Study Strategy
The FAR Exam: Format, Blueprint Weights and How to Pass
By SimplyCPA · 11 October 2026
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- Format: Four hours — 50 multiple-choice questions and 7 task-based simulations, each worth 50% of the score.
- Content: Financial Reporting (30–40%), Select Balance Sheet Accounts (30–40%) and Select Transactions (25–35%).
- Difficulty: About 42% of candidates passed in 2025 — the lowest of the three Core sections.
- Study time: Plan for at least 120 hours, about eight weeks at 15 hours a week.
- Strategy: Practise questions after every topic, start simulations in week one, and finish with a full timed mock exam.
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) is the section candidates fear most — and with reason. It covers the widest range of material, and its 2025 pass rate of about 42%, published by the AICPA, is the lowest of the three Core sections (AUD was about 48% and REG about 63%).
Format
- Length: 4 hours, with an optional 15-minute break that doesn't count against your time.
- Questions: 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and 7 task-based simulations (TBSs).
- Testlets: two MCQ testlets of 25 questions each, then TBS testlets of 2, 3 and 2 simulations (the break comes after the third testlet).
- Scoring: MCQs and TBSs are each worth 50% of your score. Simulations can earn partial credit. 75 out of 99 is a pass.
Content areas (2026 blueprint)
| Area | Weight |
|---|---|
| I. Financial Reporting | 30–40% |
| II. Select Balance Sheet Accounts | 30–40% |
| III. Select Transactions | 25–35% |
The skill mix is heavily applied: about 45–55% application and 35–45% analysis, with only 5–15% pure recall. In other words, you'll be calculating and preparing entries, not reciting definitions.
How much study time?
Plan for at least 120 hours — most candidates spend more on FAR than any other section. At 15 hours a week, that's about eight weeks.
Topics that carry the most weight
- Revenue recognition and leases — appear in both MCQs and simulations.
- Statement of cash flows — a classic simulation.
- Governmental and not-for-profit accounting — unfamiliar to most candidates, consistently tested.
- Income taxes, bonds and investments.
Strategy that works
- Study topic by topic and do practice questions straight after each one — not all at the end.
- Do simulations from week one. Half your score comes from them.
- Leave the last two weeks for mixed review and at least one full timed practice exam.
- Many candidates take FAR first because its content supports AUD and BAR — see which section to start with.