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CPA Exam Discipline Section

A full plan for your CPA discipline section: BAR, ISC or TCP chosen to fit your career, a seat booked inside the testing window, focused topic study, simulations, timed mocks and a calm exam day.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Then open the Marketplace in the app, search for CPA Exam Discipline Section, and click Install. It goes into your own files, and works offline from then on.

What it installs.

1

Pillar

1

Area

50

Projects

197

Starter tasks

🎓 Finance & Business Certifications

CPA Exam Discipline Section

Choosing and passing a CPA discipline section, Business Analysis and Reporting, Information Systems and Controls, or Tax Compliance and Planning, to fit your career.

  1. Current discipline blueprints and testing windows check
  2. Choosing between BAR, ISC and TCP
  3. Discipline application and Notice to Schedule
  4. Placing the discipline in your four-section order
  5. Choosing a review course for your discipline
  6. Discipline study hours budget and calendar
  7. Booking a seat inside the discipline testing window
  8. Baseline diagnostic for your chosen discipline
  9. Twice-weekly discipline study block routine
  10. Daily discipline question set
  11. Discipline error log with weekly review
  12. Weekly task-based simulation session
  13. Monthly progress rating against the discipline blueprint
  14. Monthly mixed review of finished topics
  15. Formula, threshold and term flashcard deck
  16. Credit window tracker across all four sections
  17. BAR financial statement and ratio analysis
  18. BAR budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis
  19. BAR capital budgeting, valuation and economics
  20. BAR technical accounting beyond FAR
  21. BAR state and local government reporting
  22. BAR data analytics and dashboard reading
  23. ISC information systems and data management
  24. ISC data extraction and relational databases
  25. ISC security frameworks and threat controls
  26. ISC confidentiality, privacy and incident response
  27. ISC SOC engagements from planning to report
  28. TCP individual tax planning and personal financial planning
  29. TCP entity tax compliance returns
  30. TCP entity tax planning across an entity's life
  31. TCP property transactions and basis calculations
  32. Research and authoritative literature in simulations
  33. Exam spreadsheet and calculator speed drills
  34. Switching discipline after a weak start
  35. First full timed discipline mock exam
  36. Remediation plan after the first mock
  37. Final mock and sit or reschedule decision
  38. Final fourteen days before the discipline sitting
  39. Discipline exam day checklist
  40. Discipline score release and next move
  41. Retake plan after a discipline score below passing
  42. Studying the discipline through busy season
  43. Discipline study alongside final-year university courses
  44. ISC from an accounting-only background
  45. Last section sprint with credit about to expire
  46. Sitting the discipline at an international test centre
  47. Discipline choice for a career change into advisory or tech
  48. Blueprint changes and tax law cut-off watch
  49. Running a discipline study circle at work
  50. Putting the discipline to work in your first year after passing

Where it starts.

Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.

Current discipline blueprints and testing windows check

Since the CPA Evolution model began in 2024, every candidate sits the three core sections plus one discipline, and the discipline sections have been offered on a different testing and score release pattern from the core.

First tasks

  • Download the BAR, ISC and TCP sections of the current AICPA exam blueprint
  • Write each discipline's content areas and stated weighting ranges side by side
  • Note the current discipline testing windows and score release dates from NASBA
  • Recheck the AICPA blueprint and NASBA testing window pages for changes @recurring(quarterly)

Choosing between BAR, ISC and TCP

All three disciplines lead to the same licence, so the choice is about which one you can pass most efficiently and which one makes you more useful in the job you have or want. A staff auditor heading for advisory, an IT audit associate and a tax senior should usually choose differently, and a written decision with reasons keeps you from switching halfway through your review course.

First tasks

  • Write two sentences on the work you expect to be doing in three years
  • Attempt ten free sample questions from each of BAR, ISC and TCP
  • Score each discipline on career fit, overlap, prior knowledge and hours
  • Record your choice and the runner-up with reasons in your study notes

Discipline application and Notice to Schedule

Your state board, or NASBA acting for it, has to approve you for the specific discipline section before you can book anything, and the Notice to Schedule that follows is valid for a limited period. Applying for the discipline only when you are ready to book inside a window avoids paying for a notice that expires unused.

First tasks

  • Log in to your NASBA or state board account and check your eligibility status
  • Request the discipline section you chose and pay the section fee
  • Confirm the board has every transcript or document it asked for
  • Write the Notice to Schedule expiry date in your study calendar

Make it yours.

Install CPA Exam Discipline Section, then tell Aurum the date you're aiming for. It checks whether the plan fits the weeks you actually have.

Free · Mac (Apple silicon) and Windows · v1.0.0 · Other platforms

Blueprints are general information to help you organise your own work. They are not medical, financial, legal or other professional advice. See the Terms.