150-Hour Program Improves Results for Exam First-Timers

Overall Passage Rates Drop

By Ann E. Spaulding

First-time May and November candidates for the CPA exam with at least 150 hours of education had a 64 percent better chance of passing all subjects than those with fewer hours, according to the results of the May and November 1997 Uniform CPA Examinations, published by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

Overall, the passing percentages for first-time candidates fell for all subjects. Declines were particularly sharp in November, as evidenced by a 12.5 percent passing rate for all subjects, compared to 16.3 percent during the same period in 1996.

For all candidates (first-time and repeat), the passing percentages for all subjects taken for the May and November exams were 24.2 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively. As in recent years, the business law and professional responsibilities section of the four-part exam was the easiest for both first-time and repeat candidates. However, repeat candidates performed nearly as well on the auditing section when comparing 1997 and 1996 results.

Park E. Leathers, professor emeritus at Bowling Green State University and author of the commentary in Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination, attributes much of the decline in the November 1997 performance to an increase in exam takers precipitated by the imminence of the 150-hour requirement in some jurisdictions.