content topics in accordance with the score weighting and representative tasks laid out in the blueprints. Give importance to topics which carry more weighting. This in turn, will enable you to dedicate an appropriate amount of time to each topic.
- You should also remember that you cannot solely rely on the blueprints. Studying with a strong, comprehensive review course is key to CPA Exam success. A CPA Review course might seem costly, but studies show that candidates who take a CPA review have higher pass rates than those who do not. Ultimately, the investment is well worth the money and effort.
