Cpa Exam Specs

Uniform CPA Examination
Examination Content Specifications

Effective Upon the Launch of the
Computer-based Uniform CPA Examination

Prepared by the Board of Examiners of the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Questions pertaining to this decision paper should be directed to Gregory Johnson, Director,
CPA Examination, at [phone] or [e-mail].
June 14, 2002

Uniform CPA Examination
Examination Content Specifications
The content of the Uniform CPA Examination is based primarily on the results of periodic studies of public accounting practice and the evaluations of CPA practitioners and educators.
The content of each examination section is described in a combination of narrative and outline forms known as “content specifications”. The content specifications provide the framework or
“blueprint” for testing knowledge and skills on the Uniform CPA Examination.
The AICPA Board of Examiners (BOE) has approved and adopted the following content specification outlines (CSOs) for the four sections of the computer-based Uniform CPA
Examination: Auditing & Attestation, Financial Accounting & Reporting, Regulation, and
Business Environment & Concepts.
These revised CSOs become effective upon the launch of the computer-based Uniform CPA
Examination (targeted for early 2004), and directly relate to the entry-level knowledge and skills necessary to protect the public interest as identified in the 2000 Practice Analysis of Certified
Public Accountants. They also incorporate comments in response to the Exposure Draft
Proposed Structure and Content Specifications for the Uniform CPA Examination.
The outline portions of the content specifications contained on the following pages identify the technical content to be tested on each of the four sections of the revised Uniform CPA
Examination. Each major content area in the outline is preceded by a Roman numeral and is followed by percentages that represent the range of total