CPA FAR Study Plan — Financial Accounting and Reporting (Core)
CPA FAR (Financial Accounting and Reporting) is the broadest Core section and historically the lowest-pass-rate section. Upload your Becker, Wiley/UWorld, Gleim, or Surgent FAR notes and exclam.ai builds a fully guided study plan with adaptive flashcards and practice quizzes.
Exam format
4 hours. 50 MCQs and 7 TBSs. Scored 50% MCQs / 50% TBSs. Passing score: 75.
FAR areas (AICPA Blueprint)
The 3 areas tested on FAR, with approximate weights from the 2026 AICPA Blueprint. Each area is broken into groups, topics, and representative tasks in the full Blueprint PDF.
Financial Reporting
30–40%Preparation and presentation of financial statements for business enterprises, not-for-profits, and governmental entities. Conceptual framework and disclosures.
- •Conceptual framework of financial reporting
- •Balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows
- •Statement of changes in equity and comprehensive income
- •Notes to the financial statements
- •Segment reporting
- •Subsequent events disclosure
- •Not-for-profit financial statements
- •State and local government financial reporting (GASB)
- •IFRS vs US GAAP differences
Select Balance Sheet Accounts
30–40%Measurement and reporting of specific balance sheet items including cash, receivables, inventory, PP&E, intangibles, investments, liabilities, and equity.
- •Cash and cash equivalents
- •Accounts and notes receivable
- •Inventory (FIFO, LIFO, weighted average, retail, lower of cost)
- •Property, plant, and equipment (PP&E)
- •Intangible assets and goodwill
- •Investments (equity method, fair value, consolidation)
- •Current and long-term liabilities
- •Bonds and long-term debt
- •Leases (operating, finance)
- •Equity accounts and stock transactions
Select Transactions
25–35%Accounting for specific transactions and events including revenue recognition, share-based compensation, income taxes, business combinations, and derivatives.
- •Revenue recognition (5-step model, ASC 606)
- •Share-based compensation (stock options, RSUs)
- •Income taxes (deferred, permanent/temporary differences)
- •Business combinations and goodwill
- •Consolidated financial statements
- •Foreign currency transactions and translation
- •Derivatives and hedging
- •Contingencies and commitments
- •Employee benefit plans (pensions, OPEB)
- •Error corrections and accounting changes
Bloom's skill-level distribution
The AICPA Blueprint specifies what percentage of FAR tests each Bloom's skill level. Use this to calibrate how much pure memorization vs application vs analysis practice you need.
| Skill level | Weight |
|---|---|
| Remembering and Understanding | 5–15% |
| Application | 45–55% |
| Analysis | 35–45% |
How exclam.ai helps with FAR
Area-weighted flashcards
Upload your FAR review notes and exclam.ai generates flashcards weighted by area percentages. Heavy areas get more cards; light areas get proportionally fewer.
Skill-level-tuned quizzes
If FAR is Application and Analysis heavy, quizzes generate accordingly — not just pure recall drills.
Adaptive review across sections
exclam.ai remembers what you know from FAR when you start AUD. Concepts that overlap (ratios, internal control) don't restart from zero.
Popular FAR review courses
exclam.ai works alongside any of these review courses. Upload your session notes, we don't reproduce or redistribute commercial review content.
FAR study plan
One adaptive CPA study plan with a built-in timeline toggle — pick a 6-, 8-, 12-, 16-, or 20-week window and the schedule recomputes for your section and exam date.
Open the CPA study planOther Core sections
FAR questions
How long does it take to study for CPA FAR?
Most candidates report 150–220 hours of prep over 10–16 weeks. FAR has the most raw content of any CPA section — roughly 40% more than AUD or REG. Budget 14–16 weeks if you have not recently taken intermediate accounting.
Is FAR the hardest CPA section?
By pass rate, yes — FAR has historically been the lowest pass rate (around 40–45% per NASBA data). The breadth of topics is the main challenge. Most candidates who fail FAR fail because they under-studied one or two of the three areas.
Should I take FAR first?
Most prep providers recommend FAR first because other sections (especially AUD and BAR) build on FAR concepts. Taking FAR while still close to your undergraduate accounting coursework also helps. That said, FAR is the most time-intensive so some candidates prefer to save it.
How much does GASB/NFP content appear on FAR?
Governmental and not-for-profit reporting are in the Financial Reporting area (30–40% of FAR). Expect roughly 10–15 MCQs plus possible TBS content on state and local governments and not-for-profits. Do not skip this content — it is testable.
Start your FAR plan today
Upload your review course notes and exclam.ai builds a fully guided plan aligned to the AICPA Blueprint.