2020-cpa-exam-changes-what-you-need-to-know

Mark wiens

8 jan, 2020

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2020 CPA Exam Changes: What You Need to Know

If you are keeping a track on the coming CPA exam, then you would have probably heard the news that there will be couple of changes for the year 2017. So the main question arises, why such changes? What effects they may have on the aspiring CPAs? Here’s what you need to know.

The first and the most critical change that is made in the pattern of the exam is the inclusion of higher-order cognitive skills. This means that it will test the analytical ability, critical thinking, and problem solving of the candidate related to that knowledge. As these are the key areas in which the students are judged, these changes will be implemented, taking effect from April 1st 2017.

  • Changes By Section: However, not the entire structure of the exam is changed and some of the things have been carried over. So you will still be having:
  • Financial Accounting and Reporting - FAR
  • Auditing and Attestation – AUD
  • Business Environment and Concepts – BEC
  • Regulation – REG Apart from these four areas, the exam will be seeing a change in the pattern of the total time that has been increased to four hours from the previous three for Regulation and Business. There is also a break built to the each section of the exam and that will not be counted in the overall four hours. Also, the total number of multiple choice questions will be reduced and more task bases simulation will be introduced.
  • Multiple Choice Questions: Here is the difference between the current exam patterns vs. the changes that has been made for the 2017 exams.
  • Current Exam: FAR (90), AUD (90), REG (72), BEC (72)
  • 2017 Exam: FAR (60-65), AUD (70-75), REG (70-75), BEC (60-65)
  • Similarly, in the task based simulations of the exams, following changes have been made. Current Exam: FAR (7), AUD (7), REG (6), BEC (0)
  • 2017 Exam: FAR (8-9), AUD (8-9), REG (8-9), BEC (4-5).

The changes made for the written communication section is as follows: Current Exam: BEC (3) 2017 Exam: BEC (3)

Course Details: CPA structure is based on the business standards that are up-to- date with current trends and regulations of the market. In comparison, MBA is academic in nature and thus, you need to have professional experience for it.

Be Prepared with British Columbia International Academy (BCIA): At British Columbia International Academy (BCIA), we not only have courses that have been designed keeping the students in mind, but we also have a very experienced team of professionals that make sure they work round the clock to prep up lectures and practice questions, keeping in tune with the new changes.

We also run on state of the art software that matches with all the technological changes used by the AICPA in their CPA Exam testing centres that gives students real time experience. Rest assured, if you have enrolled your name with us, you can be sure to tackle all the difficulties you might face in your career path with smooth transition of the new changes of the CPA exam.