The CPA Exam serves as the crucial pathway to obtaining a license, as it verifies that candidates who successfully pass possess the necessary knowledge and skills to safeguard the public interest. On the other hand, experience plays a vital role in expanding practical expertise and further safeguarding the public interest. The public rightly demands competent CPAs with a solid education and valuable experience. Our course is designed to not only provide what is needed to deem you exam ready, but also provide real-world, hands-on experience in the accounting world.
The CPA Evolution Licensure Model (CPA Evolution) sets the groundwork for essential and up-to-date subjects that all newly licensed CPAs (nlCPAs) must be familiar with in order to safeguard the public interest.
The 671 Representative tasks that you will be studying are part of the minimum level of knowledge and skills necessary for initial licensure. They assist you in preparing for the exam by outlining the knowledge and skills that may be tested. They also provide guidance for the development of exam questions.
Exponential growth in new rules, concepts, and standards, along with changes in the roles and responsibilities of newly licensed CPAs (nlCPAs), have caused the body of knowledge required of nlCPAs to grow. The CPA Evolution Licensure Model (CPA Evolution) establishes a foundation for the most important and relevant topics that all nlCPAs need to know to protect the public interest while providing an opportunity for candidates to choose one of three Disciplines as described below.
Under CPA Evolution, all candidates will be required to pass three Core Exam sections covering: Auditing and Attestation (AUD); Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR); and Taxation and Regulation (REG).
Each candidate will also choose one Discipline section1 (i.e., Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)) to demonstrate knowledge and skills in that particular domain. The Disciplines will focus on topics that apply to nlCPAs engaged in those areas of practice and are less likely to be encountered by nlCPAs who are not focused in those areas of practice.
The three Core exam sections, each four hours long, are: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Taxation and Regulation (REG). The three Discipline exam sections, each four hours long, are: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC) and Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).
Regardless of a candidate’s chosen Discipline, CPA Evolution leads to CPA licensure, with rights, privileges, and responsibilities consistent with the present CPA license. CPA professional practice is not limited by the Discipline passed; professional standards provide guidance related to required competence and due care when performing professional services.
The CPA Exam provides reasonable assurance to Boards of Accountancy that individuals who pass the CPA Exam possess the minimum level of knowledge and skills necessary for initial licensure as a CPA. To remain relevant to a dynamic profession and current with the real-world demands on nlCPAs, the CPA Exam must continually evolve.
Substantially all of the content previously assessed in the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) section has been reallocated to the AUD, FAR, BAR and ISC Exam sections.
The transition policy is quite simple. Candidates who have credit for AUD, FAR, or REG on the current CPA Exam will not need to take the corresponding Core section of AUD, FAR, or REG on the 2024 CPA Exam. Candidates who have credit for BEC on the current CPA Exam will not need to take any of the three Discipline sections.
If, however, a candidate loses credit for AUD, FAR, or REG after Dec. 31, 2023, they then must take the corresponding new Core section of AUD, FAR, or REG. A candidate who loses credit for BEC after Dec. 31, 2023, must select one of the three Discipline sections to be tested. See Transition Policy Announced for the 2024 CPA Exam Under the CPA Evolution initiative on NASBA’s website.
Candidates should note that the last day of testing for all current CPA Exam sections (AUD, BEC, FAR, and REG) is Dec. 15, 2023. No CPA Exam sections may be scheduled for testing from Dec. 16, 2023, through Jan. 9, 2024, to allow for conversion of IT systems to the 2024 CPA Exam sections. Candidates are encouraged to plan their testing schedules accordingly.
In addition, candidates wishing to take BEC in the latter part of 2023 need to know that the NASBA Gateway system will stop processing Authorizations to Test and Notices to Schedule for BEC on Nov. 15, 2023. This will necessitate that Boards of Accountancy establish final application deadlines (first-time and re-exam) for BEC sections. These deadlines are yet to be determined and will be published on NASBA’s website once they become available, and shared by each Board of Accountancy.
