Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam

The CPA exam is a challenging test. The exam is like a comprehensive final exam covering the Accounting and Business classes required to get a Bachelor's degree in Accounting. The exam is 14 hours long and has four sections. The pass rate for each section is about 30 percent.

The four sections of the CPA exam are:

1. Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)
2. Regulation (RGE)
3. Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
4. Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

Before you can take the CPA exam, you must meet the following education requirements:

1. Complete a Bachelor's degree. The degree may be in any subject.
2. Complete a minimum of 24 semester units in Accounting
3. Complete a minimum of 24 semester units in Business
   (Accounting courses beyond the 24 required units apply toward Business units)

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountant (AICPA) publishes the CPA Exam Content Specifications. These specifications list in detail the topics that will be on the CPA exam.