subject: The Purpose And History Of The Cpa Exam [print this page] Until April 5, 2004, the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Exam was a paper and pencil exam. On April 5, 2004, the first computerized CPA Exam was given. Since then, many people have taken the exam: in fact, in July 2009, the millionth person took the CPA Exam on a computer.
On January 1, 2011, the exam will take another giant step forward when Computer-Based Testing evolution (CBT-e) will make its debut. This is the largest revision since paper and pencils were left behind in 2004.
In addition to those sitting for the exam, who else needs to know what these changes entail? Those professors, potential employers, and CPA Review Course teachers who mentor students as they prepare for the exam need to know what will change.
The CPA Exam is presented by a combination of three organizations: *The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) writes and scores the exam. *National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) maintains the list of those studying for the exam and releases the scores. *Prometric offers the CPA Exam at 300 of its test centers in the US.
As a CPA, you will have more job opportunities and a higher salary. As a CPA, you will have your pick of the best jobs but to do that, you have to pass the CPA Exam.
The Purpose of the CPA Exam is
"To admit individuals into the accounting profession only after they have demonstrated the entry-level knowledge and skills necessary to protect the public interest in a rapidly changing business and financial environment" (http://www.cpa-exam.org/cpa/computer_faqs_1.html). Currently, the CPA Exam is provided for the jurisdictions to offer to their candidates. Since the CPA Exam is uniform, the same test is offered in Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine, which means that each candidate is held to the same high standards.
The exam is offered through a partnership of these three organizations in a joint effort to maintain high licensing standards:
*AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) handles the development and the scoring of the exam; *NASBA (The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) organizes the National Candidate Database and sends the scores to the jurisdictions to be given to those who took the exam; and *Prometric delivers the computer-based test at its 300+ U.S. authorized test centers.
