Kooky Idea of the Day: CPA Exam Sections Should Never Expire

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez
Unexpired Time on an old parking meter

Man, CPA candidates these days are wild. BaCk iN mY dAy you got 18 months and had only eight months a year to test AND YOU LIKED IT. (OK not really.)

Get a load of this hot take on r/CPA:

Text:

Exam expiration – Hot Take?

This might be a hot take, but I don’t think a passed exam should ever expire. We’re required to take four separate exams, each of which is challenging on its own, so if you pass one, that accomplishment should stand. Idk, just seems like another thing we have to worry about on top of either working full time or working our life away in public accounting.

The whole thread is actually a pretty good read. Except this one that appears to be posted without the faintest hint of sarcasm:

Alright old timers, now’s your chance to rag on the children.

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8 thoughts on “Kooky Idea of the Day: CPA Exam Sections Should Never Expire”

  1. Here’s a kooky idea! Pass all parts of the CPA exam within the allotted period of time! We must protect the public interest and not protect the interest of those who do not exert enough effort to study for the exam.

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    1. Bruh…you seem like someone who is a fun time. You still writing all your entries down using paper and pencil?

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      1. Bruh…is that the replacement of the old slang “homey”? Anyway, if you can’t pass all parts within 30 months you have no business being a CPA. Part of having the CPA license is DEDICATION.

        Go ahead….Bruh, throw out some more four letter words. Here’s a four letter word for you…WORK!

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      2. You are a complete pussy. Go whine to your therapist that passing the exam is good for. 2 1/2 years. Maybe a Gofundme can help buy you some IQ points.

        Complain about regulation, but don’t complain about an exam that a moron can pass.

    2. Yes I once passed all parts of the CPA exam at the same time, way back in 1996.
      Took me another ten years to get the experience requirement.

  2. Time limits on the testing of content is part of the way to test the mastery of said content. It’s not the only indicator but it is still a powerful indicator of mastery. Honestly, the fact that you can test each of the sections separately as opposed to the entire content over 2 days makes the current system more than reasonable in order to ensure mastery. I became a CPA under the 2-day regime but I will be the first to say that it was unnecessarily rough and nothing more than a barrier to entry. The current system seems fair to ensure mastery of the content and to ensure the credibility of the CPA credential.

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  3. I have conflicting feelings about this one.

    Against:

    I do not think we should ease the standards because there are whole cohorts of people who worked themselves to the breaking point to pass these exams while working at the Big4.

    Their performance at work wasn’t given a break because they were studying, while those that choose to ignore the exam weren’t judged either. So this only benefits those that never focused on the exams and choose to focus on work to only keep kicking the can down the road…which lead to expectations being raised for everyone.

    It also tells you what people thought of the certification at the Big4, it was a cursory certification and not something taken seriously. It also just shows you how much emphasize has been placed on increasing revenue versus actually protecting the public or providing the client value for something a lot of the company see as a burden/cost to do business.

    For:

    I think the time limit is dumb, it does benefit you to pass all the sections as quickly as possible because all the sections tie together in some ways. But I also realize it’s unrealistic for most people nowadays to devote so much time to a certification that seems cursory in a lot of ways.

    Meaning I am sympathetic to those not in the Big4 with a lot of responsibilities; whether its kids, elderly partners, or just life in general. Those are the people I think we shouldn’t penalize with a time limit. It’s just dumb to be honest and we are losing out on a lot of talent.

    Conclusion:

    I think because we cannot exempt people properly, the deadlines should just stay.

    I’m more worried about giving those in the Big4 a pass because of the impact they have on the broader business community. I’m also saying this as someone who had a lot of personal obligations that impacted my early career at the Big4 where I made massive sacrifices to pass the CPA sections along with performing.

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