Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination - Changes To The Exam As of January 1, 2011

Changes To The Exam As of January 1, 2011

Significant changes were made to the Uniform Certified Public Accounting Exam as of January 1, 2011. These changes affected the content and structure of the exam, as well as the time allocations applied to each section of the exam and the scoring and weighting processes.

Content

The following content was removed from the CPA Exam:

1. The testing of written communication in the Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG) sections of the exam.
2. 18 multiple choice questions from the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) and REG sections.
3. Some IT-based testing content

The following content was added to the CPA Exam:

1. The testing of written communication in the BEC section of the exam
2. Project-management-based content
3. Content based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

The content of the exam that revolves around IFRS is very important to note because of the ongoing debates as to whether or not the United States should adopt the international standards, or if it should continue to follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) being practiced in the United States. IFRS provides fewer reported details than U.S. GAAP, especially in its practice of revenue recognition.

In addition to these changes, long simulations in the Auditing and Attestation, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and Regulation sections of the exam were replaced with shorter “Task-Based Simulations” (TBS). Task-Based Simulations normally contain 6 or 7 tasks, one of which is usually is research problem.

Exam Structure

The structure of the CPA Exam is as follows:

1. Auditing and Attestation

a. 3 Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) testlets (30 questions each)

b. 7 short task-based simulations, including one research question

1. Business Environment and Concepts

a. 3 MCQ testlets (24 questions each)

b. 3 written communication tasks based on current topics

1. Financial Accounting and Reporting

a. MCQ testlets (30 questions each)

b. 7 task-based simulations, including one research question

1. Regulation

a. 3 MCQ testlets (24 questions each)

b. 6 task-based simulations, including one research question

Time Allocations

The total time allowed for the exam remained at 14 hours. However, the times associated with each section were altered as follows:

• Auditing and Attestation: 4 hours (previously 4.5 hours)
• Financial Accounting and Reporting: 4 hours
• Regulation: 3 hours
• Business Environment and Concepts: 3 hours (previously 2.5 hours)

Scoring & Weighting

The following is the approved scoring and weighting system of the 2011 CPA exam:

1. Auditing and Attestation

a. Multiple Choice Questions - 60%

b. Simulations - 40%

1. Business Environment and Concepts

a. Multiple Choice Questions - 85%

b. Written Communication - 15%

1. Financial Accounting and Reporting

a. Multiple Choice Questions - 60%

b. Simulations - 40%

1. Regulation

a. Multiple Choice Questions - 60%

b. Simulations - 40%

These changes took place on January 1, 2011, and affect those professionals taking the CPA exam from there forward.