- FAR is one of the Uniform CPA Examination's core sections, developed by the AICPA and scored on a 0-99 scale.
- The exam has 50 MCQs and 7 TBSs across five testlets in a four-hour appointment, per the blueprint effective January 1, 2026.
- A passing score is 75, not "75% correct," and MCQs and TBSs each count for 50% of your total score.
- Financial Reporting and Select Balance Sheet Accounts are tied as the largest domains at 30-40% each.
What Is FAR?
FAR stands for Financial Accounting and Reporting, one of the required sections of the Uniform CPA Examination. It is not a standalone credential you renew or maintain separately - it is a single, high-stakes section that candidates must pass as part of the broader CPA licensure process. The AICPA Board of Examiners builds and scores the content, while NASBA and individual state boards of accountancy handle candidate eligibility, applications, and administration. Prometric delivers the actual computer-based test at approved testing centers.
Because FAR sits inside a larger licensure framework, understanding "what FAR is" really means understanding three things: what content it tests, how the exam is structured, and how it fits into the eligibility and scheduling process managed by your jurisdiction. This guide walks through all three, and points you to deeper resources - including our FAR Exam Domains 2026 guide and FAR Study Guide 2026 - for the next steps in your prep.
Who Develops and Administers FAR
It helps to separate the roles of the organizations involved, since candidates often confuse "who writes the exam" with "who approves me to sit for it."
- AICPA Board of Examiners - develops FAR content and is responsible for scoring.
- NASBA - coordinates candidate administration across jurisdictions and, through NASBA CPA Examination Services jurisdictions, publishes the exam-section fee.
- State boards of accountancy - grant board approval, issue the Notice to Schedule (NTS), and set jurisdiction-specific eligibility, credit windows, licensure, and CPE rules.
- Prometric - delivers the computer-based exam at testing centers.
This layered structure is why two candidates in different states can have different application steps even though they're sitting for the identical FAR content. Our FAR Requirements 2026 guide breaks down eligibility and prerequisite nuances by jurisdiction in more detail.
Exam Format and Question Types
Under the blueprint effective January 1, 2026, FAR is delivered as a four-hour appointment split into five testlets. Within that appointment, candidates work through:
- 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
- 7 task-based simulations (TBSs)
MCQs and TBSs each contribute 50% of your overall score, so neither format can be treated as an afterthought. MCQs test breadth and recall speed across financial reporting rules and account treatments, while TBSs test your ability to apply those rules to multi-step, realistic scenarios - often requiring you to build out journal entries, reconcile balances, or work through a research-style exhibit.
The exam provides on-screen tools, including a spreadsheet and a four-function calculator, which candidates can use for computations during TBSs. There is also a standardized 15-minute stopped-clock break after Testlet 3; this break does not count against your total testing time, which is a meaningful detail when you're pacing yourself through a four-hour session.
Key Takeaway
Because MCQs and TBSs are weighted equally, spend deliberate practice time on multi-part simulations, not just MCQ drilling - a common misstep is over-preparing for one format and under-preparing for the other.
The Three FAR Domains
FAR's content blueprint organizes everything you need to know into three domains. Two of them are tied for the largest share of the exam, which tells you where your study hours should concentrate.
Domain 1: Financial Reporting (30-40%)
Covers the mechanics and presentation of financial statements - the frameworks candidates rely on to prepare and interpret reports.
- Financial statement preparation and disclosure concepts
- Conceptual frameworks underlying reporting standards
- Reporting entity considerations and presentation requirements
Domain 2: Select Balance Sheet Accounts (30-40%)
Focuses on specific account categories that appear on the balance sheet and how they are measured, classified, and disclosed.
- Recognition and measurement of individual account types
- Classification issues that affect balance sheet presentation
- Interactions between balance sheet accounts and related disclosures
Domain 3: Select Transactions (25-35%)
Tests your ability to account for specific transaction types from initial recognition through resolution.
- Transaction-level accounting treatment
- Sequencing of recognition, measurement, and subsequent adjustment
- Applying rules to multi-step transaction scenarios in TBS format
Because Financial Reporting and Select Balance Sheet Accounts are tied at 30-40% each, together they represent the bulk of the exam. Select Transactions, at 25-35%, still carries substantial weight and tends to show up heavily in task-based simulations where you must trace a transaction through multiple steps. For a full walkthrough of subtopics within each domain, see our FAR Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 3 Content Areas.
| Domain | Weight | Format Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Reporting | 30-40% | MCQs and conceptual TBSs |
| Select Balance Sheet Accounts | 30-40% | MCQs and calculation-heavy TBSs |
| Select Transactions | 25-35% | Multi-step TBSs |
How FAR Is Scored
FAR scores are reported on a 0-99 scale, and a passing score is 75. It's worth repeating this clearly because it's a frequent point of confusion: 75 is not "75% of questions correct." It's a scaled score that reflects both the difficulty of the specific questions and simulations you received and your performance against them. Scores are not curved against other candidates in your testing window.
MCQs and TBSs each account for 50% of the total score, so a strong TBS performance can offset a weaker MCQ testlet, and vice versa - but you can't rely on excelling in only one format. If you want a deeper breakdown of exactly how the scaled score works and what score changes across recent windows suggest, read FAR Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass and FAR Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling
Getting to test day for FAR involves several sequential steps, and the details vary by jurisdiction:
- Board approval: your state board of accountancy confirms your eligibility to sit for the exam.
- Notice to Schedule (NTS): once approved, you receive an NTS, which you'll need to book your Prometric appointment.
- Exam-section fee: NASBA CPA Examination Services jurisdictions list a $268.59 fee for the FAR section itself.
- Application/board fees: separate from the exam-section fee, these are set individually by each jurisdiction and vary.
Because eligibility rules, credit windows, and CPE requirements differ by state board, it's worth reviewing your specific jurisdiction's requirements before assuming a generic timeline applies to you. Our FAR Requirements 2026 and FAR Certification Cost 2026 guides go deeper into eligibility mechanics and the full cost picture, respectively. For scheduling windows and deadlines to plan around, see FAR Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Key Takeaway
Budget for the $268.59 NASBA exam-section fee plus a separate, jurisdiction-specific application or board fee - these are two distinct line items, not one combined cost.
Who Needs to Pass FAR
FAR is required for candidates pursuing CPA licensure, since it is one of the core sections of the Uniform CPA Examination. Employers who hire accounting professionals - public accounting firms, corporate finance and controllership teams, and organizations that need staff capable of preparing or auditing financial statements - generally expect candidates on the CPA track to pass FAR as part of demonstrating technical competency in financial reporting. If you're evaluating how FAR fits into a broader career trajectory, including how it factors into hiring and compensation conversations, our FAR Jobs and FAR Salary Guide 2026 articles cover that ground, and Is the FAR Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 weighs the investment against the outcome.
Because FAR content leans heavily into financial statement preparation, balance sheet accounts, and transaction-level accounting, it's especially relevant to roles in financial reporting, technical accounting, and controllership - areas where day-to-day work mirrors the exam's domain structure closely.
Building a Domain-Aware Prep Plan
Generic study advice - timers, flashcard apps, spaced repetition - only helps if it's applied against FAR's actual weight distribution. Since Financial Reporting and Select Balance Sheet Accounts are tied as the largest domains, most of your early study weeks should live there, with Select Transactions layered in once you've built a foundation in the other two.
Financial Reporting foundations
- Work through financial statement preparation and disclosure concepts
- Practice MCQs on conceptual frameworks before moving to TBSs
Select Balance Sheet Accounts
- Drill recognition and measurement rules account by account
- Practice calculation-heavy TBSs using the on-screen spreadsheet tool
Select Transactions and simulation practice
- Work multi-step transaction scenarios end-to-end
- Time full five-testlet mock sessions, including the post-Testlet-3 break
For a more detailed week-by-week structure and first-attempt strategy, see FAR Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. If you're still calibrating how much time to allot overall, How Hard Is the FAR Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and the FAR Cheat Sheet 2026 are useful companion reads. And once you're ready to test your recall under exam-like conditions, FAR Exam Prep's practice tests simulate the MCQ and TBS mix you'll face on test day.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. FAR is an exam section within the Uniform CPA Examination, not a separately renewable credential. It's one required step toward CPA licensure, administered alongside eligibility rules set by your state board.
Under the blueprint effective January 1, 2026, FAR includes 50 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations, delivered across five testlets in a four-hour appointment.
You need a scaled score of 75 on the 0-99 scale. This is not the same as answering 75% of questions correctly, and scores are not curved against other candidates.
NASBA CPA Examination Services jurisdictions list a $268.59 exam-section fee. Separate application or board fees are set by your individual jurisdiction and are not included in that figure.
Financial Reporting and Select Balance Sheet Accounts are tied as the largest domains at 30-40% each, so most candidates benefit from starting their study plan there before moving into Select Transactions at 25-35%.