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.
Wait, is this saying that 60% of the candidates that took their CPA exams in WA, were international candidates?
Or that 60% of the CPAs minted in the great state of WA were for international candidates taking the CPA outside of the US?
The latter is concerning, the former is concerning but not to the extent of the latter.
https://x.com/PSBJ/status/2024299218194604174
“The Washington State Board of Accountancy issued its most licenses ever in 2025. Only a quarter of the new licensees, however, lived in Washington.”
Wtf is TBTB
TPTB = The Powers That Be aka the people who have the most influence and make the decisions.
Boomers in this “profession”, looking at you big Four and mid-tier firms, and their crony politicians are destroying the CPA profession. Globalization has been and will always be a negative factor for Americans. Everything under the sun will or is in process of getting outsourced. Where is all the protests and anger from the AICPA over this?!?
[Editor note: I had to remove your last sentence, sorry. Message me if you want to brainstorm a way to say what you wanted to say that won’t get us nasty emails from the AICPA and/or their lawyers about it. I hear you though! ~Adrienne]
“Where is all the protests and anger from the AICPA over this?!?”
Why do you think the AICPA went global? They are getting dues money from all over the world, so they don’t care where their members live.
Remember, they are now the Association of International… no longer the American Institute
Internationally, having your CPA can be a huge career boost within your own company, and it doesn’t necessarily mean competition with U.S. CPAs – this is partly because the profession has historically done a great job of promoting its values and maintaining a strong reputation. WA has historically had positive business ties overseas, plus their changing CPA eligibility rules make it easier for work-experienced candidates to apply with just a 4-year degree; thus, part of this is the natural combination of those two (it could be any other state with the same factors). Even if not true in every case, this appears to be more a symptom than the problem. U.S. CPA counts are shrinking, no? The work’s gotta get done somehow – the SEC and IRS ain’t gonna wait. With tech expanding the geographic pool of service providers, the ol’ supply/demand curve marches on. Maybe U.S. firms should take a hard look internally as to why their local workforce is shrinking due to a decrease in market entrants and what they can tangibly do about it (i.e. challenge longstanding norms, and *gasp* perhaps put less money in the owners’ pockets just because they suffered through a crappy business model and deserve to be paid to keep it going).
Why can’t we just pay CPA’s more??? Like u gotta increase to at least 6 figures if you want people to go through the hard process of getting the job. I was considering CPA but was hesitant because they get paid as much as a mcdonalds manager and work longer hours
Putting $$ in the owners pockets is all the large firms care about. They could have taken action to address the accountant shortage years ago. We can wonder about whether the shortage was created purposefully or not but offshoring work absolutely benefits large firm owners financially.
“Should We Be Concerned?” No.
Washington is one of the few states that does require residency or a social security number to get your CPA license. A little context goes a long way…
This is beyond shameful, and grassroots CPAs need to demand action from the fat cats at the AICPA. The townhalls have turned into nothing more than a circle jerk of all that is wrong with this profession…
This is disheartening. I am studying for my CPA and there’s already so much competition from offshoring. It makes you really wonder if its worth it if they’re just going to give the job to someone who will work for half the pay.
Having a defeatist attitude and blaming offshoring might be popular among the associates happy hour events but it will not help your career. It blows my mind how so many on this site are afraid of competition.