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The Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) exam will exclude certain topics that were included in prior years, such as regulatory frameworks other than SOX and general macroeconomic content. Students should still be familiar with Sarbanes Oxley and its impact on the accounting and auditing profession. Even though topics like GDP and money supply will no longer be tested, students should still know about microeconomic concepts, such as the demand and supply curves.

On Tuesday, October 12, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) released the CPA exam scores for exams taken before September 30. Students must pass the CPA exams with a score of 75 or above. If a student took the BEC exam, then the wait time might be extended by one week, due to additional grading of the written communication tasks.

Due to the growing complexity in the fields of accounting and auditing, the U.S. CPA AUD exam will now test new topics, while also removing a few topics from the exam. The topics removed include opening balances, the auditing of derivatives, and the communication of "other matters" with management and those charged with governance. Additionally, the topics of single statements, alerts that restrict the use of written communication, and letters for underwriters and filings with the SEC will be removed.

Startups Focused on Accountech and Regtech Offered Up to $25,000

Effective July 1, 2020, students will be allowed to take the CPA exam all throughout the year, based on the new continuous testing model presented by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).