Different people have their own opinions on the subject of which CPA Exam section to take first. Some say to take the "easiest" section (i.e. whatever section best fits your background) first so that you have a "quick win" under your belt. I have a friend who is a CMA and a CIA and he took BEC first because it fit his background better than the other sections. He sat for BEC, then AUD, REG, and finished with FAR.
My personal advice is to take the "hardest" section first, which is generally regarded as Financial Accounting and Reporting. The reason behind this is the "18 month rule". You want your 18 month clock to start after you have passed the hardest exam. If you put FAR off until the end, and struggle with a few sections along the way, you could potentially be putting yourself in a position where the 18 month clock is going to expire and you have one shot at passing FAR before you lose Auditing or whatever section it may be. It's best to get FAR out of the way first, in my opinion.
People taking he CPA Exam in 2010 have an interesting quandary in light of the 2011 exams. Financial Accounting and Reporting is changing a lot. Auditing and Attestation is changing as well. Business Environment and Concepts is changing some and Regulation is changing the least. My advice for CPA Exam candidates sitting in 2010 is to be sure to get Financial Accounting and Reporting as well as Auditing and Attestation out of the way in 2011 and leave Business Environment and Concepts as well as Regulation for 2012 if necessary.
Jeff Elliott is a Licensed CPA and runs the CPA Review Community at Another71.com where he helps thousands of CPA Exam candidates pass the CPA Exam each month.
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