Just to give everyone the background, there are 4 parts of the Uniform CPA Exam, covering a huge amount of topics in accounting, business, law, audit, tax and regulations. You can take them one at a time and in any sequence:
- Auditing and Attestation (AUD) – 4.0 hours*
- Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) – 3.0 hours*
- Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) – 4.0 hours
- Regulation (REG) – 3.0 hours
* Please note that the duration for AUD and BEC has been changed effective January 1, 2011. You can refer to CPA exam changes in 2011 for details.
Regarding the question on taking the 4 CPA Exams in one go or separately, it depends how much time you have as well as your commitment.
My Experience…
For me, I took the 4 exams in one go because I only had 9 months to focus on this exam (I needed to plan for my wedding afterwards). So I spent every Saturday and Sunday studying and practicing the MCQs. It’s a lot of work but I am glad to have done it in one go and get it over with.
However, this is not for everyone, and if you aren’t in a hurry, you may want to take it one by one (or two at the same time, for twice?). In general, I would recommend taking and passing the CPA exam one at a time and withing one year, which means one section per quarter.
The 4 CPA Exams — Which One Should Go First?
I would pick FAR because FAR covers the widest topics but it’s not that difficult (relatively speaking). So it isn’t so hard that you’ll fail the exam, and at the same time you know you’ve the “biggest” exam done with.
AUD is closely related to FAR so I would recommend you take AUD together or right after FAR.
I personally think REG is the most difficult. Therefore, it will depend whether you want to get done with the difficult ones (then it would be the third one), or need to have an easier time with BEC first and put REG the last.
BEC is relatively easy, so you can schedule to take it in the busiest time of the year, or take it at the end so you don’t need to be too scared of not passing and then go beyond the 18-month limitation.
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