Exam in 30 days. Aggressive but doable. This plan shows exactly what to cover, what to cut, and how each day looks.
30 days × 5h = 150 total hours, about 83% of typical CPA FAR prep. All published topics fit. A first-attempt candidate can pass at this pace with discipline — a retaker can use it as a proper rebuild.
Typical CPA FAR prep runs ~180 hours over ~14 weeks at ~13 hours per week. This cram window gives you 150 total hours (30 days × 5 h/day). The plan below allocates ~75% to coverage and ~25% to review + at least one full mock — that ratio shifts later as the window tightens.
CPA FAR has 3 topic areas. With a 30-day window we keep the highest-weight + load-bearing topics and explicitly drop the rest. The cuts below are deliberate — you only pick those topics back up if you finish higher-priority material ahead of schedule.
Every published CPA FAR topic fits inside a 30-day window at this hours/day level. Tight, but no triage required. Lower-weight topics get fewer hours but stay on the schedule.
What a real 30-day CPA FAR cram plan actually looks like. Heavier topics get more time. Review starts at ~55% of the window. Final stretch is mock-driven. Adjust the start date below to align with your exam.
A visual preview of how exclam.ai compresses 3 CPA FAR topics into 30 days. Update the start date so the exam date aligns with your sitting.
Cover Financial Reporting end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Cover Select Balance Sheet Accounts end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Cover Select Transactions end-to-end. Build flashcards covering every learning objective and quiz yourself before moving to the next module.
Weak-topic drilling. exclam.ai surfaces topics where you underperformed during coverage and re-quizzes them. Daily FSRS flashcard reps across all 3 topics to prevent decay. Start doing timed question batches focused on the heaviest-weight sections.
Full-length CPA FAR practice exams under timed conditions. Target one mock every 3–5 days. Same-day error review: for every question you miss, re-derive the solution from scratch. Taper in the final 3 days — light flashcards only.
Cram advice is dramatically different for first-attempt candidates and retakers. The plan above is the same; the playbook is not.
FAR is the toughest first-attempt cram on the CPA exam. <30 days is not realistic for a first-attempt candidate from zero. 45+ days is the floor.
Pick a single vendor (Becker is most common) and do not switch. Do 50 MCQs + 1 TBS per day minimum.
Save consolidations and leases for the final week — they're the highest-yield TBS practice. Drill them under timed conditions.
GASB and not-for-profit content: at least 2 dedicated days. Crammers who skip these usually find they cost the exam.
Do at least 2 full-length practice exams during cram — pacing on FAR is brutal and you need calibrated timing.
Patterns that show up specifically when CPA FAR candidates compress the timeline. Worth scanning before you start your week.
FAR has the lowest pass rate (~40–45%) and the most raw content of any CPA section — 180+ hours typical. Crammers must accept this and skip nothing.
GASB / not-for-profit reporting is in Financial Reporting (~10–15 MCQs) and is often the first thing crammers cut. Do not cut it — those points add up fast.
FAR skill mix is 80%+ Application + Analysis. Memorization-style cram will not work — every cram day needs MCQ + TBS practice.
Crammers underestimate consolidations, leases, and pensions — these are the heaviest single TBS topics. Drill those specifically over and above general MCQ volume.
FAR has 50 MCQs + 7 TBSs in 4 hours — average ~3.5 min per MCQ and ~18 min per TBS. Pacing practice is mandatory.
Different window, different math, different cut list. Pick the duration that matches your real exam date.
Only with recent intermediate accounting coursework + 8+ hours daily commitment + strong vendor prep. The honest answer for most first-time candidates: 30 days is below the realistic floor. Push to 45+ days if possible.
FAR is content-volume-bound; AUD is judgment-bound. FAR cram = more MCQ volume to cover content breadth. AUD cram = more TBS practice for judgment integration. The cram strategy flips.
No. Even small-area neglect costs points on FAR because the pass-rate margins are tight. If you have to cut, cut depth on the lightest topic within an area — not the area itself.
Topic names and weight bands are paraphrased from the public 2026 AICPA FAR Blueprint (public). Verify the current outline before your sitting.
2026 AICPA FAR Blueprint (public)Upload your CPA FAR materials, plug in your exam date, and exclam.ai builds the compressed plan automatically. Free to start.