Wow Prometric Really Sucks Now

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez
a long line of people

Do you guys remember back in 2023 when someone claiming to be a Prometric insider warned r/CPA about ‘chaos and hell’ behind the scenes? Let’s save you a click and revisit what they wrote:

If you’re scheduled to test with Prometric, may the odds be ever in your favor.

Soon to be ex-proctor here. Just a heads up on the chaos and hell going on behind the scenes. Prometric got a new CEO a couple of months ago and he has gone scorched earth with cost cutting. “Low revenue” test sites (like mine) are being closed. And they have eliminated over 75 center manager positions effective April 19th.

What does this mean for you as a test taker? Well, be prepared for sporadic center closures. It has already happened in a few centers ( Wilkes Barre, PA and Sarasota, FL I know of for sure). Also, less than motivated staff taking care of your exam. I’m doing my best personally to hold it together. But it is quite stressful not knowing what the next day brings.

It stinks because it was a nice job to pick up during the pandemic. If you’re a manager whose position is being eliminated, your choices are to stay on as a proctor with a pay cut or take a severance. I was offered a position at either one of 2 centers almost an hour from my home. I instead chose to take the severance. Thankfully I have gig work to fall back on.

I hope CPA has other companies to test with. It’s going to get worse before it gets worse at Prometric.

As I said in that post, “it’s going to get worse before it gets worse” is an awesome phrase. And more relevant to the profession than ever now.

Well we’re back in r/CPA today with a field report from a CPA candidate in Oregon who showed a line of people waiting to get into their 8 am exams:

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OP states the SE Portland center is mere minutes from their house however that one closed so we should say “was” mere minutes from their house.

Checking out the comments, we see a few other reports confirming closures and long waits:

  • So this is an issue in other areas as well!? My testing site, as much as they try, has become far too overwhelmed and I just come to expect that my 7:45 arrival will be met with a 30-40 minute wait!
  • Yeah, there was a testing center that was very close to my house but it was shut down due to “lack of demand” but every time I go to the new place there is never an empty chair.

To be fair, we also see plenty of people in the comments who say they’ve breezed through check in and have no complaints.

Doing a quick search, we find an article from late 2024 about Prometric seeking a sale to private equity.

Prometric, an assessment and testing company focused on higher education, is preparing to come to market, said three sources familiar with the matter.

Two of the sources said the company generates about USD 150m of EBITDA, while the third source said EBITDA is between USD 150m and USD 160m. The sources were not certain if a bank has been named to advise. One of the sources said the timing for a launch is likely to be three to six months from now.

*checks calendar*

It’s worth noting here that Prometric was already sold to private equity in 2018 when it was purchased by Baring Private Equity Asia. A firm called EQT merged with BPEA in 2022, as far as we can tell EQT still holds Prometric in its portfolio. So it suddenly makes sense if Prometric is aggressively offloading “low demand” testing centers in the interest of making it more attractive to another firm should EQT want to get rid of it, candidates be damned.

Yeah, it’s gonna get worse before it gets worse.

Related Posts

Starting Today, Prometric Will Pull Out the Metal Detector

Prometric is only one step away from TSA at this rate, next thing you’ll likely have to submit to backscatter body scanners. 95 year-old CPA exam candidates will have to remove their Depends, while younger candidates will have to accept getting groped by Prometric staff. Awesome, isn’t it? Aren’t you guys thrilled you chose the most trustworthy occupation on the planet besides Hollywood madam?

Thanks to the many (and I mean many) tipsters who sent us the following email which was sent out to all CPA exam candidates on Wednesday:

Prometric is committed to a strong, secure, testing environment for the CPA Examination and for all candidates visiting one of its test centers. Over the past few years, Prometric has made several significant investments to further strengthen security in its test centers, including a global roll-out of digital video recorders and enhancements to biometrics at the centers. This communication is to advise you that there is a new security enhancement being introduced into Prometric centers this week.

Starting July 1, Prometric Test Center Administrators (TCAs) will be using hand-held metal detector wands to scan all candidates in the Test Centers in the United States and Territories. All candidates will be scanned prior to each entry into the test room, including returns from breaks. Candidates will still be required to turn their pockets out, and the scan will be done immediately afterward. The purpose of the wand scan is to take an additional step in identifying any prohibited items that a candidate is attempting to take into the testing room.

Prometric’s Security Department conducted a pilot of this program in 2010 using the wands for a period of five months. Approximately 60,000 candidates were scanned during that time. Ultimately, the wand was found to be a strong deterrent and operationally effective. Based on the results of the pilot, Prometric has decided to move forward with this program and has deployed hand-held metal detectors to all U.S. Test Centers.

In addition to this message, information about wanding has been added to Prometric’s standard Test Center Regulations Form. This form is posted on Prometric’s website and is given to all candidates to read prior to check-in.

The scan will be done in full view of the TCA DVR camera so it will be recorded, and any candidate complaints or escalations can be properly investigated. All candidates will be required to submit to the scans. Any candidates refusing to be scanned will not be permitted to test. Please rest assured that the metal detectors do not affect pregnancies, pacemakers, or other medical equipment that’s connected to the body.

This small change will help to make our test even more secure, and further protect the integrity of our exams.

I wonder how much this has to do with the candidate in Illinois caught “cheating” (we still don’t know what exactly he or she was busted doing, be that using a crib sheet or actually trying to smuggle out exam content).

We checked the Test Center Regulations and still don’t see any mention of metal detectors (or bodyscanners).

6 thoughts on “Wow Prometric Really Sucks Now”

  1. A 47 minute wait? Cry me a river. That’s not a hardship. These young generations love their “whine” with their cheese. The days of woke DEI initiatives are over. These kiddos can now choose between work and welfare.

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    2. A 47 min wait to check in is not a “hardship” but it’s also not a good look for a profession that is struggling to get people to actually take the CPA exam.

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      1. My candidate coworkers now have to drive 2 hours each way for a 4 hour exam. Seating is so limited due to them closing all but one testing site in our large metropolitan area, they will have to drive 4 hours away (EACH WAY!) if they end up needing to switch test dates. This is a hardship, bro.

  2. I took the CPA exam at Prometric many years ago. I can say that it sucked back then too.

    The AICPA should do something about this, but they won’t. The leadership is too busy trying to squeeze every last drop of blood out of the turnip before AI kills off the profession.

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