Author: Adrienne Gonzalez

Adrienne is a 15-year veteran of the accounting industry, if by "veteran" you mean "vulture prowling the periphery of the profession waiting for something exciting to happen." She has been spewing vitriol on Going Concern since the site was founded in 2009. A former CPA review employee, she has sat through more FAR classes than any CPA exam candidate ever could -- even one who has failed FAR seven times -- and can still recall most of the mnemonics all these years later.

CPA Review Instructor Wants to Know Where BEC Got Its Start

Ah, CPA review instructors, got to love them. They teach you everything you need to know, invade your home, isolate you from your spouse and get those annoying mnemonics stuck in your brain.

This one reached out to us to get a bit of background on the CPA exam to share with her students, who I’m sure will appreciate a primer on what becomes many candidates’ favorite exam section.

Hello Going Concern – I have a question about the BEC (Business Environment & Concepts) portion of the CPA exam. I know this is a fairly new section – at least in its current structure. Didn’t it come into being with the advent of the computerized exam, on the 18-month pass window, in the mid-2000’s?

The reason I ask – I am an instructor for one of the CPA review course companies, and I will be teaching the BEC portion of the exam soon. I would just like to give students a little history & overview. I cannot really find anything on the AICPA’s website.

Any help or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
“Teach”

You are sort of correct that no one knew what a BEC was until 2004 when the computerized exam arrived on the scene. Prior to that, the four sections of the exam were Business Law, Audit, ARE and FARE. We all know that FARE has since evolved into FAR, likely dropping the extra E to better match with the other three CPA exam sections (fun fact: when I started in CPA review in 2007, the E was still in use by a large number of students). At that time, ARE covered accounting and reporting, tax, and government/non-profit accounting.

Some components from the Business Law (shortened as LAW pre-2004) became the BEC we know today but it is fairer to say LAW became REG, which is why up until this year, some areas of BEC and REG overlapped and covered the same material.

I like to call BEC the junk drawer of the CPA exam, as they’ve tend to stick whatever they can’t stick anywhere else in that section. It seems to have gotten better with CBT-e but it’s too early in the new exam’s form to say that for sure.

When comparing the paper-and-pencil exam to its current computerized form, it’s pretty clear that the breadth of topics covered has increased. BEC has allowed examiners to stick in technology, IT (unrelated to audits), economics, corporate governance and ERM, among other things.

Hope that helps!

Did You Get a Steak Dinner and an iPad To Join Your Accounting Firm?

Hey kids! Have you heard? The accounting industry is on fire! Don’t all pile in at once, now, let’s make a nice single file line toward the piles of cash, work-life balance and cash prizes! Yes, cash prizes!

You see, Crain’s New York decided to publish a piece over the weekend called simply “CPAs are getting hired,” which leaves little room for interpretation. While there’s no denying you all have survived the recession far better than your brethren in the doomed and overpopulated field of law, it comes off as a bit irresponsible in my mind for Crain’s to make it seem like firms are so desperate for good help, they’re giving out iPads and cash.

It’s no wonder, then, that employers are aggressively working on quality-of-life issues and recruiting incentives. At the Metis Group, perks include flexible work hours, a firm-sponsored kickball team and full company payment to prepare for and take the CPA accreditation exam, according to Managing Partner Glenn Friedman. The firm also gives out iPads for stellar performance.

In Ms. Teibel’s case, she hadn’t even been hired when the generosity began. Before she started with Berdon in January 2011, the firm had paid the $4,000 it cost her to prepare for the CPA exam. And before the interview process, Ms. Teibel had been wined and dined by Berdon partners.

“All that attention truly meant a lot to me,” Ms. Teibel said. “In an economy like this one, I’ll feel secure for years to come.”

Ha! Ms. Teibel is in for one hell of a rude awakening long after the partners have written off that steak dinner and traded ass-kissing and CPA review books for long hours and endless piles of busywork.

In reality, $4,000 will barely cover the cost of a year of Becker classes and one exam attempt for each section, so what happens if she doesn’t get it done in a year and needs to repurchase review materials? Or what if she fails a section? Or all four? Sure it’s nice to have your review course paid for but the truth here is that few candidates actually pass the first time through, and my experience with candidates who had courses paid in full was that they tended to do worse on the exam than candidates who had to scrape together their own hard-earned Federal Reserve Notes to buy review materials.

And what’s this about work-life balance? Is there a memo I haven’t gotten? As far as I can tell, based on completely non-scientific analysis of the comments many of you leave here, the slave drivers haven’t let up on you guys and have no plans to do so any time soon. If you’re actually good at your job, expect to be worked into the ground as your expertise and talent are a commodity the firms are more than happy to burn. But hey, enjoy that free iPad.

I recommend reading the Crain’s piece in its entirety, if for no other reason than to scoff and wonder in what parallel universe this takes place and try to figure out how to transport yourself there immediately.

Between this and the Yahoo! fluff piece awhile back, if I were a 20 year old wondering what to be when I grew up, this number-crunching gig might seem like the only viable option in these uncertain times.

Prepare for the bum rush of ankle-biters, kids. Or at least start working on your kickball skills.

What’s Your Motivation for Leaving a Mid-tier Accounting Firm for a Job with Big 4?

Contributor note: if you have a question for the Going Concern audience at large (including the useless dbags) or our team of accounting drop outs and degenerates, please get in touch.

Here’s a tip if you guys are thinking about submitting a question: it helps to know your motivation if you are asking for our advice. It’s difficult to tell you what you should do without knowing why you’re trying to do it, unless you’re asking us an obvious question like “should I take X position to make way more money?” because in that situation we obviously assume you’re in it for the money. There’s nothing wrong with that.

That said, this indentured servSo let’s commence to helping.

I’m currently working for a large mid-size firm as a Staff II and will become a Senior I next year on a relatively large public client. However, I’ve been debating whether or not I should follow up on opportunities to work at a Big 4 firm if it means I have to wait an additional 2 years to become a Senior I?

I know from my friends currently working in the Big 4 firm that new hires work for 3 years at the staff level before being promoted to Senior I. In addition, I may also slip one level from Staff II back to Staff I when I change firms. I’d essentially be 2 years behind my peers as a result of going to the Big 4 so I don’t know if making this switch would help or hurt my career. Is it really worth losing that much time in order to get the Big 4 name on my resume? Should I wait until next year in hopes that I could be recruited as a Staff III instead?

Surely I’m not the only one struggling with this decision, does anyone else have experience with this problem?

Thanks and Best Regards,
-Staff II(?) Auditor

Well, Would-Be Staff II, as you are probably already aware, the Big 4 item on your résumé is going to blow any of that mid-tier nonsense you’ve got going now out of the water (don’t get butthurt, mid-tier-ers. It’s not personal). The actual practical application of what you’re learning at a mid-tier firm versus what you might learn at the Big 4 is irrelevant here; it’s all about marketing yourself, and you’re better equipped to do that with bragging rights slapped all over your work experience. You’re pretty much only going to get those rights from the Big 4.

That isn’t to say you can’t gain valuable experience from your current employer, so it comes down to what you want to do career-wise and in what time frame you would like to accomplish it. Have you passed the CPA exam already? Are you itching to get out of public altogether? It’s pretty hard to try and push you in the right direction without knowing what that direction is. What do you want out of your career? Money? Prestige? Experience?

Why did you start mid-tier in the first place? Are you happy where you are? Do you enjoy the work and feel fulfilled? What is it you think Big 4 can offer that you aren’t getting at your current firm?

If I were you, I would wait it out, gain additional experience, keep those Big 4 contacts and try to make the jump when you have a little more leverage. The more secure you get in your skill set, the better equipped you’ll be to leverage that experience into a more ideal gig with a Big 4 instead of starting at bottom a level above the clueless interns.

I would also have a candid conversation with whomever you’ve been speaking to at the Big 4 about your concerns. Don’t come off as a money-grubbing, work-averse dick but definitely express an interest in being involved with work on par with what you’ve been doing with your firm, not taking a step back. Feel free to embellish whatever paperwork you’ve been assembling up until this point into a full-blown PCAOB-compliant masterpiece.

I’m sure any number of mid-tier grunts who read this site religiously can talk you out of making the jump, and for good reason, while others will tell you to jump now and worry about how quick you ascend the Big 4 ladder later. A smaller firm allows you a better chance at truly learning your trade instead of simply going through the motions and checking boxes; think of mid-tier as stripping at the pole as opposed to mopping up the floors. You probably won’t put stripping at the pole on your resume but you’ll be gaining practical experience you can segue into a better opportunity.

I’m not clear on the opportunity you’re after here. Can you clarify?

What to Do If You’re Stumped on One Section of the CPA Exam

I’m assuming not all of you are going to have great news as CPA exam scores trickle out, so maybe the following reader question can help you, too.

Adrienne,

Hi I’m looking for some advice regarding the Audit section. I have passed FAR, BEC, and Regulation thus far. However, I can’t wrap my brain around auditing.

The first time I took audit I got a 73 and I felt like I did not know any of the material. This was with three weeks of studying with Becker.

The second time I took audit, I got a 71 and I felt like I knew everything. This was with one month of studying with Becker and the computer Becker Final Review.

I just started working and I’m trying to determine the correct approach for studying audit again. I feel that it would be a waste to watch all of the Becker videos again unless I’m just absolutely confused on a section.

I plan on purchasing another study tool for more problems, etc, but I’m not sure which one to buy. I’m torn between the Gleim, Wiley, and Yaeger CRAM. The reasoning I have to purchase another tool is that I have a familiarity with the Becker questions already since I have tried them all twice.

Do you have any advice?

I absolutely have some advice, having seen a good chunk of our CPA review students go through this for a variety of reasons, none of which was related to the quality of the material or even the material itself.

Audit, of all the sections, can sometimes be the one that requires your brain to be the most bulimic (meaning learn it and barf it out at Prometric), mostly if you have no educational experience in that area and no affinity for the material covered. Auditors are – as we all know – unique, so it requires a different sort of thinking to truly thrive in that area.

You have the right idea. If you score between 70 – 74 (especially twice), you already have an excellent command of the information, so watching lectures you’ve already watched is a waste of time and won’t help you understand the concepts any better unless, as you said, you’re really lost on a particular part. You’re also doing the right thing by considering a supplement that will provide you with new problems, as memorization is not only a waste of time but also a detriment on exam day.

I have heard good things about Gleim’s MCQ, and some have had success using those alone. Since you already have the foundation of a full review, a cram is also a good option. But keep in mind crams involve videos and I don’t think it’s the basics you’re struggling with, it’s the tedious details. Crams usually cover the most heavily-tested material, which is probably not your issue at all.

Your best bet at this point will probably be to do as many practice questions as you can leading up to your exam retake. You have hopefully scheduled it soon while the information is still fresh in your mind.

I leave it to our readers who have undoubtedly been in a situation similar to yours to take it from here and tell you which they used to get over the hump as it were. Good luck!

KPMG Is Going to Buy Itself Some Indentured Servants in the UK

There’s nothing like buying your loyalty. I’m not saying Big 87654 programs like this aren’t somewhat good for the morale and worth the firms’ dime(s) not just to buy loyal servants but also to help prepare future capital market servants in general but it’s sort of a scam. Sometimes, these education programs don’t work out and the slaves revolt, as happened with this young man in an undisclosed market somewhere in a state that ends in tts.

Anyway, KPMG wants to recruit a whole bunch of 18 year-olds into its work/school program (across the pond they call this a “scheme,” which makes it exponentially more funny) by next September. The House of Klynveld will pay these kids’ tuition fees and pay them a whopping starting salary of £20,000 ($31,460 in Fed Funny Money).

Here’s a brief and completely related link to an article on indentured servitude: “Servants typically worked four to seven years in exchange for passage, room, board, lodging and freedom dues. While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn’t slavery. There were laws that protected some of their rights.”

Sound at all familiar?


According to The Telegraph, the course opens its doors to 90 students for the first time this month, with two-thirds of entrants coming from state schools or colleges, compared with around half from the traditional graduate entry route.

More than 1,000 would-be ex-KPMGers applied for the program, and that number is expected to rise year over year. They say that’s because tuition is up to £9000 a year (about $14,153 but there’s a Fed meeting fast approaching, that number is subject to change) but my guess is mediocre performers need jobs and accounting isn’t that bad of a gig for some of them. I’d also guess that a few of these program “graduates” actually go on to have successful careers.

If you remember, one former participant of a similar program once (allegedly but eloquently) wrote to his former colleagues “I’m pretty sure it would have been easier to escape from Auschwitz than a YMP contract. I knew from the second week I start here that this wasn’t going to work out.” Ernst & Young’s Your Master Plan nurtured one hell of a profanity-laced, poetic farewell email, a true testament to its power. One requirement for the program was advanced written and verbal communication skills… it’s a wonder Uncle Ernie didn’t call Craig immediately and ask him to come back with a fat raise.

Anyway, the head of audit at KPMG told the Telegraph “At a time when many young people, graduates included, are finding it difficult to gain employment, this programme represents a credible alternative to mainstream university education and provides an attractive route into employment for talented students.”

I highly – and I mean highly – recommended checking out the comments on the Telegraph article, as it finally identifies the link between public accounting and anal rape that we have been trying to pinpoint for years. It’s the one that starts off with “If you work at a large accounting firm, beware, it is perfectly acceptable for the large accounting firm to tell massive lies about you such that you will be butt raped repeatedly…” You can’t miss it.

NASBA To Launch “All New” CPA Exam Tool

Remember the guy who told NASBA its website looked like it had been hacked by the 1990s, given its design a rating of “Corey Feldman with a crayon” on a scale of Caveman to Picasso? Ouch.

Obviously NASBA listened to this and other criticism, as they’ve since updated their website from the drab, Geocities-esque throwback to a slightly slicker, more modern design. Hats off to them for that bold decision.

And now, they’ve promised to make CPA exam candidates’ experience with the NASBA website more streamlined, easy to follow and organized. CPA exam candidates already got this email from NASBA last week but if you are not a current candidate or in the habit of ignoring NASBA emails because you aren’t interested in exclusive CPE deals, read on:

NASBA is excited to announce the upcoming launch of the new Uniform CPA Examination Online Application System. Through this new system, at cpacentral.nasba.org, candidates will not only be able to apply online to take the CPA Examination, but also access application information including status and payment history, import prior application data and even view examination scores.

Upon first visit to the site, users will create an online account with a unique username and password. This includes anyone who has previously applied for the exam via the old online application process or through the mail. Creating an online account will give users more freedom to access exam information, thereby improving the experience throughout the process of becoming a Certified Public Accountant.

Don’t try to click on the link, it isn’t ready yet, but will be available Wednesday according to NASBA. The new system is only available to candidates in any of the 32 jurisdictions served by NASBA, so California candidates can go back to lounging at the dispensary and relaxing by the beach.

So… uhh… how exactly is this any different from clicking on the “EXAMS” tab and following the prompts to access the information or applications you need? We aren’t really sure. Presumably, the difference will be that you will have one central account to log into, versus menus to navigate on the current page. But most of you (even those of you that aren’t considered the brightest crayons in the box) can figure out how to get what you need from NASBA’s website as is, especially after a few exam sections.

We’ll go check it out when it goes live later this week but probably won’t have anything new to report unless it’s a really slow news day.

Is Pulling a No-Show a Good Move If You’re Completely Unprepared for the CPA Exam?

Do you guys ever read Yahoo! Answers? It’s awesome. Especially the posts that revolve around asking the Internet at large if the asker could be pregnant based on some risky behavior like, say, hanging out topless in a hot tub with a guy with a boner.

But useless drivel aside, sometimes good questions are asked. Given that it’s CPA exam score time once again and some of you who got bad news might not feel like talking about scores, I wanted to share this with you all and see what you think instead of discussing that.


Way back in my CPA review days, when asked this question by our students, I’d almost always tell them to go anyway. Even if you aren’t prepared, you’ve already spent the money on your exam and aren’t getting it back so why not go so you can at least get familiar with the questions?

Here’s the question:

I am scheduled to take the auditing section of the CPA exam tomorrow morning. Problem is, I haven’t studied at all. I also am now in private accounting, but still would like the certification. I have passed one already. I can’t reschedule the test because my Notice to Schedule expires next week.

So I was curious… the money I spent (about $200) is non-refundable- fine. It’s my fault for not studying. But canceling it altogether is $35. My question is, why would I cancel? Can I just not go? I realize going and failing would go on the record, but at least I could see how it is. So I have three options.

First of all, to what “record” is this person referring? I know some of you who have tried and failed over EIGHTEEN times. After the 7th or 8th time, most people learn to keep their mouth shut at work when they are headed to Prometric once again (though all those “personal days” can get a bit suspect), and by the 17th or 18th they have gotten so good at the action of sitting for the exam they actually pass. Your firm doesn’t keep a permanent file with your numerous exam failures in it, though your cattier colleagues might keep a mental one so they have some bullshit to hold over you next time they’re trying to outshine you in front of the partner. Big deal.

Anyway – what’s the benefit of paying more for a no-show over just not going? Assuming you’ve got some time left on your NTS, you will not have to reapply for a new one to take that section. We think. Check out this thread on the Another71 forums for more info on that option, plus yet more commentary on the confusing labyrinth that is dealing with the CPA exam authorities.

Apparently, if you no show, NASBA will allow you to re-apply for a new NTS within 48 hours of your no show exam (see this thread, also from Another71), which could work in your favor if your NTS is going to expire at the beginning of the window but your first passing exam expires at the end and you need the extra time to study.

Your best bet in this situation is to cram in a few days of as much studying as you can and just go. Granted, cramming is pretty useless when it comes to the CPA exam but you never know.

Anyone taken either of these paths? Better yet, has anyone shown up for the exam completely unprepared and actually passed?

Yahoo! Exaggerates Accounting Degree’s Hotness

Check out Yahoo! on in-demand degrees, some of you might recognize #3:

Degree #3 – Bachelor’s in Accounting

The curriculum in this hot degree could prepare grads to pursue number-crunching accountant career opportunities. Courses generally cover basic accounting concepts, preparing financial statements, and research of real-life cases, according to the College Board.

Hot Factor: The numbers don’t lie. The Department of Labor projects 22 percent growth in accounting careers between 2008 and 2018. Career opportunities can include everything from working for companies or individual clients, according to the Department, which notes that the averageccountants was $68,960 in May 2010.

Click to Find the Right Accounting Program

If you follow the link to “the right accounting program,” it will take you to an email form so you can be mailed great educational matches for you, apparently.

It appears Yahoo! ran almost the same accounting advertisement before, calling accounting the #2 career built to last, with an average salary earning potential of $67,430.

The BLS says this of accounting’s unusual makeup in its report (keep in mind it was published in May of 2009):

Although accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services employed a relatively small percentage of all bookkeeping clerks, this was the second largest occupation in the accounting services industry, representing about 11.4 percent of industry employment. (See table 6.) Accountants and auditors was by far the largest occupation in the industry, with 286,110 jobs making up about one-third of industry employment. Tax preparers was the third largest occupation in accounting services, with employment of 61,160. Most of the other large occupations in this industry were office and administrative support occupations.

In that same report, the median salary for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks was $33,800. Maybe I am reading the statistics wrong but knowing a career has “an average salary earning potential of $67,430” is not the same as hearing that the national average for that career is $33,800. Yes, where you live matters. Yes, your lifetime earning potential is influenced by lots of factors that make you notably non-average, like how hard you try, what skills you pick up along the way, how good you are at playing the game…

Anyway, here’s a snip from the report to see how it all pans out:

I still don’t see how those numbers work out to this being a reason those who are desperate to work should pile into this career option.

Yes, if you are a money-hungry, elite accounting program prick (I’m not berating you, in fact I’m in love with a lot of you, your ruthlessness is hot), you will probably come out of the gate making those $33,800 losers fetch your coffee but average is just that, average.

I find it sort of reckless on the part of Yahoo! to post numbers like this without the context of actual prospects in accounting and the caliber of individual needed to thrive in the sort of environment accounting provides. I say “caliber” with the most seriousness I can muster, I assure you.

NASBA Takes the Guesswork Out of Reciprocity with Its Accounting License Library

While most of you are either in the process of getting licensed as a CPA or perfectly content to stick around in the state in which you are already licensed, NASBA reminds everyone that those of you with licenses in different states should not simply let them expire now that mobility (mostly) allows you to hold one license but work in multiple states.


From the NASBA blog (which I didn’t even know existed until now):

Mobility has meant that many CPAs no longer need to keep an active license in a state in order to practice there. But even if the license is no longer needed, there’s more involved than just letting it expire. If you don’t file the proper paperwork to let the board know that you’re voluntarily relinquishing that license, you could face disciplinary action. Without communication from you, the board may assume that you’ve allowed your license to lapse.

The distinction between reciprocity and mobility is an important one, which is why NASBA is enhancing ALL in this regard. If your work in a state were likely to be short-term, then the state’s mobility guidelines would likely cover you for the project’s duration. But if you are licensed in one state and plan to relocate to another, then you’ll need a secondary or reciprocal license from that state’s board. Most states, even with mobility, are requesting that CPAs obtain reciprocal licenses if they are making such a permanent move. Either way, if you find yourself with redundant licenses, ALL can help you relinquish them properly.

Now, NASBA wants to use their Accountancy Licensing Library tool to figure out the rules in your state for relinquishing your license, which is fine. But you can also check with your state board directly for rules on this.

Keep in mind if you relinquish your license in any state you may have to re-apply and retake the exam all over again, assuming you somehow also relinquish your other licenses in other states and have no license to transfer to that state. But who is going to do that?!

The key word here is redundancy. In this day and age, it no longer makes sense to carry multiple licenses, even if your work means you need practice privilege in states other than your own.

This Trick *May* Give CPA Candidates a Sneak Peek at Whether They Passed the Final Section of Their Exam

Maybe we shouldn’t publish this, lest TPTB catch on and close this loophole but as it’s soon to be CPA exam score release season, we figured it might be helpful to share this little trick to get your score early.


Note, word is it only works if you are on your last section and testing in a NASBA state. It doesn’t work all the time and will really only give you your score a day or so earlier than you would have actually received it from your state.

So if you’re waiting for a score now, don’t bother, it doesn’t work until the AICPA releases scores to NASBA, which is supposed to be within a 7-10 day period beginning the third week of September for this quarter.

To try it, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to the CPA exam section of NASBA’s website and select Ohio regardless of which state you are testing in.

2. Choose Apply Now under the “Re-applying for the Uniform CPA Examination” tab.

3. You will be asked if you have an Ohio jurisdiction ID. Choose no and it will ask you if you have a Social Security number. Choose yes.

4. Follow the rest of the prompts, plug in the information it asks you for and if you get the following message, congratulations, the loophole worked and you passed:

We are sorry. Our system shows that you have already passed all parts of the Uniform CPA Examination. If you have questions, please call your Coordinator at the number given below. Please call the number below.

800-CPA-EXAM
615-880-4250

Some have stated that the loophole also works if you’ve failed. If you get in and see the exam section you are checking on not grayed out, that means it’s allowing you to get a new NTS which obviously means you did not pass.

Bottom line: maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. If you’re driving yourself insane refreshing your score page waiting for an answer, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try at the end of the month but you’re really only getting the news a few hours earlier than you would have if you just waited.

Is the AICPA Allowing Duplicate Questions to Slip into the CPA Exam?

According to one CPAnet forum user, they are. Here’s the note the candidate wrote to the AICPA:

I recently took FAR and noticed I got the same question more than once (exact same question and answer choices) in different testlets. The same instance happened in prior exams last quarter as well, more noticeably in the new content areas outlined in the CSO’s (i.e. duplicated IFRS questions/answers). According to other candidates who’ve taken the exam this year, they have been getting duplicate questions also, sometimes several duplicated questions. Are these duplicates graded and weighted equally, or is one thrown out since it’s a duplicate? It doesn’t seem fair if they are both graded and weighted if you get the question wrong, but could be great if you got them right (essentially getting a free pass on the repeated question since you knew the answer). If both are graded it could ‘jip’ the candidate out of a passing score if they were close to 75 because an alternate question wasn’t asked in place of the duplicate. I’d appreciate any guidance you can give me and perhaps post this situation in the FAQ area since I know multiple candidates have had the same anomaly during their exams.

And here is the AICPA’s response:

You stated that you received the same question more than once. Similar questions may be in the test; however, they are not identical. We have special coding and technology controls in place to ensure that questions are not repeated within a testlet. [Off topic bit about pretest questions that has nothing to do with this candidate’s issue removed]

The candidate went on to take issue with the AICPA’s use of “testlet,” insisting that repeat questions did not appear within the same testlet but within the same exam.

While the AICPA has agreed to look into this candidate’s issue, unfortunately there is no way for him (or her) to review his exam and confirm his suspicions. I’m assuming here that the candidate has not yet received his score for FAR, and even if he did, he would have two options: score and review appeal.

A score review is a waste of money that almost never results in a changed score, and involves an automated process that essentially confirms exam quality control procedures. Since the advent of the computerized exam in 2004, less than 1 percent of score reviews have changed a failing score in a candidate’s favor.

The second option, an appeal, could be completely useless or incredibly insightful, depending on how the candidate answered the questions he feels were duplicates. An appeal is a slightly more involved process but would allow the candidate to view the multiple choice test questions or objective simulation problems that he answered incorrectly together with his responses. Appeals are not available in all jurisdictions.

For all the time and effort the AICPA puts into administering the CPA exam, I’m going to guess that the candidate mistakenly believed very (read: VERY) similar questions to be exactly the same. Anyone studying for the exam knows that just one word can change a question completely.

AICPA Outlook Survey: This Double-Dip Recession Just May Be Happening

Just in time for President Obama’s jobs conversation to a joint session of Congress, the AICPA has released its latest quarterly economic outlook survey results. Long story short: sentiments aren’t high among financial professionals surveyed.


The outlook for the U.S. economy turned negative in the third quarter for the first time since 2009 as prospects for recovery waned and concerns about a second recession rose, according to the latest AICPA Economic Outlook Survey of Chief Financial Officers, Controllers and CPAs in executive and senior management accounting roles.

The CPA Outlook Index, a broad-based composite index that captures the expectations of CPA financial executives and management accountants, declined 8 points to 58 this quarter, down from 66 in the prior period. The survey, conducted in August, tallied 1,305 qualified responses from CPAs who hold leadership positions, such as chief financial officers or controllers in their companies.

“For the second consecutive quarter, the CPA Outlook Index declined as turbulence in the political and economic environment eroded the sense earlier this year that a recovery was taking hold,” said Carol Scott, AICPA vice president for business, industry and government. “A majority of our CPA members in executive financial roles now fear a second recession may be likely.”

The decline in the CPA Outlook Index was fueled by a sharp drop in sentiment about the U.S. economy.

A whopping 61 percent majority of respondents said they think it is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” the U.S. will fall into a double-dip recession. Only 9 percent of CPAs serving in executive positions expressed optimism about the U.S. economy in the third quarter, down 24 percentage points from 33 percent who were optimistic in the second quarter.

It is reasonable to point out here that though the CPA Outlook Index turned negative this quarter, it is still above the 4-year low of 32 in the first quarter of 2009.

U.S. economy optimism plummeted a whopping 28 points from 53 to 25. Of the major index components, none changed positively quarter-over-quarter for 2011.

While the outlook for respondents’ own organizations is not as rosy as it was earlier this year, it has not dropped as sharply as the outlook for the US economy. Optimists also still outnumber pessimists, with 41% of the CPA decision-makers indicating that they are optimistic about the outlook for their own organizations over the next 12 months, while only 21% are pessimistic. Expectation for expansion also dropped again this quarter but a majority of respondents (53%) still expect to expand at least somewhat in the next 12 months. This is down from 61% who expected expansion last quarter.

Executive summary of the survey results can be found here.