Certified Public Accountant ? The CPA Exam
The Uniform Certified Public Accountant is the national accounting licensure examination in the United States. The CPA exam was maintained and created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In every state of America, the exam is given by the officials of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Aside from the United States, the examination is also given to individuals who want to acquire the statutory title Certified Public Accountant in the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. To know more about the CPA exam, let us have a closer look at the topics and sections covered in the Uniform CPA.
Topics and Sections Covered
Individuals who take the exam are given four hours and 30 minutes to finish the section on auditing and attestation. This section covers topics related to internal controls, documenting and obtaining information, preparing communications as well as evaluating engagements and reviewing information. Four hours are given to examiners to answer the questions in the financial accounting and reporting section. The topics in the section include financial statements standards, the different kinds of transactions, reporting and accounting of the financial states of governmental agencies as well as accounting for nonprofit organizations and nongovernmental organizations.
Aside from the sections mentioned, examiners have three hours to finish the section on regulation. It covers topics on professional responsibility and ethics, federal accounting issues and tax procedures, federal taxation regarding entities as well as property transactions involving the federal government. The final section of the examination covers topics related to business environment like economic concepts, information technology and financial management. Individuals are given two hours and 30 minutes to answer all the questions in this section.
Testing Method
The CPA exam is composed of 30 per cent simulations and 70 per cent multiple-choice questions. The simulations are given by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy to assess the skills of examiners in the organization of ideas, development of supporting data as well as their ability to express themselves in business English.
Scoring
The scores acquired by examiners are ranked in the scale of 0 to 99. In order to pass the examination, they should at least get a score of 75. To validate the results of the examinations, the scores of examiners are forwarded to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as to the Boards of Accountancy before the results are published in newspapers and websites.