Baylor Selected For Accounting Exam Testing

April 15, 2002

by Alan Hunt

Baylor University's accounting program has been selected as a test-site for the new total computerized CPA examination. About 30 Baylor students will participate in the pre-testing program, which will be held on the Baylor campus April 25-27.
Effective November 2003, the Uniform CPA Examination will become a computer-based test.
"The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is revising the exam to ensure that it continues to meet its public protection mandate," said Dr. Bill Thomas, The J.E. Bush Professorship in Accounting at Baylor. "The new exam will reflect changes in the work being performed by entry-level CPAs. In addition, candidates need demonstrated competence in higher-order skills, as well as technology skills. These changes require that a large number of test questions be created and pre-tested before they can be included on the exam."
Almost all of Baylor's current students will eventually take the new exam, Thomas said. Participation in pre-testing provides them a unique opportunity to experience what the new exam will be like and at the same time make a valuable contribution to the accounting profession, he said.
Dr. Charles E. Davis, chairman of the department of accounting and business law, said selection as a test-site for the new examination underscores Baylor's standing in the accounting profession.
"Members of the profession and its regulators look to the exam as an important means of assessing candidates' entry-level knowledge and skills," said Davis, The Ernst & Young Teaching Fellowship in Accounting. "By participating in the pre-testing, Baylor's accounting program will help the AICPA formulate its policies in developing and continually improving the computerized CPA exam. In addition, participation will help students plan their academic preparation for the actual exam."
Baylor graduates continue to excel in CPA examination pass rates. In November 2001, 11 of 38 students (about 29 percent) of Baylor students passed all 4 parts of the rigorous exam on first sitting, according to official results communicated by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. This represented the third highest pass rate in Texas for schools with more than 15 candidates sitting for the exam.
With 20 faculty members, the accounting and business law department is a major component of the Hankamer School of Business. Many of Baylor's accounting graduates have risen to the top of international accounting and consulting firms and private industry.