Career Compass

CPA Exam Overview

An independent, unofficial guide to the current Uniform CPA Examination under the CPA Evolution model — not affiliated with or endorsed by the AICPA or NASBA.

Format last checked: August 2026. The CPA Evolution model took effect January 1, 2024, replacing the old fixed four-section exam (AUD, BEC, FAR, REG). Business Environment & Concepts (BEC) — including its written-communication tasks — was retired. Candidates now take three Core sections plus one Discipline section of their choosing. If you've seen older material describing BEC or written-communication tasks, it's out of date.
4Sections: 3 Core + 1 Discipline
4 hrsEach section, taken separately
0–99Score scale per section
75Passing score

AUD — CoreFAR — CoreREG — Core BAR — DisciplineISC — DisciplineTCP — Discipline

SectionTypeTimeFocus
AUD — Auditing & AttestationCore4 hrsEthics, risk assessment, evidence & procedures, forming conclusions.
FAR — Financial Accounting & ReportingCore4 hrsFinancial reporting, balance-sheet accounts, transactions.
REG — RegulationCore4 hrsEthics & tax procedure, business law, property & individual/entity taxation.
BAR — Business Analysis & ReportingDiscipline (choose 1 of 3)4 hrsFinancial statement analysis, technical accounting, state & local government.
ISC — Information Systems & ControlsDiscipline (choose 1 of 3)4 hrsInformation systems, security & controls, SOC engagements. Not yet on this portal.
TCP — Tax Compliance & PlanningDiscipline (choose 1 of 3)4 hrsAdvanced individual & entity tax planning. Not yet on this portal.

How this platform's mock exams differ

Unlike the GMAT or LSAT, the four CPA sections are taken as entirely separate exams on separate days — so this portal's mock exams follow that structure: pick one section (AUD, FAR, REG, or BAR) and take a focused, timed testlet of 10 original multiple-choice questions. The real exam mixes roughly 50% MCQs with 50% task-based simulations (TBS) across five testlets per section; TBS items are complex, multi-part, spreadsheet-style simulations that are impractical to reproduce faithfully here, so this mock exam is MCQ-only. Treat it as focused review of concepts and pacing on the MCQ portion, not a full-length section replica.

A note on scoring

The 0–99 score shown after a mock is an illustrative estimate built from a simplified, published-pattern-based curve — it is not AICPA's actual scoring algorithm, which weights MCQ and TBS testlets, adjusts for item difficulty, and is proprietary. A score of 75 or above here should be read as "you're in the passing range on this simplified sample," not an official pass.