CPA Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) Pass Rate, Format & Study Guide

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) is one of the three Core sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, developed by the AICPA and administered by NASBA for the state Boards of Accountancy. It tests the knowledge and skills candidates need to prepare and understand financial statements under US GAAP — the financial reporting framework, select balance sheet accounts and select transactions — and it is a four-hour computer-based section with two multiple-choice testlets and three task-based simulation testlets.

Financial reporting is the technical core of the accounting profession: recognising, measuring and disclosing what a business owns, owes and earns. FAR is where CPA candidates demonstrate they can apply the reporting standards to real transactions and statements. Passing all four sections is a requirement of licensure in the US jurisdictions that grant the CPA licence, so a passed FAR section is a direct step toward practising as a CPA, alongside the education and experience rules your own board sets.

FAR is aimed at accounting graduates and candidates in public accounting, corporate accounting or finance who are working toward CPA licensure, and it is often taken early because the material builds on intermediate accounting. Eligibility is set by each state board, so check your board's rules before you apply.

The AICPA publishes CPA Exam pass rates for every section. For FAR the 2025 cumulative pass rate was 42.12%, and in 2026 the rate was 43.46% in Q1 and 42.47% in Q2 (42.95% cumulative to date) — FAR is one of the harder Core sections, with a bit over four in ten candidates passing a given attempt.

NASBA states that under continuous testing you can retake a failed section shortly after receiving your score; the only limits are the time it takes to receive a score, re-register, obtain a new Notice to Schedule and find an available testing date, and NASBA does not state a maximum number of attempts per section. Your jurisdiction sets the practical limits instead — how long it keeps credit for sections you have passed and any cap on attempts — so confirm them with your Board of Accountancy before you plan retakes.

Scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 99 and the passing score is 75 — a scaled score, not a percentage of questions answered correctly. For FAR the AICPA states the weighted combination of scaled scores is 50% multiple-choice questions and 50% task-based simulations, and its scoring formulas take into account both whether an answer is correct and the relative difficulty of the question. The section has five testlets: two multiple-choice testlets (25 questions each, 50 in total) and three testlets of task-based simulations (7 simulations in total).

FAR is four hours long and has five testlets. The first two contain multiple-choice questions — 25 in each, 50 in total — and the next three contain task-based simulations, 7 in total. The AICPA's blueprint states the weighted combination of scaled scores is 50% multiple-choice and 50% task-based simulations, and scores are reported from 0 to 99 with 75 required to pass.

The AICPA 2026 blueprint organises FAR into three content areas and publishes each as a range: Area I, Financial Reporting, 30–40%; Area II, Select Balance Sheet Accounts, 30–40%; and Area III, Select Transactions, 25–35%. Content is organised by area, group and topic with representative tasks and skill levels, so expect scenario-based questions that ask you to apply the standards to numbers and disclosures rather than recite definitions.

Eligibility is not set by the AICPA or NASBA. Each jurisdiction's Board of Accountancy determines the education, experience and residency requirements, the application steps and the timeframe in which you must finish licensure after passing. After your board approves you, NASBA issues a Notice to Schedule, which you use to book your section at a testing center at least five days ahead.

The CPA Exam's total cost is the sum of application and administration fees plus an examination fee for each section, and the amounts are set per jurisdiction — the AICPA's FAQ directs candidates to their specific Board of Accountancy, and NASBA notes that the cost varies for each jurisdiction. Candidates testing in Guam or at international testing centers pay additional administration fees. Because you pay per section attempt, each retake of FAR carries its own examination fee.

Passing FAR earns conditional credit rather than a licence on its own. How long your credit stays valid is decided by your state Board of Accountancy, and some states require you to complete licensure eligibility requirements and the application within a specific timeframe after passing, so check your board's rules before scheduling the remaining sections.

FAR covers a large body of technical accounting and a pass rate in the low 40s, so plan a longer, structured block of study than for most sections. Work through the blueprint areas in order — financial reporting and the select balance sheet accounts carry the most weight — and practise task-based simulations early, because they carry half of the section score. Keep the last weeks for timed, full-length practice so the four-hour pace feels familiar.

The AICPA updates the CPA Exam blueprints periodically. The 2026 blueprints took effect in January 2026, and the AICPA has published the 2027 blueprints, effective January 1, 2027, so confirm which version applies to your testing window before you study.