The CPA Exam currently consists of 4 exam sections, each of which is 4 hours in length. The 4 sections include Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Regulation (REG), and Business Environment & Concepts (BEC). There is no required order in which these four exams must be taken. Each individual may choose which order works best for them. Let me recommend 3 possible approaches to consider in choosing what order works best for you.
1) The Safe Approach
This approach consists in starting out by taking the FAR section of the exam, followed by AUD, then REG, and ending the exams with BEC. This is the order most commonly recommended by many of the popular CPA exam study review guides out there. All CPA exam candidates have 18 months to complete and pass all four sections of the CPA exam. That timer however, only starts once you receive your first passing score of the CPA exam. Once you pass your first exam, you then have 18 months from the score release date to complete the other three sections. Therefore, whichever exam is chosen first, is essentially without a time limit. The FAR section of the exam is considered to be one of the hardest exams for many CPA candidates. This is do to the breadth of material covered on this exam, and the historically low pass rates, in comparison to the other sections of the exam. Therefore, by completing this section first, it will allow you to take as much time as you need to study, without running down the 18 month clock. Plus, if the need to retake it arises, again, you will have that cushion of not needing to worry about risking the chance of running out of time, and needing to retake sections of the CPA exam. If you are worried about time and want to use your 18 months the most efficiently, we recommend doing this approach. This order of FAR, AUD, REG, and BEC is also the order of difficulty level of exam, based upon historical pass rates. Now of course, the difficulty of each exam also depends on ones prior background in the related topics. In addition, there are some topics on each of these exams that overlap. By taking them in this order, it is more likely that with each exam, the content will serve as a base to build on previous topics, and therefore may also be helpful to take in that order. This is the “safest” approach in covering the material in an orderly and timely manner.
#2 The Confidence Booster Approach
Do you know anyone who has taken a section of the CPA exam over and over again and just can’t quite pass? Are you one of those people? There is nothing worse than starting out your journey, only to fail over and over again. It can be very disheartening. Therefore, one approach may be to start out by taking the exam section that you find to be the easiest. For many, this might be BEC which tends to be the shortest of all of the exams. However, if you work in tax or audit, you may feel that one of those sections comes easier for you. By starting with the exam that comes most easily to you, if you are able to take and pass that exam first, it may be just the confidence boost you need to really get yourself into gear. After all, if you can show yourself that you can pass even 1 section, then it can be really empowering. If you are one of those people that dreads studying or fears due to the words of your colleagues or classmates, this may be the way to help you overcome your fears. It’s also a great way to ease your way into the exams and to get used to the testing environment under slightly less stressful terms. Of course, this is the CPA Exam, all tests are stressful! But a slight confidence boost goes a long way.
#3 Middle of the Road Approach
I’ve saved what I believe is the best approach for last. This approach involves with choosing an exam that will be challenging, but not necessarily the hardest, nor choosing the easiest exam. This involves choosing an exam that will push yourself, but not necessarily take on the mountain first, nor pat yourself on the back with an easy win. Instead, by taking one of the exams of “medium” difficulty – completely dependent on individual background of course – you give yourself a chance to figure out how much you really need to know for the exams. One of the concepts that is often overlooked when first starting out, is the importance of learning how to study, and how much to study for each exam. Also, it can be very nerve wrecking the first time stepping foot in your local test taking center. These factors may play a role in your performance on your first exam. By taking the “hardest” exam first, you risk not only fighting against the difficulty of a very challenging exam, but you also still have to learn how to study and how much study time is enough for you. And if you take the easiest exam first, you may underestimate the depth and amount of time needed to pass the other sections of the exam. By taking a medium difficulty exam first, you set yourself up for learning and understanding how the exams work, and what works for you in your studies to make the other exam study sessions, much more productive. Generally with this approach, it would be recommended to take AUD or REG first, then BEC, and to save FAR for last when you’ve already taken the other exams and passed them. Therefore, by this point you will have the confidence, skills, and tactics already in place to make this exam much easier when you finally come to it.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, taking the CPA exams in any order is possible, depending on personal preference. Typically FAR is considered the hardest, while BEC is considered the easiest, however, this really all depends on the personal background you have in the subject. One determining which path to take some factors to consider include the 18 month window, personal morale in taking the exams, and considering the time it will take not only to learn the material, but to learn the best ways to effectively study based on your individual needs. Best of luck to all those on this journey. It can be a long and difficult journey, but the end is very sweet! Keep working! Keep fighting! Consistent study wins the race!