CPALE Guide: 6 Subjects, the 75/65 Rule, and a 6-Month Plan

CPALE: The Complete Guide for Filipino Accountancy Graduates

The Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) is one of PRC's toughest boards. In the last three sittings, only 31% to 34% of examinees passed, on roughly 9,500 to 10,200 takers per sitting.

This guide covers the format, the passing rules, a 6-month review plan, and what to do if you don't pass.

Schedule: the next CPALE is on October 24–26, 2026 (filing closed September 9). PRC targets releasing results on November 3, 2026. The first 2026 sitting was May 24–26 (30.83% passed). The sitting after October is expected around May 2027, but PRC has not yet published its 2027 schedule.

1. The six subjects

The CPALE is a three-day, paper-based exam with six subjects, three hours each (8–11 AM and 1–4 PM), per PRC's October 2026 program:

The item counts come from the syllabi in PRBOA Resolution No. 30, s. 2022, which also renamed "Management Advisory Services" to Management Services. PRC's program doesn't list separate subject weights.

Calculators: basic (non-scientific) calculators are allowed. The Casio fx-991ES and ES Plus are not.

Syllabus change coming: PRBOA Resolution No. 20, s. 2026 adopts a revised table of specifications that applies from calendar year 2029. Sittings in 2026 to 2028 keep the current six subjects.

2. The passing rules

Under RA 9298, Section 16:

• You pass with a general average of at least 75% and no subject below 65%.
• If you fail overall but score 75% or higher in a majority of the subjects (at least four of six), you get conditional credit for those subjects. You then retake only the remaining subjects, within two years.
• Otherwise it's a full fail and you retake everything.

(Averages here are simple averages of the six subjects.)

The lesson: pull every subject safely above 65 first, then push as many as you can above 75.

3. Recent PRC pass rates

From PRC's results releases (passers ÷ examinees):

4. The 6-month review plan

Built for a BSA graduate who's also working or doing internship hours. If you can review full time, you can compress it to about four months.

Month 1: Diagnose

Take one full timed practice exam in the real format (all six subjects). Sort every wrong answer by subject and topic. That map drives the next five months.

Months 2–3: Foundations

Pair subjects so you're not grinding FAR for eight weeks straight:

• Mornings (90 min): FAR and AFAR (alternate days)
• Evenings (90 min): Auditing and Management Services (alternate days)
• Saturdays (3–4 hrs): Taxation
• Sundays: RFBT

Use one current reviewer book per subject. Tax and business law change often, so check that your materials reflect the latest laws.

Months 4–5: Practice

Switch to question drills: 80–120 items a day across all six subjects. Weekly rhythm:

• Tue/Thu evenings: mixed sets from three subjects
• Saturdays: a timed half-day (three subjects, full timing)
• Sundays: wrong-answer review

Month 6: Final stretch

No new material. Flashcards on weekdays, full practice exams on Saturdays, review on Sundays. In the final week, cut your hours in half and rest.

5. The subjects people under-prepare

Auditing

Auditing questions test judgment: which procedure fits which assertion, when to modify an opinion, how materiality works. It feels easy when you read, then hard under time pressure. Give it dedicated weeks of timed drills. See the Auditing review.

RFBT

RFBT has 100 items, more than any other subject, and it's all law. Reviewers who leave it for last risk falling under 65. Read the core codes once in your foundation months, then drill Obligations and Contracts, Negotiable Instruments and the Revised Corporation Code. See the RFBT review.

6. What it costs

• PRC fees: ₱900 for the full exam, ₱450 for a conditioned/removal exam. Initial registration after passing is ₱1,050 (PRC Citizen's Charter 2026).
• Review: reviewer books, or a review center if you want a schedule and live problem walkthroughs. Rates vary a lot, so compare each center's current price.
• Travel and lodging if you test outside your city.

Note that PRC requires a BOA-accredited refresher course after two failed attempts.

7. Career outlook after passing

A CPA license opens public practice (audit), commerce and industry, government and teaching. See the CPALE career value guide for the main paths and the government accountant salary guide for public-sector pay.

8. If you don't pass

• Conditional credit: retake only the subjects you didn't pass, within two years. Build a focused plan around them.
• Full fail: plan a 4–6 month rebuild, starting from the subject that dragged you down.
• Repeat attempts: change how you review, not just how long. Remember the refresher-course rule after two failures.

The CPALE runs twice a year (May and October in 2025 and 2026).

Where Super Tutor fits

CPALE is coming soon to Super Tutor. There's no CPALE reviewer in the app yet, so there's nothing to sign up for today. You can follow the CPALE exam page or see every exam Super Tutor covers now.

Sources: PRC October 2026 CPALE program and 2026 schedule; PRC results releases (May 2025–May 2026); RA 9298 Sec. 16; PRBOA Res. No. 30 s. 2022 and No. 20 s. 2026; PRC Citizen's Charter 2026 and accountancy requirements list.