PERFORMANCE ON THE CPA EXAMINATION

The 1996 edition of the CPA Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination is now available from the National Association of State Boards of Public Accountancy (NASBA). The information for the study is gathered from questionnaires distributed by the boards to the candidates.

This year's edition reports on the 1995 May and November examinations. The commentary has been prepared by Park E. Leathers, PhD, CPA, Ernst & Young Professor Emeritus at Bowling Green State University. He writes, "Compared to 1990, the all-time high for examination participation, there were 12% fewer candidates in 1995." In May 1995, there were 59,970 candidates, and in November 1995 there were 66,463 candidates taking the exam.

For the May 1995 examination, schools with the highest percentage of first-time candidates without advanced degrees passing all subjects taken were: Montana State University (48.8 percent); Wake Forest University (45.2); University of Pennsylvania (42.3); Northeast Missouri State University (40.7); University of Illinois-Urbana (40.7); Portland State University (40.0); University of California-Los Angeles (39.8); University of Northern Iowa (38.5); Florida International University (36.4); and DePaul University (34.7). For the November 1995 examination they were: University of Virginia (44.3); University of Florida (43.2); Northern Illinois University (42.4); University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse (41.9); University of Wisconsin-Madison (40.8); University of Minnesota-Minneapolis (39.4); Northern Arizona University (38.5); University of Missouri-Columbia (38.5); Brigham Young University (38.1); and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (37.3).

States with the highest percentage of first-time candidates passing all subjects taken in May 1995 were Utah (40.4 percent), New Hampshire (26.8), Illinois (26.7), Minnesota (26.3), Florida (25.6), Iowa (25.1), Arizona (23.8), Wisconsin (23.1), Georgia (22.6), and Oregon (20.8). For November 1995, the states were: Florida (36.1 percent), Nevada (30.5), Wisconsin (28.8), Colorado (28.5), Minnesota (27.7), Utah (27.5), Wyoming (25.0), Arizona (24.2), Illinois (23.3), and Virginia (22.0).

Copies of the 1996 Edition of CPA Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination are $115.00 each, plus $7.50 for shipping and handling. Contact Maria Colon at NASBA--(212) 490-3868 *