July 1999 Issue

AICPA to Computerize CPA Exam

By Philip J. Luongo Jr.

The AICPA recently announced its intention to make the CPA exam computer-based by 2003. It believes that the chief vehicle for entry into the profession, the Uniform CPA Exam, needs to change in both content and delivery to test real-world knowledge, skills, and competencies.

At the AICPA Council's spring meeting, Arleen Thomas, vice president of professional standards and services, and Craig Mills, executive director of examinations, provided the more than 500 attending CPAs with an overview of present and future strategies for computerizing the CPA exam.

"I would like to make a pledge to you," Thomas said. "We will keep all that is good with the exam. We will alter and adapt for changing times. We will maintain the level of difficulty. What we want to do is wind up with an instrument that allows us to test better, test smarter,... and test the real world."

Thomas and Mills defined a number of changes that accentuate the need for a computerized test, including the trend toward paperless electronic audits, the inability to adequately test skills such as research in a pencil-and-paper environment, sophistication of corporate systems, changing analytics, and improvements in computerized testing.

Mills previously led the conversion of the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) before joining the AICPA. He outlined the features of the model that reflect the current thinking for a computerized CPA exam. These features include:

• a two-day, fixed-length exam, with each day combining multiple-choice questions and simulations,
• pass/fail grading, with a grade for each section,
• detailed diagnostics, and
• scheduling by appointment.

Mills has set up a research program to ascertain the best model for a computerized exam. The research methodology will include focus groups, a broad-based practice analysis, and pilot testing of a model exam once it has been validated.

Thomas estimated the cost of developing a computerized exam between $14 million and $18 million. The resulting charge to boards of accountancy would be in the area of $350 to $400 per candidate, and candidates taking the computerized exam could expect to pay around $500.

The AICPA has developed a complimentary five-minute video, "The CPA Examination, the Next Generation," that features CPAs from boards of accountancy, public practice, business and industry, education, and government discussing the importance of computerization for both the public and the profession. To receive a copy, fax your request to Anat Kendal at (201) 938-3443. *