Going Concern's​​ Sept 26 article looked at CPA disciplines going by pass rates. The article offered suggestions on how to choose disciplines based on a National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) webinar.  

The article began by sharing advice from Joe Maslott, a PwC alum and AICPA Associate Director. The tip from the talk was not to choose Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP) as a discipline because of its high pass rate. 

Looking at CPA Evolution pass rates in the first and second quarters of 2024, Going Concern pointed out that TCP has “an obscenely” high pass rate of 82.36% for the first quarter and 75.67% for the second quarter. 

CPA Evolution is a joint initiative between the AICPA and NASBA that started in the first quarter of 2024. Its goal is to modernize the CPA exam. 

Going Concern also looked at Gleim Exam Prep data. Gleim develops and distributes study and reference materials to help individuals learn and understand accounting and aviation.  

The Gleim data covered the period from 2010 to 2023, specifically the pass rates for the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) CPA discipline, which had a roughly 47% pass rate in 2023 from a 60% pass rate in 2022. 

The question is whether the BEC was more challenging in 2023, which was most likely not. According to Going Concern, what probably happened was that many exam takers hurried to take the BEC exam before the year ended. The rush was because any active candidate who had not passed BEC by the launch of CPA Evolution in January 2024 would have to choose one of the new disciplines offered under the new CPA licensure model, which would have been more time-consuming. Thus, Going Concern said it could be assumed that many of the exam takers were not well prepared, decreasing the section’s pass rate.  

When examining 2023 pass rates, there is a predictable drop-off at yearend in all sections except Auditing and Attestation (AUD). Going Concern attributed the drop at the end of the year to exam takers' distraction from the holidays.  

In the NASBA webinar, AICPA’s Maslott stated that TCP’s pass rate is higher because “a smaller number of well-prepared candidates did really well” on the section in the first quarter of 2024. He added that he expects TCP pass rates to normalize and trend downward over time.