Stetson accounting seniors, graduate students, select university alumni and friends were allowed to participate in a pretest simulation recently for the Business Environment & Concepts section of the Uniform CPA Examinations held by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). This opportunity was made available to only a handful of universities, including Stetson, which now has the distinction of being selected twice to pretest this exam.

The American Institute of CPAs is the world’s largest member association representing accounting professions, with more than 412,000 members in over 100 countries, and a longtime history of serving public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The purpose of the Uniform CPA Examination is to provide reasonable assurance to Boards of Accountancy (state entities that have statutory authority to issue licenses) that those who pass the CPA Examination possess the level of technical knowledge and the skills necessary for an initial license in protection of the public interest. Public interest is protected when only qualified individuals are admitted into the profession.

Individuals are required to pass this exam in order to qualify for licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in any of the 55 U.S. jurisdictions (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands). This pretest experience was previously offered to students for the Audit section of the CPA exam in the Spring of 2015 and offered students a hands-on, practical experience with the newest questions on the horizon of the CPA exam.

Following that pretest, students reported the experience as very valuable. “The CPA pre-test was a very valuable experience,” said Joan Hudson, one of the Stetson’s students who took the pretest. “I am now more informed about what the exam may look like, which eases a lot of my worries. I realized that I need to work hard and be able to work faster if I want to be able to pass the test​. It was a good challenge, and I would do it again if given the chance.”

Stetson University hopes to partner with the AICPA to provide this experience to students, friends and alumni in the future. Valrie Chambers, Ph.D., associate professor of Accounting and Taxation at Stetson, was instrumental in bringing this opportunity to Stetson students. She helped coordinate both pretests. “This [the pre-test] benefits our students because the type of exam questions asked on the CPA exam is changing,” she said. “CPA review courses will have a limited view of these changes, but our students will see several questions and actually get to test-drive them before they’re offered on the test. This should give them an advantage in studying for the exam because they will have worked with questions that are formatted like the new, forthcoming questions on the exam.”

By Anna Chun