What is the CPALE?
The Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) is the board exam that every CPA in the Philippines must pass. It is given by the PRC Board of Accountancy under RA 9298, the Philippine Accountancy Act of 2004, twice a year in May and October. To pass you need a general average of 75% with no subject below 65%.
The exam format
| Subjects | Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Advanced Financial Accounting and Reporting (AFAR), Auditing, Taxation and Regulatory Framework for Business Transactions (RFBT), as listed in PRC programmes. Management Services (MS) is commonly listed as the sixth subject. |
|---|---|
| Passing | General average of 75%, with no rating below 65% in any subject (RA 9298) |
| Sittings | May and October each year |
| Recent results | May 2026: 9,745 examinees and 3,004 passers (about 31%) |
What the exam covers
- FAR: the Conceptual Framework and PFRS, including inventories, PPE, leases, revenue, financial instruments, provisions, income taxes, EPS and cash flows.
- AFAR: partnerships, business combinations and consolidation, the equity method, joint arrangements, foreign currency, long-term contracts, home office and branch, and public sector accounting.
- Auditing: the Philippine Standards on Auditing, audit risk and materiality, evidence and assertions, internal control, sampling, reporting and the Code of Ethics.
- Taxation: income tax for individuals and corporations, VAT and percentage tax, final and capital gains taxes, estate and donor's tax, and remedies, using the current rates under TRAIN, CREATE and CREATE MORE.
- RFBT: obligations and contracts, partnership, sales, the Revised Corporation Code, negotiable instruments, BP 22, AMLA, the Maceda and Recto laws and cooperatives.
- Management services: cost-volume-profit analysis, variable and absorption costing, standard costing, relevant costing, capital budgeting, working capital and ratio analysis.
Free official resources, and what we add
The PRC publishes the CPALE programme and the Board of Accountancy syllabi, and the standards and laws behind each subject are public: PFRS and PSA through the FRSC and AASC, the NIRC and BIR regulations through the BIR, and the Civil Code and RA 11232 on official law sites. There is no official question bank. We add 114 original questions with every computation worked out step by step, organised by subject, plus timed mock exams.
How to prepare
- Get the current Board of Accountancy syllabus for each subject and map your review to it.
- Drill the computations until they are quick: depreciation, lease liabilities, amortised cost, EPS, partnership bonus, goodwill and break-even.
- Memorise the current tax figures: the 2023 graduated rates, the 8% option, RCIT of 25% or 20%, MCIT of 2%, VAT of 12% with a ₱3,000,000 threshold, percentage tax of 3%, and estate and donor's tax of 6%.
- For auditing, learn which PSA covers what, and practise choosing the right opinion for each situation.
- Take timed mocks and review every explanation, since the low pass rate rewards accuracy under time pressure.
Practice questions with answers
Tap a question to see the correct answer and explanation.
Inventory has a cost of ₱250,000. Its estimated selling price is ₱260,000 and estimated costs to complete and sell are ₱18,000. At what amount should the inventory be reported under PAS 2?
- ₱242,000
- ₱232,000
- ₱260,000
- ₱250,000
Answer: A, ₱242,000. PAS 2 requires inventory at the lower of cost and net realisable value. NRV = ₱260,000 − ₱18,000 = ₱242,000, which is below cost of ₱250,000, so report ₱242,000 and recognise an ₱8,000 write-down. Source: PAS 2, Inventories, paragraphs 6 and 9.
Partners A and B form a partnership. A invests ₱200,000 cash. B contributes equipment with a carrying amount of ₱150,000 in B's books and a fair value of ₱180,000. What is B's initial capital credit?
- ₱150,000
- ₱165,000
- ₱200,000
- ₱180,000
Answer: D, ₱180,000. Non-cash contributions are recorded at their agreed value, normally fair value at the date of contribution, so B is credited with ₱180,000. The carrying amount in B's personal books is not relevant to the partnership. Source: partnership formation (CPALE AFAR syllabus); Civil Code, Article 1767.
If the auditor assesses the risk of material misstatement as high, what must happen to detection risk to keep audit risk acceptably low?
- Detection risk must equal inherent risk
- Detection risk is unaffected by the assessment
- Detection risk can be higher, so fewer substantive procedures are needed
- Detection risk must be lower, so more persuasive substantive procedures are needed
Answer: D, Detection risk must be lower, so more persuasive substantive procedures are needed. Audit risk = risk of material misstatement × detection risk. For a given acceptable audit risk, a higher assessed risk of material misstatement requires lower detection risk, achieved by more extensive, better-timed or more persuasive substantive procedures. Source: PSA 200, paragraph 13(c); PSA 330, paragraph 7(b).