The October 2026 CPA Licensure Examination ended on Monday, 26 October. Within hours, examinees were comparing notes on Reddit and X: which subject broke them, which topics came out, and which items they think were defective.
We read through that feedback across all three days. This recap is built from what examinees posted publicly, not from the test papers. It reports topics and item styles, not questions. Treat it as a sample: each topic below was raised by one to a handful of takers, and the people who post right after an exam are not a random cross-section of the 450-item experience.
The short version: FAR was named the hardest subject more often than any other, AUD was overwhelmingly theory, and TAX turned on transfer taxes and the 8% option. Examinees also described the topic allocation as standard for the Table of Specifications (TOS). Nobody named a topic that fell outside BOA Resolution No. 30, Series of 2022.
Which subject was the hardest in the October 2026 CPALE?
FAR, by most accounts. Of four examinees who posted a full easiest-to-hardest ranking, three put FAR last. AFAR was the most divisive subject: two of the same four ranked it the easiest, while others called it their hardest. TAX was similarly split, ranked hardest by one taker and easiest by another.
| Subject | Day | How examinees described it | Theory vs problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAS | 1 | Mostly easy to manageable; heavy on budgeting | Mostly problems, about one theory item on capital structure |
| AUD | 1 | Medium; theory felt simple to some, unfamiliar to others | Overwhelmingly theory. One count: 62 theory, 8 problems |
| TAX | 2 | Split; "direct to the point" but heavy on transfer taxes | Mostly short problems, plus a situational estate set |
| RFBT | 2 | Manageable for most; many special laws | Situational theory, no computation |
| FAR | 3 | Most often named hardest; some did not finish | Statement-type theory plus equity-heavy problems |
| AFAR | 3 | Split between easiest and hardest | Concept-heavy problems plus a theory block of about 10 items |
MAS: budgeting, capital budgeting, and financial management
Examinees consistently described budgeting as the theme of the morning. The topics they reported:
- Cash budgets: a cash disbursements budget (one taker counted about five items) and a three-item situational set on cash collections that several people struggled with.
- Capital budgeting: NPV and IRR, described as straightforward.
- Financial management: CAPM (about two items), trade-off theory and Modigliani-Miller, receivable turnover and days in inventory.
- Cost and managerial: overhead variances, activity-based costing as a three-item chain problem, transfer pricing, and CVP.
Most examinees on X called MAS easy. A few on Reddit said they met concepts for the first time, without naming them, so there is nothing specific to chase there. The practical lesson is linked items: when three or five questions share one scenario, an early mistake carries through every item that follows.
AUD: theory-dominant, with two long problems
AUD was the clearest pattern of the exam. One examinee counted 62 theory items and only 8 problem items, and others described finishing the theory in under an hour and then spending the rest of the session on the problems.
The problem items covered leases (the lessee's lease liability, the components of the right-of-use asset, and total interest expense) and convertible bonds and bonds payable. Several examinees said they skipped them for time.
On theory, examinees reported audit opinions, compilation versus review engagements, and cutoff. The common complaint was not topic coverage but item construction: two choices that both look right, and stems asking "why" with choices answering "what." That is a reading skill as much as a knowledge one. You need to identify the best answer to the exact question asked, not merely a true statement.
TAX: transfer taxes, the 8% option, and the tax table
TAX drew the most "defective item" complaints, and two of them are worth looking at closely.
The 8% option with sales of about ₱6.5 million. Several takers called an 8% item defective because the sales figure was far above ₱3 million. That may be the point of the item rather than an error. The 8% option is available only to a self-employed individual or professional whose gross sales or receipts and other non-operating income do not exceed the ₱3,000,000 VAT threshold. Above it, the taxpayer is on the graduated rates and liable to VAT. If an item gives ₱6.5 million in sales and asks about the 8% option, the first thing to check is whether the option is available at all. See our taxation rates and thresholds guide for the full rule, including the mixed-income trap.
The "old tax table." One examinee reported that an individual income tax item only worked with the old graduated table. We have not seen the item, so we cannot say whether it was an error. But there is a legitimate way this happens: the 2018-2022 TRAIN table and the 2023-onwards table are both law, each for its own taxable years. The second bracket, for example, is taxed at 20% under the first table and 15% under the second. An item set in taxable year 2022 or earlier calls for the first table. Read the year in the stem before you reach for a rate.
Other topics reported:
- Estate tax, including a situational set on the gross estate under absolute community versus conjugal partnership of gains, and an estate with a condominium unit and investments.
- Donor's tax, which several examinees admitted they had not mastered.
- VAT (described as plentiful), corporate income tax, and excise tax on an automobile.
- Tax remedies: the difference between abatement and compromise.
- Recent law: what the Ease of Paying Taxes Act changed compared with CREATE, plus revenue regulations, memoranda and BIR rulings. See our EOPT Act guide.
- Lighter coverage of local taxation, percentage tax, and registered business enterprises.
Put this into practice.
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RFBT: corporations and a long list of special laws
RFBT was described as manageable, entirely theory, and heavily situational. Corporation law dominated. Examinees disagreed on whether voting requirements came out. Some reported none, others reported two-thirds voting items but no majority-vote items.
The special laws reported, typically one to three items each:
- FRIA, BP 22, the Truth in Lending Act, the Data Privacy Act, the Philippine Competition Act, and the Intellectual Property Code
- The Securities Regulation Code and SEC filings, especially the General Information Sheet
- Labor law (night shift differential), SSS, and cooperatives
- The Anti-Money Laundering Act
Two items caught examinees off guard:
Online portals. More than one taker was surprised by questions on online filing and submissions, including the AMLC portal. Covered persons register with the AMLC and file their covered and suspicious transaction reports electronically, so the reporting obligations you already study have a procedural side that can be tested.
Delectus personae. One taker reported a single Latin-term item: delectus personae, the principle that partners choose who their partners are. Under Article 1804 of the Civil Code, a partner may associate another person with them in their share, but that associate cannot become a partner without the consent of all the other partners.
Examinees also flagged near-identical choices, for example two options that both said, in different words, that the treasurer must be a resident. Under the Revised Corporation Code, the treasurer must be a resident of the Philippines and the corporate secretary must be both a citizen and a resident. See our Revised Corporation Code guide.
FAR: equity, statement-type items, and time pressure
FAR was the subject most often named hardest. The feedback points to three reasons.
Shareholders' equity everywhere. Takers reported share premium, treasury shares at cost, quasi-reorganization, share-based payment (cash- versus equity-settled), basic and diluted EPS, and book value per share. One summed it up as "all equity transactions."
Statement-type theory. Many items took the form "which of the following statements are true" or "which is NOT correct." One examinee estimated about 20 theory items. These items reward precise knowledge. A half-remembered rule lets you eliminate one statement but not choose between the rest.
Time. Two examinees on Reddit said they did not finish FAR, one guessing five to seven items and another about half the paper. Seventy items in the time allotted leaves little room for one stubborn computation.
Other topics reported: every type of lease, PFRS for SMEs (about five items), financial assets at FVPL, FVOCI and amortized cost, investment property, liabilities, the allowance for doubtful accounts, income tax accounting, and the carrying amount of receivables and payables. See our FAR guide.
AFAR: partnership, cost accounting, and HOBA
AFAR split the room, but the topic list was consistent across sources:
- Partnership: the cash priority program, liquidation, and admission of a partner, with some theory.
- Cost accounting: process costing, ABC, job order costing, joint and by-products using the NRV method, and product costing (one taker counted five or six items). Several said the cost accounting side was the easiest part.
- Home office and branch accounting: three to four items, asking for the true branch net income and the realized gross profit.
- PFRS 15 and long-term construction contracts using the percentage-of-completion method, described as basic.
- Corporate liquidation, joint operations and joint ventures, and business combinations. One taker listed business combinations as high-yield, while another was surprised how few items there were.
- A theory block of about 10 items, plus one or two items on non-profit and government accounting.
Some examinees said AFAR's item formatting needs improvement. See our AFAR guide.
What about defective items?
Examinees in every subject reported items they believe are defective: an answer not among the choices, two correct choices, or a mismatched stem. None of these claims has been verified, and some will turn out to be traps read too quickly, like the 8% item above.
Two practical points if you sat the exam:
- Report suspected defects through your review center. Review centers can collect reports and raise them with the Board of Accountancy, and that carries more weight than a single post.
- Do not spend the waiting period re-solving items from memory. You cannot change your answers, and recall right after an exam is unreliable.
When are the results, and what if I have to retake?
Results are expected between 29 October and 4 November 2026, most likely Friday, 30 October or Tuesday, 3 November. See when to expect the October 2026 results.
If you end up retaking in May 2027, this recap is your starting brief:
- FAR: drill statement-type items and practise full 70-item sets under time pressure, not just topic quizzes.
- AUD: train for "best answer" theory, and be ready for long lease and bond problems.
- TAX: master transfer taxes and the 8% option eligibility rules, and always check the taxable year.
- RFBT: cover every special law at least lightly, including the procedural side such as online filing.
See the May 2027 schedule and requirements, our retaker guide, and the conditional status rules if you passed some subjects but not the overall average.
On cpareview.ph you can start with the 6,200+ questions in the bank, an AI tutor that explains why an answer is wrong, and timed mock exams in the three-day format. Start your free 7-day trial and find out which subject needs the most work for May 2027.
To everyone who sat the October 2026 CPALE: three days, 450 items, and months of preparation are behind you. Rest first. The results will come when they come.