US CPA Exam Pattern, Subjects & Pass Rates (2026)

Since January 2024, the US CPA exam runs on the “CPA Evolution” model — three mandatory Core sections plus one Discipline you choose. If you’ve come across older content still describing four fixed sections including “Business Environment and Concepts (BEC),” that’s the retired structure; BEC was replaced by the Discipline choice, not folded into another section. Here’s what the exam actually looks like today, and what the real pass-rate data shows.

(Source: AICPA & NASBA official pass-rate reporting.) FAR is consistently the toughest section by a wide margin — its content simply covers the most ground. Among the Discipline options, TCP has the highest pass rate, largely because candidates tend to self-select into it when it plays to their strengths, while BAR draws candidates tackling some of the most technically dense material in the exam.

• AUD — Auditing and Attestation: audit processes, professional responsibilities, ethics, and forming opinions on financial statements.
• FAR — Financial Accounting and Reporting: US GAAP financial statement preparation, transactions, and reporting for businesses and government entities — the largest, most demanding section.
• REG — Regulation: federal taxation, business law, and professional ethics as they apply to individuals and entities.

You pick one of three Discipline sections based on where you want your career to head — this is a genuine specialisation choice, not just a fourth hurdle:

• BAR (Business Analysis and Reporting): best if you’re headed toward financial analysis, complex reporting, or technical accounting roles — picked up several FAR-adjacent topics (business combinations, stock compensation) when BEC was retired.
• ISC (Information Systems and Controls): best if you’re interested in IT audit, SOC engagements, or risk/controls work — increasingly relevant given how much of Big 4 India’s GCC hiring runs through IT-controls and SOX-adjacent roles.
• TCP (Tax Compliance and Planning): best if you’re aiming for a tax-focused career — covers more advanced individual and entity tax planning than REG’s compliance focus.

Estimates vary somewhat by source, but a reasonable, reconciled target is 90-150 hours per section depending on which one — FAR runs highest given its breadth, REG and the Discipline sections somewhat less, AUD in between. Across all four sections, most candidates land somewhere around 350-450 total hours of prep.

India has 8 authorised Prometric test centres: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram — so sitting the exam from India, without travelling to the US, has been possible since 2020 and remains fully current.

If you’re comparing notes with someone who took the exam before 2024, or reading older material, here’s the short version of what moved: Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) was retired entirely rather than merged elsewhere. Several of its topics were redistributed — business combinations, stock compensation and R&D costs moved into BAR; certain gross-income concepts moved into TCP — and the remaining ground is now covered through the Discipline you choose rather than a fixed fourth section everyone had to sit.For everything on eligibility, choosing a state, and the process end to end, see our complete guide to becoming a US CPA in India. For current cost figures across the exam, evaluation, and licensing, see our full fee breakdown.

• Section-specific and Discipline guidance: help deciding between BAR, ISC and TCP based on your career direction, not just which feels easiest.
• Structured study plans: built around the current 4-Core-plus-Discipline format, with mock exams under timed conditions.
• Placement support: once you’re through, help translating your exam-qualified status into an actual offer.