CPA Zone - CPA Exam & Beyond

Are New Graduates Getting Squeezed by the 150 Hour CPA Requirements? (via @Going_Concern)

via goingconcern.com

"I listened to some accounting professors on a private listserv discuss the following question:

“What is the impact of the 150 hour requirement on accounting education, career choices for graduates and the public accounting firm business model?”

The Big 4 firms are delaying new hire start dates. What’s the best use of that time? Will passing the CPA exam quickly give you an advantage if some offers are rescinded or the firm continues to cut experienced staff? How can an undergrad with a <150 hour degree get the extra hours once you start working eighty hour weeks? Accounting is still touted in the media as a safe career. How does a career-changer with a non-business undergraduate, or an undergraduate without the currently required number of hours of eligibility for the CPA, meet the requirements cost effectively?..."
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Source: Going Concern | re: The Auditors

Three Ways the CPA Exam Could Change in the Near Future (via @Going_Concern)

"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.

from AICPA...

“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..."
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Source: Going Concern

CPA Examination Contract Renewed in the U.S. Through 2024

"The contract providing for nationwide administration of the Uniform CPA Examination in the United States has been extended until 2024 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, and Prometric - the three organizations that jointly offer the CPA Examination in the United States. "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."..."
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Source: BusinessWire