If you are preparing for the US CPA Exam, you are likely already aware that every year, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) updates and publishes the US CPA Exam chnages Blueprint.

This year also, the AICPA published and updated the CPA exam changes which are a document explaining what will be tested on the CPA Exam, as well as the skills, analysis, and tasks for each content topic (Financial Reporting) and section of the US CPA Exam. The exam changes Blueprints also include scoring weights assigned to each content area.

So, what are the exam changes in 2021?

Effective July 1, the Uniform US CPA Exam Blueprint is updated by the AICPA. The AUD and BEC sections will examine the largest changes and the newest material added to them. REG and FAR are witnessing significant material removed from the sections with minimum additions.

What strategy should you adopt to be successful?

If possible, US CPA aspirants should take AUD and BEC before the Exam changes Blueprint is updated on July 1. If deciding between those two sections, it is highly recommended you attempt AUD before taking BEC.

Afterward, take REG and FAR after July 1 as those two sections have more stuff coming out of their Blueprints than is being added. You will not require to know as many exam topics if you wait until July 1, 2021, to take either of them.

Don't worry, if you already have a Surgent CPA Review Course on your side, the software automatically updates, so that you will never have to bother about whether you’re practicing the right content.

The outline you see in the Surgent program is based on the expected exam date you have already accommodated. Please make sure to update your expected exam dates if you reprioritize your sections.

Given below are the Significant Changes by US CPA Exam Section

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

• Business processes and testing
• Cloud computing
• New study materials and focus on data analytics.

IF you are practicing test questions in Surgent tools, please note that due to system limitations, the CPA exam will not have you perform advanced data analysis in Excel. The exam test questions will be more understanding, less application.

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

• Business processes
• Cloud computing
• Data analytics: ETL (extract, transform, load)
• Data governance, management, and data relationships
• Reviewing and analyzing

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

• IFRS no longer tested
• Post-retirement pension plans offered by external parties accounting no longer tested (e.g., pension expense, pension benefit obligations, etc.)
• Derivative and hedging transactions entries no longer tested

Regulation (REG)

• Many CARES Act provisions expired on 12/31/2020 and are no longer testable
• Estate taxes removed
• AMT removed
• Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 testable

Surgent Study Material

Surgent CPA Review course is an award-winning review course in the industry that helps candidates pass the CPA exam in one go. With A.S.A.P smart AI-based Technology to deliver algorithmic-based adaptive learning, the student can save up to 400 hours of study time and obtain pass rates over 30 points higher than the national average.

Should you have any query related to the review course and exam changes 2021, please feel free to connect with us.