Build Your Personalized AUD Study Plan
Five quick questions. We'll build a AUD plan from the 2026 AICPA Blueprint: weighted topic priorities, a schedule for your timeline, and strategies for where you're stuck.
Where you are
Where are you in your AUD preparation?
What AUD actually tests (2026 AICPA Blueprint)
Plan for roughly 90 hours of focused study for AUD (most candidates land between 80 and 100). The personalized plan above tailors this to your stage, timeline, and biggest challenge. Here is the blueprint it is built on.
AUD content areas and weights
Area I: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities & General Principles
15-25% · ≈ 18 hrsAICPA Code of Professional Conduct; SEC/PCAOB, GAO/DOL independence; professional skepticism and judgment; nature and scope of engagements; terms of engagement; documentation; communication with management and those charged with governance; audit and assurance quality.
Area II: Assessing Risk & Developing a Planned Response
25-35% · ≈ 27 hrsPlanning; understanding the entity and its environment; the control environment and business processes including IT; materiality; assessing and responding to risks of material misstatement (fraud or error); using the work of others; specific areas of engagement risk.
Area III: Performing Further Procedures & Obtaining Evidence
30-40% · ≈ 32 hrsUse of data and information; sufficient appropriate evidence; sampling techniques; procedures to obtain evidence; matters requiring special consideration; misstatements and internal control deficiencies; written representations; subsequent events.
Area IV: Forming Conclusions & Reporting
10-20% · ≈ 13 hrsReporting on audit engagements; attestation engagements; accounting and review service (SSARS) engagements; reporting on compliance; other reporting considerations.
Two orientation notes for AUD 2026. Going concern is now an AUD topic (it moved out of FAR), so expect it both as a procedures matter (identifying substantial doubt) and as a reporting matter (the report modification). And AUD is concept-and-judgment driven, not a calculation section, so study accordingly (see "How to study AUD" below).
AUD study plan FAQ
How many hours should I study for AUD?
Plan for roughly 90 hours of focused study for AUD. Most candidates spend between 80 and 100 hours, depending on their background, how consistently they study, and their timeline.
Which areas are most heavily weighted on the AUD CPA exam?
Under the 2026 AICPA Blueprint, AUD covers 4 weighted areas: Area I: Ethics, Professional Responsibilities & General Principles (15-25%); Area II: Assessing Risk & Developing a Planned Response (25-35%); Area III: Performing Further Procedures & Obtaining Evidence (30-40%); Area IV: Forming Conclusions & Reporting (10-20%). Allocate your study time to match these weights, because that is where the exam awards its points.
What should I know about AUD under the 2026 Blueprint?
Two orientation notes for AUD 2026. Going concern is now an AUD topic (it moved out of FAR), so expect it both as a procedures matter (identifying substantial doubt) and as a reporting matter (the report modification). And AUD is concept-and-judgment driven, not a calculation section, so study accordingly (see "How to study AUD" below).