CPA Business Environment and Concepts Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format : This section covers knowledge of general business environment and business concepts that candidates need to know in order to perform audit, attest, accounting and review services, financial reporting, tax preparation, and other professional responsibilities in their role as certified public accountants, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format  : BEC EXAM CONTENT

17-27% Corporate Governance

• Internal control and enterprise risk management frameworks
• Other regulatory frameworks and provisions

17-27% Economic Concepts and Analysis

• Economic and business cycles
• Market influences on business
• Financial risk management

11-21% Financial Management

• Capital structure
• Working capital
• Financial valuation methods and decision models

15-25% Information Technology (IT)

• IT governance
• Role of IT in business
• Information security/availability
• Processing integrity (input/processing/output controls)
• Systems development and maintenance

15-25% Operations Management

• Cost measurement concepts, methods and techniques
• Variance analysis
• Process management
• Planning techniques

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format : The Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) section of the CPA Exam tests CPA candidates’ understanding of business concepts and the significance of a CPA’s professional duties and responsibilities within the larger context of the business environment. Areas covered on the BEC Exam are corporate governance, economic concepts and analysis, financial management, information systems and communications, strategic planning and operations management. One unique aspect of the BEC exam is that it requires the candidate to prepare and submit three Written Communication responses.

Many CPA candidates consider BEC to be the easiest section of the CPA Exam. However, BEC pass rates have historically been only slightly higher than those for other sections, and the exam still requires a serious study effort.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format :  The BEC Exam is 4 hours long, though the candidate is not required to use all the allotted time, and consists of 62 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), 4 Task-Based Simulations (TBSs) and 3 Written Communication Tasks (WCs).

Of the 62 MCQs, 50 are operational, meaning they count toward the exam score, while 12 are pretested and do not count toward the exam score. Of the 4 TBSs, 3 are operational and 1 is pretested. Of the 3 WCs, 2 are operational and 1 is pretested. Other than scoring, there is no functional difference between operational and pretested questions and no sure way for the candidate to tell the difference between an operational and pretested question.

The BEC Exam is organized into four testlets – two 31-question MCQ testlets followed by a 2-question TBS testlet, then an optional 15-minute break that does not count against the 4-hour test time, then an additional 2-question TBS testlet, then one 3-task WC testlet. The candidate proceeds at his or her own pace through the testlets. Once a testlet has been submitted, it cannot be revisited.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format  : 

The operational MCQs count 50% toward a candidate’s exam score. The operational TBSs count 35% toward a candidate’s exam score. The operational WCs count 15% toward a candidate’s exam score.

By default the first MCQ testlet is of ‘Medium’ difficulty. The difficulty level the next MCQ testlet depends on the candidate’s performance on the first testlet. The candidate will therefore experience one of the following MCQ testlet difficulty sequences:

• Medium – Difficult (candidate performed well on first testlet)
• Medium – Medium (candidate did not perform well on first testlet)

Characterizing a testlet as ‘medium’ or ‘difficult’ refers to the average difficulty of the questions in an MCQ testlet. There is not a binary ‘medium’ or ‘difficult’ value assigned to each MCQ. Rather, the difficulty level of each question exists on a numeric scale.

Credit awarded for MCQs is weighted by difficulty level, meaning more credit is awarded for getting a more difficult question correct than for getting a less difficult question correct. Therefore, a candidate with a Difficult testlet is not penalized for having harder questions, nor is there any advantage in having two Medium testlets.

It is still possible to pass the exam even with a Medium-Medium MCQ testlet sequence. In these cases, good-to-excellent performance on the second MCQ testlet, the TBS testlet and the WC testlet is key to passing.

The assigned TBS testlet and the assigned WC testlet are pre-selected and have nothing to do with the candidate’s performance on the preceding MCQ testlets, nor do the TBSs and WCs within a TBS testlet or within the WC testlet  proceed according to performance on the previous item.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format:

WCs are graded according to three general criteria: organization, development, and expression.

Organization refers to structure, ordering of ideas, and connections between ideas. An overview or thesis statement is expected, along with unified paragraphs and well-chosen transitions and connecting elements.

Development refers to supporting evidence or information to clarify the candidate’s assertions. It includes details, definitions, examples, and rephrasing.

Expression refers to the quality of the business English used. Grammar, punctuation, word usage, capitalization and spelling are all considered.

Operational WCs are graded via software, but are automatically reviewed and re-graded by human scorers if the candidate is ‘on the bubble’ or close to a passing score on the BEC exam. If more than one person re-grades a candidate’s WC responses, the average of the human graders’ scores will be the candidate’s final WC score.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format : 

The Examination consists of four sections:

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

This section covers knowledge of audits of issuer and nonissuer entities, attestation engagements for issuer and nonissuer entities, preparation, compilation and review engagements, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

This section covers knowledge of general business environment and business concepts that candidates need to know in order to perform audit, attest, accounting and review services, financial reporting, tax preparation, and other professional responsibilities in their role as certified public accountants, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

This section covers knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles for business enterprises (public and nonpublic), not-for-profit entities, and state and local government entities, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.

Regulation (REG)

This section covers knowledge of federal taxation, ethics and professional responsibilities related to tax practice, and business law, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

CPA Business Environment and Exam format  : 

Eligible candidates have the opportunity to take the Examination at Prometric test centers in Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Brazil. In order to qualify to take the  Examination outside the U.S., candidates will have to first establish their eligibility through application to a state board participating in the International CPA Examination Administration Program.

For specific instructions on how to apply to take the Examination, please visit the CPA Examination section of the NASBA website.

CPA Business Environment and Exam format

www.cakart.inprovides India’s top CPA faculty video classes – online & in Pen Drive/ DVD – at very cost effective rates. Get CPA Video classes from www.cakart.in to do a great preparation for primary Student.