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Puerto Rico (PR) is among the US jurisdictions with the lowest passing rates on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), 2016, 2017). No prior studies have addressed this issue. To fill this gap, the authors conducted a survey among candidates to examine the factors perceived as challenges on the exam. The authors also studied the relationship between respondents’ individual, educational, and CPA exam-related characteristics and the likelihood of success on the exam. Results reveal there are three factors perceived by respondents as their main challenges: level of technical difficulty, cost of the exam, and not enough time to study for the exam. Additional analysis indicates that age, major Grade Point Average, weekly study hours, and the time interval between graduation and the first attempt at the exam are significant factors that affect the passing rates on the exam. These findings suggest that a combination of individual, educational, and exam-related factors affect Puerto Rican candidates’ results on the exam. The socioeconomic background of PR may heighten the impact of such factors. Considering that the accounting profession is always adapting to the evolutionary demands of the business environment, these results may contribute to the development of adequate measures in support of Puerto Rican and other minorities with diverse backgrounds.

To explore the effects of circadian rhythms on mental performance in the context of the high-stakes CPA exam and to give exam candidates and practitioners insights about ways to better align rigorous mental tasks with the timing of peak mental performance.

Empirical methodology using data on CPA exam candidate characteristics and performance.

We provide evidence consistent with the belief that circadian rhythms affect CPA exam performance. After controlling for other performance factors, we document lower CPA exam scores and pass rates for those exams begun in the early workday hours or in the afternoon, relative to those exams begun in the late morning.

As is typical with empirical methodology, our findings may be due to factors/variables other than those under consideration.

Insights regarding circadian rhythms can potentially be used to better align rigorous mental tasks with the timing of peak mental performance, thereby yielding better performance by the CPA profession.

Among the goals of the CPA profession is the protection of the public. Thus, improved performance by the CPA profession can yield benefits to society at large.

To our knowledge, ours is the first study to explore the possible effect of circadian rhythms on CPA exam performance. Given the high-stakes nature of the exam, we believe our chapter can give exam candidates and practitioners valuable insights about ways to better align rigorous mental tasks with the timing of peak mental performance. This can benefit them both for the CPA exam as well as during their careers.

Recent major changes in the form and content tested on the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam have necessitated a re-examination of the relevance of undergraduate accounting coursework to CPA exam performance. Using data on candidates who attended an AACSB-accredited business school in the United States and who took the exam during the period 2005–2013, the authors examine whether the grades that candidates earned in relevant accounting course work affected their performance on related sections of the CPA exam. The authors find that student grades in related courses were positively associated with exam scores for all sections of the exam. This indicates that, despite changes to the exam and accounting education generally, an accounting curriculum can help prepare candidates to pass this critical barrier to entry in the accounting profession. The authors believe the results of this study have important implications for practitioners, academics, and candidates seeking to better understand the determinants of performance on this important professional examination.

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the academic research related to the certified public accountant (CPA) exam. Our review identifies several research streams in this area, including studies that examine the effects of educational requirements and institutional and candidate characteristics on CPA exam success. In addition, we describe the CPA licensure regulatory landscape and show a general trend of lessening educational requirements among the jurisdictions over the past two decades. In the meantime, the governing bodies of CPA licensure are beginning the CPA Evolution project, a project that entails evolving licensure requirements, including the CPA exam, to meet the demands of a constantly changing business environment. We call on the CPA licensure regulators to align their jurisdictions’ educational requirements to best serve the CPA Evolution project. Lastly, we provide suggestions for future research that would assist accounting regulators, academic administrators, and practitioners during this transformative period.

Recent changes to the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam provide an occasion to widely and broadly reflect about the longer run trajectory of the nature of this exam and about professional licensure. Based on a review of recent changes, we develop a set of general purposes served by the exam. We discuss the relative consistency between these purposes and academic values with the goal of evaluating the alignment of exam objectives with academic values. Concluding that accounting education and admission to accounting practice are not perfectly parallel, the chapter reviews the possibilities for academics to adjust our values or to alter our pedagogical practices. Furthermore, for a variety of reasons, the CPA Examination makes fewer appearances in the accounting education literature than it did in the past. We offer recommendations to reduce the points of schism and propose research relevant to the problem.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has established 150 semester hours as the minimum education requirement to qualify to take the CPA examination. This educational requirement is generally believed to impose additional potential costs on students, academic accounting departments, public accounting firms, and audit clients. Since a goal of the 150‐hour rule is to improve the overall quality of work performed by CPAs, it is worthwhile to examine whether an association exists between the number of semester hours of education and performance on the CPA exam. After controlling for SAT scores (verbal and quantitative), accounting credit hours, and enrollment in CPA coaching courses, this study found that first‐time candidates, on a national basis, having a minimum of 150‐semester hours of education performed better on the CPA exam. We interpret these results as indicating that there are benefits to students, CPA firms, and their audit clients from the higher education standard.

In 2017, the CPA exam added task-based simulations that require candidates to demonstrate analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. In addition, there has been an evolution in training and learning from face-to-face, synchronistic, group study, to online, asynchronistic, and independent study. These changes suggest the need to reexamine the effectiveness of CPA exam candidates’ study methods. In this study, the authors analyze the degree of use and effectiveness of various study methods (e.g., instructor-led study programs, self-study review courses, flashcards, study notes, and practice problems). Based on a survey of candidates taking the CPA exam in 2018 and 2019, the authors find that the most effective method of study is practicing problems. Opposite the results of some extant research, using an instructor-led study program does not appear to increase the likelihood of passing. Because this is the only study to examine a variety of CPA exam study methods since the 2017 exam changes, its results serve as a benchmark for researchers interested in investigating future changes in study habits.

This study explores how Canadian CPAs (Chartered Professional Accountants) are trained in sustainability. The main research questions are: What place should sustainability take in the accounting program? What place does sustainability occupy in the CPA accounting program? And, over time, has sustainability gained or lost ground within the Canadian professional accounting education program?

Content analysis and interviews.

We find that sustainability is not a key component of the CPA education program since its sustainability content has shrunk over the years. We believe that the groupthink phenomenon may have influenced the selection of CPA Competency Map participants (whose backgrounds reveal a lack of sustainability expertise) as well as the participants’ discussions. Additionally, a lack of consideration for society as a key stakeholder may have also influenced the shortage of sustainability content. Finally, power dynamics might have contributed to the financial accounting and reporting competencies dominating the new map.

We did not have access to the live meetings when the Map was created, although we conducted interviews with representatives involved in the process. This research is bound by a confidentiality agreement that limits us from providing sensitive details. However, we do not consider that these limitations undermine our contribution or reduce the relevance of our research.

Our research contributes to the under-researched domain of sustainability education and to understanding how groupthink, stakeholder theory and power dynamics may have contributed to the dearth of sustainability coverage in the new Canadian CPA program.

The authors examined the association between accountancy board composition in the continental United States and indicators of the supply of new accounting graduates. In particular, the authors studied the association between the number of CPAs as well as the number of college educators that serve on State Accountancy Boards (SAB) and two key indicators of the future supply of future accounting professionals – number of CPA exam takers and number of accounting graduates from AACSB-accredited accounting programs. The descriptive statistics by the authors show 30% of jurisdictions have at least one accounting PhD who serves on the board, and on average 75.6% of board members are CPAs. The authors found that both the number of CPAs and the number of accounting educators on SABs are positively associated with the number of CPA exam takers as well as the number of accounting graduates from AACSB accounting programs. This suggests that accountancy board composition might be an important factor in influencing the supply of future accounting professionals. This research suggests that more strategic focus on the composition of accountancy boards is one approach that might be used to increase the supply of future accounting professionals. This observation is important as the supply of accounting graduates has declined recently and the states, NASBA, the AICPA, accounting programs and firms are keenly interested in increasing the supply of new accounting professionals in the United States.

The effects of institutionalization and structuring in the public accounting profession are considered in relation to the development of education and experience requirements for the profession. The goal is to explain the development of education and experience requirements for public accountants from a broader perspective and improve our understanding of the changes which have taken place in the profession and which are still taking place.