I’ve seen countless students pass and fail the CPA exam. Many students simply underestimate the sheer amount of time that is needed to study for the CPA exam. The CPA exam is different than college exams because you can’t really cram for it. It is not that “all nighter study session the night before the exam” kind of exam. There is too much
The CPA exam has had many changes over the last three years. I thought I would update my estimate my recommended study times. These numbers are a baseline as every student will have a different educational background, level of intelligence or work experience.
The most difficult section of the CPA exam is the FAR and REG section. I have seen some recommend 190 hours for FAR which I think is extremely conservative. I would budget for 160 hours. For the REG section, I think a student should plan for 100 hours of study time. I would also recommend 100 hours for the AUD section. Finally, for the BEC section I would recommend 110 hours of study time. That is a total of about 470 hours. Give yourself an extra 30 hours for sections that cause you individual difficulty. In total, to pass the CPA exam, you will need to allocate approximately 500 hours of study time.
A big part of your study sessions should be practice questions which you can access here.