CPA exam resources

The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licence is the U.S. credential for public accounting. It is granted not by a single national body but by individual state boards of accountancy, which is why the path to licensure runs through your state board even though every candidate sits the same Uniform CPA Examination. CPAs sign audit opinions, and the licence is widely used across public accounting, corporate finance, tax practice and advisory work.

The exam itself is only one pillar of licensure. State boards also set education, experience and ethics requirements, and those vary by jurisdiction — more on that below. If you are deciding whether the CPA fits your career plans, the honest framing is this: it is a demanding, multi-section exam paired with state-specific requirements, and it rewards candidates who plan the whole path — sections, timing and cost — before they book their first test appointment.

Under the CPA Evolution model, every candidate takes three Core sections and chooses one Discipline section. According to the AICPA's Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints, each section is four hours long and combines multiple-choice questions with task-based simulations.

The three Core sections (everyone takes these)

• FAR — Financial Accounting and Reporting. Financial reporting for for-profit entities under U.S. GAAP, not-for-profit entities, and select state and local government concepts. It is widely considered demanding because of its breadth, which is why it is the subject of our first deep guide: the complete FAR section guide.
• AUD — Auditing and Attestation. The audit and attestation process: professional responsibilities and ethics, risk assessment, gathering and evaluating evidence, and forming and reporting conclusions. Much of AUD tests judgement — applying standards to scenarios — rather than pure recall.
• REG — Taxation and Regulation. U.S. federal taxation of individuals and entities, business law, and the ethics and professional responsibilities that govern tax practice. Candidates with tax-season experience often find the material familiar; others should budget time for the volume of rules.

The three Discipline sections (choose one)

• BAR — Business Analysis and Reporting. Extends FAR-style financial reporting into deeper analysis and more technical reporting topics. A common choice for candidates heading toward assurance or financial reporting roles.
• ISC — Information Systems and Controls. Information technology, data, security and controls, including controls-focused engagements. Suits candidates drawn to IT audit and systems work.
• TCP — Tax Compliance and Planning. Goes deeper into individual and entity taxation with an added planning dimension. The natural pick for candidates committed to a tax career.

Your Discipline choice does not restrict the licence you receive — it shapes what you study, not what you are licensed to do. Choose the one closest to the work you already do or want to do; motivation and familiarity both help.

Passing the exam is necessary but not sufficient. Each U.S. state board of accountancy sets its own requirements for education (credit hours and subject coverage), qualifying experience, and ethics — and the details genuinely differ between jurisdictions. We deliberately do not summarise individual state rules here, because a generalised summary would be wrong for someone. Instead, treat NASBA's official candidate guidance as your starting point: it explains the examination process and points you to your specific board's requirements.

Practical advice: confirm your education eligibility with your board before you build a study plan. Discovering a missing credit requirement mid-preparation is a common and avoidable setback.

Section order is your choice, and there is no officially "correct" sequence. Two common strategies: start with the section that overlaps most with your recent coursework or work experience (momentum from an early pass is valuable), or start with the section you expect to find hardest while your study stamina is freshest. Whichever you choose, remember that state boards apply time limits to how long passed sections remain valid, so the whole sequence needs a realistic calendar — check your board's current policy via NASBA rather than relying on hearsay.

Two free Certuvo tools support this planning:

• Exam study-plan generator — turns your available weekly hours, background and target date into a week-by-week schedule.
• Certification cost calculator — fees vary by state board, so rather than quoting numbers that may be wrong for your jurisdiction, the calculator itemises the published fee categories and links to the official schedules.

Our published deep guides, all written under the same editorial standards — source-linked to the current AICPA blueprints and reviewed before publication:

• CPA FAR: the complete section guide — the three official blueprint areas with weights, worked examples and a realistic study approach for the broadest Core section.
• CPA AUD: the complete section guide — the four official blueprint areas with weights, judgement-based concepts and two original worked examples for Auditing and Attestation.
• CPA REG: the complete section guide — the five official content areas, tax and business-law concepts and two original worked tax examples for Taxation and Regulation.
• CPA requirements — the education, examination and experience framework for licensure, with state variations honestly flagged.
• CPA exam structure — the Core-plus-Discipline model, question formats, scoring and scheduling explained.
• CPA exam cost — every fee category in the path to licensure, without invented dollar figures.
• CPA study plan — hour estimates, section-order strategies and a phased weekly structure.