Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination - History

History

Until the 1990s, the Uniform CPA Exam was 19.5 hours in duration and administered over two and one-half days. It consisted of four subject areas (sections) which were tested in five sittings: Auditing (3.5 hours); Business Law (3.5 hours); Accounting Theory (3.5 hours); and Accounting Practice (Part I & Part II; 4.5 hours each). Although Accounting Practice Parts I and II were given in separate sittings, the two scores were combined for grading purposes. The exam was administered twice per year: on the first consecutive Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in May and November of each year. Test takers were allowed to use only paper and pencil (no electronic calculators or computers of any kind were allowed at that time).

In 1994, the exam was restructured into a four-section, two-day exam. The subject matter was reorganized, primarily between Accounting Theory and Accounting Practice (Parts I and II). In addition, innovative machine-scorable test questions were incorporated to better assess the skills needed by CPAs to protect the public. For the first time, proprietary electronic calculators were provided to CPA candidates for the two new accounting sections. The four new sections were:

• Business Law and Professional Responsibilities
• Auditing
• Accounting and Reporting – Taxation, Managerial, and Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations
• Financial Accounting and Reporting – Business Enterprises

Until 1996, completely new versions of the CPA Exam were prepared every six months. After each administration, all questions and the keyed responses (correct answers) were published and available for purchase. Beginning with the May 1996 administration, almost all exam material was kept secure so that many high-quality questions could be reused. Although this is common practice in the world of large-scale testing, it was a policy decision that was momentous at the time, and made only after extensive comments were elicited from all key stakeholders, such as the 55 boards of accountancy, members of the CPA profession, accounting educators, CPA candidates, and testing professionals. By deciding to release only a small portion of each exam — to help candidates prepare for the examination experience — high quality exam material could be reused in the future. It also became possible for the first time to use statistical techniques for test equating and to use criterion-referenced passing scores.