Audit Exam Changes 2013
Audit Exam Changes 2013
The U.S. CPA Exam is considered by many to be the gold standard of accounting credentialing exams. There are four sections of the CPA Exam:
Financial accounting and reporting (FAR)
Auditing and attestation (AUD)
Business environment and concepts (BEC)
Regulation (REG)
Each of these sections test different aspects of the accounting profession, from financial accounting to audit and business environment. These four sections represent a total of 14 hours of testing. The Audit and Attestation section includes knowledge of ethics and independence, auditing procedures and standards, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge. Section contains three “testlets” of multiple-choice questions. Each testlet consists of 30 multiple-choice questions. There is also one testlet containing 7 task-based simulation questions. This is often considered the hardest section of the CPA Exam mainly because you’re not picking the correct answer in the multiple choices, but rather the best answer.
The CPA Exam is no stranger to change. This year, the AUD Exam faces big changes, all of which fall under the initiative titled the Clarity Project. It is an effort to make auditing standards more streamlined in their content, and to converge U.S. standard with international standards. The Auditing Standards Board has clarified auditing standards are effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2012 which means they will be eligible to be tested on the CPA exam as early as July 2013. Dr. Bill Hillison, Professor Emeritus of Accounting at Florida State University and co-author of Gleim CPA Review Auditing materials, although they’re some areas that have dramatically changed, many of the standards are the same conceptually. According to Dr. Bill Hillison: “The biggest change is to the auditor’s report. The new report will have headings for each section and will be more explicit in defining the responsibilities for the financial statements and for the
The U.S. CPA Exam is considered by many to be the gold standard of accounting credentialing exams. There are four sections of the CPA Exam:
Financial accounting and reporting (FAR)
Auditing and attestation (AUD)
Business environment and concepts (BEC)
Regulation (REG)
Each of these sections test different aspects of the accounting profession, from financial accounting to audit and business environment. These four sections represent a total of 14 hours of testing. The Audit and Attestation section includes knowledge of ethics and independence, auditing procedures and standards, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge. Section contains three “testlets” of multiple-choice questions. Each testlet consists of 30 multiple-choice questions. There is also one testlet containing 7 task-based simulation questions. This is often considered the hardest section of the CPA Exam mainly because you’re not picking the correct answer in the multiple choices, but rather the best answer.
The CPA Exam is no stranger to change. This year, the AUD Exam faces big changes, all of which fall under the initiative titled the Clarity Project. It is an effort to make auditing standards more streamlined in their content, and to converge U.S. standard with international standards. The Auditing Standards Board has clarified auditing standards are effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2012 which means they will be eligible to be tested on the CPA exam as early as July 2013. Dr. Bill Hillison, Professor Emeritus of Accounting at Florida State University and co-author of Gleim CPA Review Auditing materials, although they’re some areas that have dramatically changed, many of the standards are the same conceptually. According to Dr. Bill Hillison: “The biggest change is to the auditor’s report. The new report will have headings for each section and will be more explicit in defining the responsibilities for the financial statements and for the
Citations: Gleim, Team. "The Clarity Standards Impact Content Tested on the Auditing and Attestation Section (AUD) of the CPA Exam in 2013." Gleim Blog (2012): n.pag. Web. 20 Apr 2013. . "2013 Audit Changes! Clarifying the Clarity Project." (2013): n.pag. Roger CPA Review Blog. Web. 20 Apr 2013. . AICPA.org