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CPA Exam Dates & Structure
WHY DO YOU NEED A CPA LICENSE?
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licenses are issued by all states to protect the residents of those states. The licensing process is designed to ensure the competence of the licensees.
As an accountant, you cannot legally claim or use the CPA title unless you hold a valid CPA license issued by your state. In some states, you may also be restricted from offering certain public services (such as auditing).
A CPA certificate is a valuable addition to your resume in many fields. When you apply for a position, or are being considered for a raise or promotion, a CPA certificate from any of the states is tangible evidence that makes your resume stand out above others.
REQUIREMENTS TO TAKE THE EXAMINATION
To take the examination to become licensed as a certified public accountant, you must meet your state's requirements for education, experience, and knowledge. Most states now require 150 semester hours of university education.
If you are now in school, some states allow you to sit for the examination during the last term before your graduation. You can provide evidence of the necessary experience later. For the specific requirements of your state, refer to APPLYING TO TAKE THE EXAM.
THE CPA EXAMINATION ITSELF
To become a certified public accountant, you must pass all four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination. Each state administers the examination and reports scores to its candidates. However, the examination is made up and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
EXAMINATION DATES
The exam is offered up to six days a week during January, February, April, May, July, August, October and November each year. Each two month testing period is called a window. Candidates make appointments for specific dates and times during a window at a regional testing center.
After the state board determines a candidate is eligible to sit for specific sections of the CPA Examination, the candidate will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS).
The candidate can then register directly with a Prometric testing center to take one or more sections.
Candidates can schedule test appointments online at www.prometric.com\cpa, or by calling 1-800-580-9648 (Candidate Services Call Center) or contacting their local test center.
- Auditing & Attestation
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Financial Accounting & Reporting (business enterprises, not-for-profit organizations, and governmental entities)
- Regulation (professional responsibilities, business law, and taxation)
- Business Environment & Concepts
The examination takes two days.
Each of the four parts of the examination is graded on a scale of 0 to 100. The minimum passinng score is 75.
QUESTION FORMAT
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT is 100% multiple choice.
AUDITING includes multiple choice questions and simulations.
REGULATION includes multiple choice questions and simulations.
FAR includes multiple choice questions and simulations.
If you aren’t familiar with the FASB and AICPA electronic professional literature that is used for research in the AUD, FAR, and REG exam sections, a six-month free subscription is available to exam candidates that have been given exam eligibility by a state board. These are the databases actually used for research in the FAR and AUD exam simulations. The tax research interface is the same, but the tax database is not available at a reduced price to exam candidates.
Click here to order a subscription.
Some simulations on each exam section (other than BEC, which is 100% multiple choice) are graded for writing skills in addition to being graded for technical content. Writing skills are evaluated for organization, conciseness, clarity, use of standard English, responsiveness to the question's requirements, and appropriateness for the reader.
The CPA exam is a closed book, secured examination. Candidates are required to sign a statement that they will not disclose the contents of the examination.
- Plan the engagement and enter agreement. (22%-28%).
- Evalutate Internal Control. (12%-18%).
- Obtain and Document Evidence. (32%-38%).
- Review the engagement to provide reasonable assurance that objectives are achieved and evaluate information obtained to reach and to document engagement conclusions (8%-12%%).
- Prepare communications (reports and letters) to satisfy engagement objectives (12%-18%).
- Concepts and standards for financial statements (17%-23%).
- Typical items in financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (27%-33%).
- Specific types of transactions and events in financial statements (27%-33%).
- Governmental Entities. (8%-12%).
- Nongovernmental not-for-profit organizations. (8%-12%).
- Ethics and professional and legal responsibilities (15%-20%).
- Business Law (20%-25%).
- Federal tax procedures (8%-12%).
- Federal taxation - property transactions (8%-12%).
- Federal taxation - individuals (12%-18%).
- Federal taxation - entities (22%-28%).
- Business Structure (17%-23%).
- Economics (8%-12%).
- Financial Management (17%-23%).
- Information Technology (22%-28%).
- Planning and Measurement (22%-28%).
Accounting Institute Seminars® (AIS) provides intensive review courses for people taking the United States CPA examination. These seminars are taught in person by one of the two authors of the course and are offered in a number of cities in the U.S. each year.
For information on the seminars, return to the CPA Exam Home Page at www.AIS-CPA.com.
We also offer self study CPA exam books written by the same authors.
Most are available on-line, for download to your computer.
The electronic version is less expensive than paper books.
You can magnify pages on your screen, fill the screen (view - full screen), search for terms, and print pages. Best of all, you can start studying it now instead of waiting days for it to arrive!
Here is the list of our currently available E-BOOKS CPA REVIEW.
For more information on e-books or for paper copies, refer to CPA REVIEW SELF STUDY BOOKS.
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If you would like to know more about AIS, see answers to questions frequently asked about AIS and the intensive CPA exam review seminars.
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