If you’re taking the CPA exam, you will want to know what CPA exam questions to expect. To study and prepare appropriately for the exam, you need to know what’s on it. The CPA exam is a 4-part exam that includes 50% multiple-choice questions and 50% task-based simulations (50/50 allocation applicable for AUD, FAR, and REG; for BEC, the breakdown is: 50% MCQs, 35% TBS, and 15% Written Communications). It will be important to study for all types of CPA exam questions to be fully prepared.

In this post, I am going to review one type – the multiple-choice questions. Let’s look at what you can expect.

How Many Multiple-Choice Questions Are on the CPA Exam?

You’ve probably heard that multiple-choice questions, or CPA MCQs, play an essential role in the CPA Exam. You may be wondering: Is the CPA Exam all multiple choice? What kinds of CPA exam questions will be on the exam?

CPA Exam Overview. To become a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you must first pass the Uniform CPA Examination ®. The CPA Exam consists of four, four-hour sections: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Regulation (REG).You must pass all four sections within 18 months. Download 100 free CPA Exam questions and answers to practice for the CPA Exam. Take our sample CPA practice test and brush up on Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) concepts. Our CPA sample questions mimic the actual AICPA exam. AUD Sample Questions from the AUD Test Bank. AUD Sample Pages from the Study Guide. 8 reviews for Auditing Exam. Rated 5 out of 5. For me, this book was a great low price alternative to pass the AUD part of the CPA exam!! Rated 5 out of 5.

The answer is no. While the exam isn’t entirely multiple-choice questions, they do comprise 50% of the CPA Exam. In fact, you’ll find MCQs on every single section of the CPA Exam.

Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) On the CPA Exam, Multiple-Choice Questions contain a question stem and four answer choices. Three of the answer choices are known as distractors. These are tricky because they are based on common errors or misconceptions. The correct answer will be the best response to the question stem. Task-Based Simulations. If a corporation issues a 10-year $100,000 8% bond, what is the total that the issuing.

How Many MCQs are On the CPA Exam?

Sample Cpa Exam Questions And Answers

The number of multiple-choice questions on each part of the exam will vary. To understand, we need to break this down into the different parts of the exam.

Before we go into exact numbers, it’s important to note that each section of the exam has section blocks called testlets. For each section of the exam, the multiple-choice questions are given to the candidates in two separate testlets.

Here’s how many CPA MCQs you will find on each section of the exam:

Auditing & Attestation (AUD): 36 questions per testlet, for a total of 72.
Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR): 33 questions per testlet, for a total of 66.
Regulation (REG): 38 questions per testlet, for a total of 76.
Business Environment & Concepts (BEC): 31 questions per testlet, for a total of 62.

Across all four sections of the CPA exam, there’s a total of 276 multiple-choice questions.

How Much Do MCQs Count Towards Your Score?

Multiple-choice questions play a significant role in your score. It’s going to be very important to study for them. Many people find they have an advantage with multiple-choice CPA exam questions since the AICPA provides the answer. You just need to choose the correct (or best) one. In contrast, on the task-based simulations, in most cases, you’ll need to supply the answer (fill-in-the-blank style).

For the AUD, FAR, REG, and BEC sections of the exam, the AICPA attributes 50% of your total score to the MCQs.

Because the AICPA allocates so much weight to the MCQs, failing a significant amount of MCQs can mean failing the exam itself. Knowing that recent reports show the pass rate for the CPA Exam is just over 50%, it’s so important to be prepared for the MCQs!

What Type of MCQs Are on the CPA Exam?

The AICPA, which creates the CPA Exam, presents candidates with a few different styles of multiple-choice questions. Here are some of the different types of MCQs you can expect to find on the exam:

Recall: These types of questions require you to use your knowledge and memory to recall the answer.
Interpretation: These types of MCQs require you to interpret what is being asked in order to determine which response is the most suitable answer.
Problem-solving: These questions require you to choose the best answer that solves the problem that’s provided to you.

It’s important to familiarize yourself with all of these types of MCQs. You might find that it’s easier to prepare for one type of these questions over the others, depending on you and your learning style.

What Material Do the Multiple-Choice Questions Cover?

The material that’s covered by the MCQs will vary according to each section of the exam. Here’s what you can expect to find on each section of the exam:

AUD: This section of the exam focuses on auditing. Some of the topics you’ll be tested on include:

Audits of issuer and non-issuer entities
Attestation engagements (such as examinations, reviews, and agreed-upon procedure agreements).
Internal controls
Audit engagements and non-audit engagements

FAR: This section of the CPA Exam is known to focus the most on accounting. This exam section is also said to be the most difficult. Some of the accounting CPA Exam questions will include topics like:

Accounting for businesses, non-profits, and government entities
Financial accounting and reporting methods
Compiling financial statements (e.g., journal entries and presentation)
Transactions
Calculations (e.g., bonds and leases)

REG: This section of the exam is all about tax and business law, with a focus on federal taxation. Some of the topics you can expect to see include:

Personal exemptions
Standard deductions
Individual tax income brackets
Net operating loss
Maximum deduction of Sec. 179 property
Corporate tax rate
Major tax credits
Estate tax
Gift tax
Inventory accounting

BEC: This part of the CPA Exam focuses on business concepts and transactions. In this section, you’ll find mostly business CPA exam questions. You’ll find MCQs related to these and other topics:

Financial management
Internal control frameworks
Enterprise risk management
Marketing influence on the business environment
Financial risks

Remember that these are just some of the many topics that will be covered by the CPA questions.

How Difficult Are the CPA Exam MCQs?

The difficulty of the exam’s MCQs also changes based on whether you correctly or incorrectly answer the exam questions.

Every section of the CPA Exam starts out with a testlet containing multiple-choice questions that are medium in terms of difficulty. If you do well on that test, your second testlet will contain more challenging questions. However, if your performance isn’t great on the first testlet, then your questions will stay at the medium level of difficulty.

How Do You Answer the MCQs?

Since multiple-choice questions make up the majority of the exam’s questions, it’s important to do well on them. How do you increase your chances of getting MCQs correct, though?

Here are some strategic ways to answer MCQs:

Answer the question without looking at the answer first. See if you’re able to come up with the solution on your own, without looking at the answers provided on the CPA Exam. Read all of your answer options before making your final decision, but be sure to trust your gut instinct, too.
Narrow down your answers. If you’re feeling unsure about