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Meridian CPA Review is not affiliated with AICPA, NASBA, or any state board of accountancy. CPA exam content is based on publicly available AICPA Blueprints. All practice questions, simulations, and explanations are provided for educational purposes only and do not constitute professional tax, audit, accounting, or legal advice. Always consult a qualified CPA or attorney for professional advice.

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AUD
CPA Exam Section Guide

Auditing & Attestation

AUD tests your understanding of the entire audit process, from planning through reporting. This section is heavily conceptual and requires strong critical thinking skills.

AUDSection Code
ModerateDifficulty
80-100 hoursAvg. Study Time
60+Topics Covered

What This Section Tests

The AUD section covers the following key topics:

✓AICPA Code of Professional Conduct
✓Requirements of the SEC and the PCAOB
✓Requirements of the GAO and the DOL
✓Professional skepticism and professional judgment
✓Audit engagements
✓Engagements conducted under GAO Government Auditing Standards
✓Other engagements
✓Preconditions for an engagement
✓Terms of engagement and the engagement letter
✓Requirements for engagement documentation
✓Planned scope and timing of an engagement
✓Internal control related matters
✓Audit and assurance quality
✓Overall engagement strategy
✓Engagement plan
✓External factors
✓Internal factors
✓COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework
✓Control environment, entity-level controls and IT general controls
✓Business processes and the design of internal controls, including the IT environment
✓Implications of an entity using a service organization
✓Limitations of controls and risk of management override
✓For the financial statements as a whole
✓Tolerable misstatement and performance materiality
✓Assessing and responding to risks of material misstatement
✓Planning for and using the work of others
✓An entity's compliance with laws and regulations
✓Accounting estimates (risk assessment)
✓Related parties and related party transactions
✓Uniform Guidance for single audits (risk assessment)
✓Requesting, preparing and transforming data
✓Reliability of data and information
✓Data analytics
✓Sufficient appropriate evidence
✓Sampling techniques
✓Test of controls and test of details
✓Analytical procedures
✓External confirmations
✓Accounting estimates (substantive procedures)
✓Investments in securities
✓Inventory and inventory held by others
✓Litigation, claims and assessments
✓An entity's ability to continue as a going concern
✓Uniform Guidance for single audits (substantive procedures)
✓Misstatements and internal control deficiencies
✓Written representations
✓Subsequent events and subsequently discovered facts
✓Reporting on audit engagements
✓Examination or review engagements
✓Agreed-upon procedures engagements
✓Preparation engagements
✓Compilation engagements
✓Review engagements
✓Reporting on compliance
✓Comparative statements and consistency between periods
✓Other information in documents with audited statements
✓Review of interim financial information
✓Supplementary information
✓Additional reporting requirements under GAO Government Auditing Standards
✓Special-purpose frameworks

Why Candidates Commonly Struggle with AUD

  • Approaching AUD like FAR - this section requires understanding, not memorization
  • Not understanding the flow of the audit process from planning to reporting
  • Confusing similar-sounding terms and concepts (e.g., types of audit reports)
  • Ignoring SSARS, SSAE, and other non-audit engagement standards
  • Struggling with the heavily simulation-based format of recent exams

What to Prioritize

  • 1
    Understand the audit process flow - planning, risk assessment, evidence, and reporting
  • 2
    Master audit report modifications - know when each type applies and exact wording
  • 3
    Focus on internal control concepts - COSO framework appears throughout the exam
  • 4
    Learn the differences between audits, reviews, compilations, and attestation engagements
  • 5
    Practice document review simulations - these appear frequently in recent exam formats

Effective Study Strategies

AUD is a great section to take early if you're working in audit. See our best exam order guide to decide when to schedule it.
Think like an auditor when studying. Ask yourself: What could go wrong? What evidence would I need? What would I conclude? This mindset helps you reason through questions.
Create comparison charts for similar concepts: types of opinions, types of engagements, types of sampling. The exam loves testing your ability to distinguish between similar items.
Use free practice materials extensively for AUD - the question style is unique and takes practice to master.
Don't underestimate ethics and professional responsibilities. These topics appear throughout the exam and in simulations. Build a study plan that allocates time for ethics review.

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Other CPA Sections

FAR
Financial Accounting
REG
Regulation
TCP
Tax Compliance
BAR
Business Analysis
ISC
Information Systems