
What Would You Like to See Tested on the CPA Exam?
With the completely redesigned CPA exam only 514 days away, there’s been a lot of discussion around the proposed Blueprints and questions about whether or not this content aligns with CPA Evolution’s stated goal of maintaining the relevance of the CPA credential. That is as yet an open-ended discussion but in the meantime, saw this […]

CPA Exam Pass Rates For 2019 Are Off to an Excellent Start
Whenever big CPA exam changes hit, some folks rush and try to get it done before the changes take effect. We saw this in 2010 with the pending implementation of CBT-e, a revamped “version” of the CPA exam that served little-to-no purpose other than getting CPA exam candidates worked up like a pack of untrained […]

REG Changes Are Coming Right After Santa; Here’s What CPA Exam Candidates Need to Know
Do you remember December 2017? You know, back when “The Last Jedi” premiered (RIP, Carrie Fisher) and BTS was blowing up Twitter (“Mic Drop”)? Yeah, me neither. But one important event happened in December 2017: the signing of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law. This new tax law was last year’s early Christmas present […]

Let’s Figure Out How This Person Bombed the CPA Exam More Spectacularly Than Any CPA Exam Bomb in History
Ed. note: an earlier version of this article contained the name of a review course the poster claimed to have used. As this information has not been verified and is not relevant to the issue at hand, it has been removed. Spotted this on Reddit this morning, and like /r/accounting I’m wondering how this is […]
Apparently a Few CPA Exams Were Incorrectly Graded as Failing When In Fact They Passed
Jeff at Another71 is reporting that his forums were abuzz over the weekend with word that some candidates who took FAR and REG exams in 2011 and 2012 were told they failed when they actually passed. This is huge and Jeff says it has been confirmed: This isn’t a hoax. Another71.com has confirmed that this […]
Breaking: That Confusing Simulation Question on the CPA Exam Is Meant to Be Confusing
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away? Email the website where no one knows your name. You want to be where you can see, our troubles are all the same. Team, I took […]
BREAKING: Young Woman That Sits Next to Some Bored Person Just Found Out That She Passed REG Section of CPA Exam
Someone who's a little short on billable work felt compelled to share this with us on the tip line: The girl who sits next to me just got her REG score and passed. Of course there could be any number of reasons that this person would share this news with us. Among them: 1) In […]
AICPA Has Released REG Scores to NASBA for the Jan/Feb Testing Window
It’s been two days since they released FAR so at this rate, all scores should be out by Tuesday. Who wants to bet unforeseen circumstances delay BEC a tad longer? Just a guess.
Anyhoo, you’ve waited weeks (or months) for ’em, here they are.
All 32 CPAES states should have scores posted online within 24 hours (though preliminary candidate feedback is that this process is faster than it used to be). The only CPAES states which may take 24-48 hours to release online are Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska & Puerto Rico. Check with your state board of accountancy if you are in a non-CPAES state.
Three Ways the CPA Exam Could Change in the Near Future
If you’ve been trying to pass BEC since the CPA exam went computerized in 2004 (you can laugh all you want, I know a few people…), rejoice! The AICPA, NASBA, and Prometric have committed to another 10 year contract to administer and oversee the computerized CPA exam in 55 US jurisdictions.
“This 10-year extension of the exam contract from 2014 to 2024 continues the close and highly successful collaboration of the three organizations in the delivery of the computer-based examination for the past six years,” said Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. “The CPA exam is the gateway to the accounting profession and under this arrangement we have seen the exam improve and grow. About 93,000 candidates took the examination in 2009 – a record.”
Now we imagine it must have been editorial privilege to leave out the actual passrates of those 93,000 2009 CPA exam candidates and we’ll not wildly speculate that the record is a direct result of threats that the exam will be jam-packed with IFRS come 2011.
What will the CPA exam of 2024 look like? Obviously no one knows but looking at the evolution of exam content since 2004, we can take a stab at guessing.
• BEC will be a big priority – As we move from two simulations in FAR, AUD, and REG to 6 “simlets” (smaller, unrelated simulation problems) with communications being moved to BEC, I imagine it will be a big priority for the AICPA. It’s been notoriously “random” and filled with the bits and pieces that the AICPA couldn’t seem to make relevant in other CPA exam sections; the junk drawer of the exam, as it were.
• IFRS – A lot is riding on implementation of IFRS questions (anyone volunteered to write those yet? I think the AICPA is still patiently waiting for help).
• Scoring discussions planned after the first two quarters of 2011 – In other words: if you guys do well, the AICPA might leave it alone. Bomb and they might have to consider grading on a curve, invalidating that whole psychometric testing thing they’ve got going now.
Good luck with that. Really.
CPA Examination Contract Renewed in the U.S. Through 2024 [Press Release]