The Computer-based CPA Exam

Effects on Curricular Change and Measures of Outcomes Assessment

Katherine J. Lopez, PhD, CPA, and Linda B. Specht, JD, CPA

The most significant change in the Uniform CPA Examination in the past decade is the replacement of a paper-based examination by a computer-based test (CBT) in 2004. At the time of the switch, researchers focused primarily on descriptions of the changes in the exam or on the steps taken by accounting programs to prepare for the CBT prior to its inception. More recently, Jacqueline A. Burke, Robert Katz, sheila A. Handy, and Ralph S. Polimeni (“Research skills: A Fundamental Asset for Accountants,” The CPA Journal, January 2008) traced the current focus on research skills from the Accounting Education Change Commission's white paper to the AICPA's “Skills for the Uniform CPA Examination,” and described the resulting efforts of several universities in integrating those skills into the accounting curriculum.