2024 CPA Exam Evolution: What You Need to Know
The CPA Evolution is a plan to update the CPA licensure model to better reflect the changing skills and knowledge needed by CPAs now and going forward. Continue reading to learn what you need to pass the CPA exam now and in January 2024 and beyond.
Estimate Reading Time :
TOP TOPICS OF THIS PAGE
What is the CPA Evolution?
The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) have come together to analyze and update the ever-changing skills needed to be career ready in today’s—and tomorrow’s—accounting environment. Their goal with the evolution is to reexamine and improve the CPA licensure requirements to keep up with the competencies you’ll need to succeed in the field, ensuring more prepared candidates from day one.
What are these new career readiness skills?
Newly licensed CPAs need to have digital and data skills. More specifically, their jobs will demand that they:
- Identify structured and unstructured data from key business processes.
- Understand attributes of data repositories.
- Understand capabilities of tools supporting data extraction and analysis.
- Recognize legal, ethical, business, and intellectual property considerations around data governance.
- Exercise professional skepticism and judgment analyzing data and information to be used as evidence. For example, is it reliable, or does it corroborate or contradict management’s assertions?
How will these job skills be reflected in the CPA exam?
These evolving skill requirements are exactly why the CPA exam is changing—and how you’ll need to prepare for it. Overall, there will be a continued and increased emphasis on analytical skills and problem solving. The new model is a core PLUS disciplines licensure model.
The model starts with a deep and strong core in accounting, auditing, tax, and technology that all candidates will be required to complete. Then, each candidate will choose a discipline in which to demonstrate deeper skills and knowledge. Regardless of chosen discipline, this model leads to full CPA licensure, with rights and privileges consistent with any other CPA. A discipline selected for testing does not mean the CPA is limited to that practice area.
This model:
- Enhances public protection by producing candidates who have the deep knowledge necessary to perform high-quality work, meeting the needs of organizations, firms, and the public
- Is responsive to feedback, as it builds accounting, auditing, tax, and technology knowledge requirements into a robust common core
- Reflects the realities of practice, requiring deeper proven knowledge in one of three disciplines that are pillars of the profession
- Is adaptive and flexible, helping to future-proof the CPA as the profession continues to evolve
- Results in one CPA license
How will the new CPA Exam be structured?
Each candidate must take the three (3) mandatory core sections plus one (1) optional discipline section of their choice.
Mandatory core sections:
- Accounting and Attestation (AUD)
- Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
- Tax & Regulation (REG)
Optional discipline sections:
- Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR)
- Information Systems and Controls (ISC)
- Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)
2024 CPA Exam Transition Policy
NASBA has announced a 2024 CPA Exam Transition Policy that lays out how CPA Exam sections passed under the current CPA Exam will map to credit under the 2024 CPA Exam. It’s pretty simple: candidates who have passed AUD, FAR or REG will get credit for the new AUD, FAR, or REG; and candidates who have passed BEC will get credit for the discipline section of their choice on the new exam.
The following chart lays out the transition policy for each exam section:
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the CPA Evolution.
- Even though the names of the core sections have remained the same, the exams will NOT be the same. That said, much of what is currently tested will remain testable on the new exam.
- AICPA plans to take the current content requirements and move them around into six different areas. In the Core areas, they have tried to focus on the minimum skill and knowledge levels. More complex or specialized topics have been moved to the Discipline areas. They have also deleted some content, e.g., Business Law, and added some content.
- The new model contains a much heavier focus on data analytics and digital acumen. In general terms, digital acumen means the ability to recognize, learn, and utilize changing technology in the performance of professional responsibilities.
- AICPA and NASBA are targeting January 1, 2024 to launch the new exam. Please keep this date in mind as you prepare your testing path and dates.
- Yes, and there’s still plenty of time to do so. By making a disciplined plan to pass before January 2024, the looming changes will not impact you whatsoever. Watch our recent webinar on how to make a 1-year plan to pass the CPA Exam for support and motivation, and go for it.
- You will not lose any credits! Under these circumstances, the transition policy will come into play. It is pretty straightforward. There is a one-to-one relationship for AUD, FAR, and REG – if you have passed those, you get credit for the new ones. If you have passed BEC, you get credit for one of the disciplines, BAR, ISC, or TCP. The reverse is also true – if you haven’t taken and passed AUD, FAR or REG, you will need to take the new versions of those. If you haven’t taken and passed BEC, you will need to select one of the disciplines.
- You will sign up for your last section in the same manner as you have signed up for the previous parts. Then, if you need AUD, FAR, or REG, you will sign up for the new version. If you need BEC, you will be able to select from the three discipline choices – BAR, ISC, or TCP. This last section will need to be passed within the 18-month period that began when you passed your first section.
- AICPA and NASBA are expecting candidates to select the discipline area that most appeals to them. They have offered suggestions as to the types of candidates who might be interested in each part.
- BAR is likely to be of interest to candidates planning to pursue careers in 1) Assurance or advisory services; 2) Financial statement analysis and reporting; 3) Technical accounting; and 4) Financial and operations management.
- TCP will appeal to candidates who are interested in: 1) Individual tax compliance and planning; 2) Personal financial planning; and 3) Entity tax compliance and planning.
- ISC is geared toward candidates who would like to provide assurance or advisory services related to a client’s business processes, information systems, information security and governance, or IT audit.
- Yes. There are no changes to the 18-month policy. You will need to pass all 4 within an 18-month period that begins when you pass your first section.
- In July 2022, the AICPA released the Exposure Draft (ED), Maintaining the Relevance of the Uniform CPA Examination® – Aligning the Exam with the CPA Evolution Licensure Model. The ED presents an informed and thoughtful proposal for the content that will be testable on the 2024 CPA Exam. Stakeholders may comment on the ED by sending responses to practiceanalysis@aicpa.org through September 30, 2022. In January 2023, AICPA and NASBA plan to release the final CPA Exam Blueprints with a planned new exam launch in January 2024.
- Our team is already hard at work behind the scenes updating Wiley CPA materials to match and prepare you for the new exam. Wiley has assembled a dedicated task force of lecturers and subject-matter experts to accomplish this heavy lift. The new course materials will be released with ample time for candidates to prepare for the 2024 CPA Exam.
- Yes! With all our courses, we provide unlimited access until you pass the exam – whether it’s the current exam or the new exam – and this includes all the content updates for the new exam. Updates will be provided seamlessly online through our course platform. So, whether you already purchased a course or plan to do so in the future, you can be assured you’ll have everything you need to pass the exam now and after January 2024.
Get Answers to More of Your CPA Evolution Questions
Watch our leading CPA Exam expert, Dr. Jeannie Yamamura, as she addresses more of your questions and provides expert advice in this 15-minute Q&A Session.
Educators: Get Your Students Ready
Are you an educator tackling how to evolve your accounting program so your students are ready for the new 2024 CPA Exam and the new demands of the accounting profession? We’re here to help. Contact us to explore integrating Wiley’s materials into your program to fill gaps that may have been created under the new CPA Evolution model curriculum.
