CPA Exam Sections Explained: FAR, AUD, REG, BAR, ISC, and TCP
The current CPA Exam has six possible sections. You take four. Every candidate passes FAR, AUD, REG, and one Discipline: BAR, ISC, or TCP.
The CPA Exam is 16 hours total
Each of the four sections is four hours. You schedule and complete them separately.
Core vs Discipline
Core
Every candidate passes AUD, FAR, and REG.
Discipline
Choose one: BAR, ISC, or TCP.
Passing a specific Discipline does not create a different CPA license.
The six sections at a glance
FAR
Financial accounting and reporting.
AUD
Auditing and attestation.
REG
Federal taxation, ethics, and business law.
BAR
Business analysis and advanced reporting.
ISC
Systems, controls, and technology.
TCP
Advanced tax compliance and planning.
FAR
FAR covers financial accounting and reporting concepts including financial statements, transactions, assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, not-for-profit accounting, and related reporting topics.
Current format: 50 MCQs + 7 TBSs.
AUD
AUD covers audits, attestation, professional responsibilities, ethics, evidence, risk, internal controls, and reporting.
Current format: 78 MCQs + 7 TBSs.
REG
REG covers federal taxation, business law, professional responsibilities, individual and entity taxation, and property transactions.
Current format: 72 MCQs + 8 TBSs.
BAR
BAR goes deeper into financial analysis, technical accounting, financial reporting, government accounting, data, and reporting.
Useful shortcut: FAR → deeper analysis and reporting.
Current format: 50 MCQs + 7 TBSs.
ISC
ISC focuses on information systems, IT audit, internal controls, SOC engagements, data management, security, and privacy.
Useful shortcut: AUD + controls + technology.
Current format: 82 MCQs + 6 TBSs.
ISC is weighted 60% MCQ and 40% TBS.
TCP
TCP goes deeper into advanced individual and entity taxation, tax planning, property transactions, and owner/entity transactions.
Useful shortcut: REG → deeper tax.
Current format: 68 MCQs + 7 TBSs.
Which Discipline should you choose?
Strongest in FAR?
Look hard at BAR.
Strongest in AUD?
Look hard at ISC.
Strongest in REG?
Look hard at TCP.
Can you take the sections in any order?
Yes. Useful pairings are FAR → BAR, AUD → ISC, and REG → TCP because related knowledge can remain fresh.
What order did Grace take?
FAR → ISC → AUD → REG, with scores FAR 83, ISC 82, AUD 81, REG 91. If optimizing purely for overlap now, I would probably place AUD before ISC.
How are the questions organized?
Every current section has five testlets: two MCQ testlets followed by three TBS testlets.
Current question counts
AUD
78 MCQs + 7 TBSs
FAR
50 + 7
REG
72 + 8
BAR
50 + 7
ISC
82 + 6
TCP
68 + 7
Is FAR the hardest?
Not necessarily. National pass rates describe populations, not you. A candidate with strong accounting may find AUD, REG, or a Discipline more difficult.
Is TCP the easiest?
TCP currently has a high pass rate, but Discipline candidates self-select based on background. Tax-strong candidates often choose TCP, so do not treat the pass rate as your personal probability.
How should you study across sections?
The content changes, but the feedback loop can stay the same:
Question → result → targeted review → retest.
How many hours should each take?
It depends on background, coursework, work experience, and study efficiency. Use hours for planning and performance for readiness.
How do you know when a section is ready?
Look for shrinking weak areas, clean reattempts, stable mixed practice, understanding, TBS familiarity, pacing, and a narrowing final review.
CPA Exam sections FAQ
How many sections are there?
Six possible sections, but each candidate takes four.
What are the Core sections?
AUD, FAR, REG.
What are the Disciplines?
BAR, ISC, TCP.
Do you take all three Disciplines?
No. Choose one.
Does the Discipline affect the license?
No.
The takeaway
FAR + AUD + REG + one of BAR, ISC, or TCP.
Choose the Discipline that best fits your foundation, then build an order that preserves useful overlap.
Keep going
You do not need to master all six sections.
You need the three Core sections and the Discipline that fits you best.