After its Practice Analysis, the AICPA published a draft of the proposed changes to the exam with an invitation to comment. It received more than 180 responses from CPA firms and individual accountants across the country, which further informed the exam changes. The CPA Exam is composed of four sections: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Regulation (REG). The majority of the changes are to the AUD and BEC sections. The major themes of the changes, according to the AICPA, are: Understanding of business processes from inception to completion, including automated aspects, risk identification and internal control mapping. The need for a digital and data-driven mindset and the use of data analytics. Increased reliance on System and Organization Controls for Service Organizations: Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (SOC 1) reports. Additionally, the AICPA will remove some topics that aren’t considered necessary for newly-licensed CPAs (nlCPAs) to know, most notably the differences between the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).