CPA Exam Update-New Version of CPA Exam, Testing to Begin April, 2017 - CPA Examination - Public Accountancy

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) have announced April 1, 2017, as the launch date for the new Uniform CPA Examination (“Exam”). The Business and Environmental Concepts (BEC) and Regulation (REG) sections of the exam will be increased to four hours. As a result, all four sections of the exam will be four hours duration for a total time of 16 hours. The new exam will increase the number of task-based simulations that are designed to assess candidates’ higher-order cognitive skills. These simulations will include, but will not be limited to, critical thinking, problem solving and analytical ability.

In anticipation of an increase in the volume of candidates wanting to pass the current version of the exam, 10 additional testing dates have been added to the test windows of June, September and December 2016, and the first test window next year (March 2017). The additional ten days will not be available in June 2017, the first administration window after the launch of the new version of the examination. The additional 10 days of an administration window will resume in September 2017 and become permanent. Testing opportunities will be available an additional 40 days annually.