How to Study for FAR: The Topics That Matter Most (2026)
Kyle Ashcraft, CPA · 2019 CPA Exam Scores · 95 FAR · 98 BEC · 91 REG · 90 AUD
Most candidates who struggle with FAR don't struggle because the concepts are too hard. They run out of time before they run out of material. FAR covers more ground than any other section, and if you treat every topic as equally important, you will still be grinding through the middle of your outline the week your test date arrives.
I passed FAR with a 95 in 2019, and I founded Maxwell CPA Review to teach it the way I actually studied it: go deep on the concepts that matter most, move quickly through the ones that rarely appear. This article is that approach, plus the six FAR topics I would tell anyone to master first.
Prefer the app? Watch the FAR strategy walkthrough on YouTube.
What is actually on the FAR exam?
| Multiple choice questions | 50, the fewest of any section |
|---|---|
| Task-based simulations | 7, and calculation-heavy |
| Remembering and understanding | 5–15% |
| Application | 45–55% |
| Analysis | 35–45% |
Read those last three rows together: roughly 85–95% of FAR asks you to apply or analyze, not recite. A memorized formula sheet collapses the moment the exam changes the fact pattern slightly. You mix up which formula applies, forget which direction the adjustment goes, and start guessing.
That is why I teach the journal entries and the why behind the formulas, rather than the formulas alone. It is what lets you reason your way through questions you have never seen before.
How much time does FAR actually take?
My FAR campaign was eight weeks and roughly 160 hours:
| Block | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Monday–Friday | 2 hrs/day | New content only |
| Saturday–Sunday | 5 hrs/day | Review and practice, no new content |
| Weekly total | ~20 hrs | Five study days plus two review days |
| Full campaign | ~160 hrs | 8 weeks |
Most candidates I hear from are more than 90 days out from their test date, which means there is time to run a plan like this rather than panic through it. If you are closer than that, the fix is not to study faster. It is to cut the low-yield topics harder.
What does a week of FAR study look like?
Weekdays: new content
- Read the study outline for the topic first, 10–15 minutes.
- Watch the video lessons for that topic and take notes.
- Practice questions on that same topic immediately, before you move on.
The point of step 3 is same-day reinforcement. Watching a lecture and practicing four days later is close to starting over.
Weekends: consolidation
- No new content at all.
- Re-read the outline for everything covered that week.
- Run as many MCQs and task-based simulations as the time allows.
If you want to see the outline-first, practice-immediately loop in practice, the free CPA 101 course walks through it with real FAR material and no credit card.
What should the last two weeks look like?
- Two weeks out. Take practice exam #1 under real conditions. Identify your five weakest areas and nothing more, because a list of fifteen weaknesses is a list you will not act on.
- Ten days later. Take practice exam #2 to confirm those five moved.
- Final stretch. Re-read the outline repeatedly and look for patterns rather than new material.
Should you practice in the spreadsheet tool?
Yes. The FAR exam provides a built-in spreadsheet (SpreadJS) with essentially the same functionality as Excel, and most candidates never touch it until exam day. Practicing in a spreadsheet while you study does three things:
- Cuts calculation errors, because you are working in cells rather than handwriting a column of numbers.
- Lets you review your work systematically before you submit a simulation.
- Surfaces mistakes you would otherwise never catch.
Which FAR topics matter most?
These six come back again and again, and they carry real weight. Master them before you spend an evening on anything else.
1. Statement of cash flows
Know the three categories cold:
- Operating: day-to-day business activity.
- Investing: long-term assets, such as buying or selling fixed assets.
- Financing: raising or repaying cash through debt or equity.
For the indirect method, start with net income, add back non-cash items such as depreciation, then adjust for changes in working capital. The working capital rule of thumb: an increase in a current asset decreases cash, and an increase in a current liability increases cash.
Pattern to lean on. Once you have placed the first entry for an item in a section, related entries follow it there. If purchasing a fixed asset is an investing outflow, selling that asset is an investing inflow.
2. Leases, from the lessee's side
| Finance lease | Operating lease | |
|---|---|---|
| Economics | Like buying an asset on payments | Like renting |
| Income statement | Interest expense plus amortization expense | A single lease expense |
| Expense pattern | Front-loaded | Straight-line |
Both types record the same entry at commencement:
Cr. Lease Liability (present value)
The way to actually learn this one is to write out every entry from lease commencement to the end of the lease life, once, by hand. Journal entries worked from start to finish is the difference between recognizing a lease question and being able to answer it.
3. Consolidated financial statements
Start with the core elimination entry:
Cr. Parent's Investment in Subsidiary
A parent that owns a subsidiary is, in consolidated terms, saying "I own myself." The entry removes that redundancy. Then layer in, when applicable: fair value adjustments (debit), goodwill (debit), a bargain purchase (credit), and non-controlling interest (credit, where ownership is above 50% but below 100%).
Intercompany eliminating entries
For any intercompany transaction, work it in five steps:
- Write the journal entry from the parent's perspective.
- Write the journal entry from the subsidiary's perspective.
- Determine what should have been recorded if the transaction had never happened.
- Compare that to what was actually recorded.
- The difference is your eliminating entry.
4. Earnings per share
Basic EPS
The skill being tested is the weighted average share count. Calculate each layer separately based on how many months it was outstanding. If a company has 100,000 shares all year and issues 12,000 more on December 1:
- 100,000 × 12/12 = 100,000
- 12,000 × 1/12 = 1,000
- Weighted average = 101,000 shares
Diluted EPS
Assume the convertible securities convert, then adjust both halves of the fraction:
| If this converts | Numerator | Denominator |
|---|---|---|
| Convertible bonds | Add back interest expense, net of tax | Add the new shares |
| Convertible preferred | Add back preferred dividends | Add the new shares |
Break it into layers, every time. Almost every EPS question that goes wrong goes wrong because someone tried to do it in one step.
5. Investments in debt securities
Classification drives where the unrealized gains and losses land:
| Classification | Intent | Unrealized gains and losses |
|---|---|---|
| Trading | Held short-term to profit from price changes | Income statement |
| Available-for-sale | Neither short-term nor held to maturity | Other comprehensive income |
| Held-to-maturity | Held until the bond matures | Not recognized; carried at amortized cost |
6. Investments in equity securities
Equity securities do not use the trading / available-for-sale / held-to-maturity framework. Those three categories apply to debt only. For equity, the question is how much influence the investor has:
| Position | Treatment |
|---|---|
| No significant influence, readily determinable fair value | Fair value, with changes through net income |
| No significant influence, no readily determinable fair value | Measurement alternative: cost, less impairment, adjusted for observable price changes |
| Significant influence (generally 20–50%) | Equity method, recognizing your share of investee income |
| Control (generally above 50%) | Consolidate |
Equity method example. You own 30% of a company that earns $100,000 for the year. You recognize $30,000 of investment income and increase the carrying amount of the investment by the same $30,000. Dividends received reduce the investment, they are not income.
The 20% and 50% thresholds are guidelines for significant influence and control, not bright-line rules. The exam will occasionally give you facts that override the percentage, which is exactly the kind of question a formula sheet cannot answer.
How do you make FAR concepts feel real?
Pull actual financial statements and find the rules you just studied inside them. Two good ones to start with:
- Amazon, for-profit financial statements
- American Red Cross FY2024, not-for-profit financial statements
Find the lease footnote. Find the reconciliation from net income to operating cash flow. Find the EPS layers. Seeing the rules in a real filing is what turns a memorized definition into something you can apply to a fact pattern you have never seen.
Where does Maxwell CPA Review fit?
Let me concede a few things first. If what you want is the largest question bank available, that goes to Gleim or UWorld. If your firm sponsors a course, that is usually Becker, and there is no reason to turn down something already paid for. If you want adaptive software that scores your readiness for you, Surgent does that better than I do.
What Maxwell CPA Review does is different. Every other option in this category answers a shortage: more questions, longer explanations, more visuals. Maxwell answers a surplus. You do not need more material. You need someone to tell you which material decides the exam, and to teach that part properly.
That is the Max Yield Method. On a high-yield topic like leases, we work the journal entries from the initial lease liability entry through the end of the lease life. On a low-yield topic like troubled debt restructurings, we cover the rules quickly in case they show up, then get straight back to the topics that matter most.
Here is what is in the FAR section:
| Video lessons | 7 hours |
|---|---|
| Practice MCQs | 800 |
| Task-based simulations | 36 |
| Textbook | 233 pages |
| Study outlines | 74 pages |
| Also included | Baseline assessment, final review, mock exam, 10 interactive apps |
Across the whole course: 50 hours of video content, 5,000 practice MCQs and 150 task-based simulations, covering all six sections: FAR, AUD, REG, BAR, ISC and TCP, with no discipline upcharge. It is built to the current AICPA Blueprint, and every lecture, textbook and outline was created by one CPA who scored a 95 on this exam.
Best for candidates drowning in lecture hours: Maxwell CPA Review, with bite-sized lessons focused on the concepts that matter most, at $49 per month, billed monthly, cancel anytime.
Use it as your primary course. Use it to retake a section you failed. Use it alongside what you already bought.
Start free with CPA 101
Practice all 25 of the 2026 AICPA released MCQs, plus a free study outline. No credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours should I study for FAR?
Around 160 hours over eight weeks is what worked for me: two hours on weekdays for new content, five hours each weekend day for review and practice. If you have less calendar time than that, cut low-yield topics rather than cutting practice questions.
Is FAR the hardest CPA exam section?
It is the broadest, which is not quite the same thing. FAR has the fewest multiple choice questions of any section but the widest range of topics, so the difficulty is coverage rather than depth on any single subject.
Can I use Maxwell CPA Review alongside Becker, UWorld, Gleim or Surgent?
Yes. It is built to the current AICPA Blueprint and covers the same sections, so it slots alongside whatever you already own. Most people use it for the video lessons and outlines and keep their existing question bank.
Do I need to cancel my current course to use Maxwell CPA Review?
No. There is no contract and nothing to migrate. Keep what you paid for and add the condensed lessons on top of it.
Is Maxwell CPA Review enough on its own?
Yes. It is a complete CPA review course with video lessons, textbook, study outlines, MCQs, task-based simulations, final review and mock exams, across all six sections. It is designed to be the course you pass with, not an add-on.
What does Maxwell CPA Review cost?
$49 per month, billed monthly, cancel anytime. All six sections are included with no discipline upcharge.
What is in the free CPA 101 course?
All 25 of the 2026 AICPA released MCQs to practice, plus a free study outline. FAR, AUD and REG tracks are available. No credit card required.
Ready to put this into practice?
Reading about how to pass is not the same as practicing. Start with the released questions and the study outline, and see whether the approach fits how you learn.
Kyle Ashcraft, CPA scored 90+ on every section of the CPA exam in 2019, including a 95 on FAR. He is the founder and sole instructor of Maxwell CPA Review, where he creates every lecture, textbook and study outline himself.
Reach him at MaxwellCPAreview@gmail.com.
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