The CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is the premier US accounting credential, licensed by each state's Board of Accountancy and signalling that the holder can audit financial statements, sign opinions, and serve the public interest. Licensure rests on the "three Es": Education (commonly 150 semester hours), Examination (the Uniform CPA Exam), and Experience (typically ~1 year under a CPA). This module is independent prep over the public AICPA Blueprints and is not the official AICPA review course or exam.

CPA EVOLUTION (2024) Every candidate passes three Core sections — AUD, FAR, REG — plus one Discipline they choose: BAR (Business Analysis & Reporting), ISC (Information Systems & Controls) or TCP (Tax Compliance & Planning). The old BEC section is gone; its content moved into the Core and Disciplines.

AUDCore · Audit

FARCore · Reporting

REGCore · Tax/Law

+ DisciplineBAR / ISC / TCP

Each section runs four hours and mixes multiple-choice questions (MCQs) with task-based simulations (TBSs). Scores run 0-99 with 75 to pass — a scaled score, not a raw percentage. You generally have an 18-month window to pass all four sections once you pass your first.

📚Education 150 hrs

📝4 sections

🧑‍💼Experience ~1 yr

🪪State license

EXAM TIP Map your study to the Blueprints' skill levels (Remembering & Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation). Higher-skill topics dominate the simulations, where most points are won or lost.

🧾 CPA Exam Prep (US)