The US CPA Exam: A Complete Guide for the Aspiring Candidates

The certified public accountant (CPA) test is a globally recognized credentialing exam for accounting professionals. Conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the CPA credential is the highest level of competence in accountancy across continents.

In India, a chartered accountant (CA) is equivalent to a CPA. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AICPA, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and Prometric collectively decided to expand the CPA exam testing in India. As a result, since January 2021, the country has been witnessing the onset of continuous testing of US CPA exams.

This guide will solve all the queries related to the CPA exam in India. Time for a deep dive.

Eligibility Criteria

While every state has its own US CPA exam requirements, the standard requisites include

· Qualification or related degree from an accredited institution

· 120–150 educational credits of college/university degree

· 20–24 credit hours in accounting and finance course works

· 1–2 years of work experience under the guidance of a licensed CPA

The CPA eligibility criteria for US candidates vary from those for the rest of the world.

Scheduling the US CPA Exam

After approving the CPA application, the state board of accountancy will issue an Authorization to Test (ATT). This document usually offers 60 days to the candidates to choose the exam section they want to attempt. After selecting the CPA US exam section, candidates have to log in to their NASBA account to register and pay the relevant section fee.

Candidates have to wait for 3–6 weeks after paying the registration fees for the preferred CPA exam sections to receive the Notice to Schedule (NTS). This legal document permits test-takers to sit for the uniform CPA US exam. Additionally, they can use NTS to log in to the Prometric website to book the exam slot. That said, candidates must schedule the exam within 6 months after getting NTS, else this legal document will become invalid. In that case, they will need to pay for the same test fees to receive another one.

Besides, aspirants can cancel or reschedule their test slot at least 30 days in advance to avoid any fee. However, if they cancel or reschedule 5–30 days prior to their exam slot, they have to pay a fee directly to Prometric. And if they reschedule within 5 days of their test date, they will have to pay the full Prometric exam fee for the selected section. Furthermore, no changes to the appointment will be entertained less than 24 hours in advance.

US CPA Exam Structure

The CPA USA exam contains questions from the following subjects:

· Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

· Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

· Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

· Regulation (REG)

Each section is categorized as a “testlet,” containing task-based simulations (TBS), multi-choice questions (MCQ), and written communication tasks (WCT). Aspirants will have 4 hours to complete each section of the CPA USA exam. Here is a breakdown:

US CPA Exam Syllabus and Weightage

The AUD section tests aspirants on the following topics:

· Professional responsibilities and general principles (16–20%)

· Accounting and review services (12–16%)

· Entity and internal control (16–20%)

· Procedures and evidence (16–20%)

· Reports (16–20%)

· Engagement acceptance and planning (12–16%)

The FAR section comprises of:

· Accounts and disclosures (27–33%)

· Concepts (17–23%)

· Transactions (27–33%)

· Not-for-profits (8–12%)

· Governmental (8–12%)

The REG section entails the following topics:

Ethical and legal responsibilities (15–19%)

· Business law (17–21%)

· Gain and loss taxation (12–16%)

· Federal tax processes (11–15%)

· Taxation of entities (18–24%)

· Individual taxation (13–19%)

At last, the BEC section incorporates:

· Economics (16–20%)

· Corporate governance (16–20%)

· Financial management (19–23%)

· Operations management (12–16%)

· Strategic planning (10–14%)

US CPA Exam Fees

Candidates have to foot various fees and costs related to appearing for the CPA USA exam.

Application Fees

Based on the state jurisdiction, the application is USD 50–200.

NASBA Exam Fees

About USD 193 for each section.

CPA License Fees

Around USD 50–500 per annum, depending on the state.

Registration Fees

Candidates can apply for one or multiple sections at once and pay the subsequent registration fee.

· One section — $63

· Two sections — $81

· Three sections — $99

· Four sections — $177

AICPA Ethics Fees

The feed for the ethics exam is USD 150–200.

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Created on Jan 29th 2022 04:35. Viewed 195 times.

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