Computerized CPA Exam: Help Your Students Prepare

Source: Journal of Accountancy

Historically, many schools took pride in not teaching to the CPA Exam, but that was before the Exam began testing the skills that are critical to competent practice for today's entry-level professionals. Many schools already are well-equipped to prepare students for the computerized Exam; others may need to change curricula and pedagogy. Not all classroom changes add cost. Following are steps educators can take to better prepare students for the CBT:

• Include writing assignments in coursework and grade them. Incorporate some written assignment across the curriculum, and be sure instructors grade them to underscore the notion that writing skills (that is, the ability to communicate clearly the appropriate resolution of accounting problems) matter.
  
  
• Include assignments that help students deal with ambiguity. Numerous studies have shown that many students are attracted to accounting because they perceive it to be "black and white." CPAs know how much judgment is involved in the practice of accounting, and it is the intent of simulations to evaluate the use of that judgment. Educators can do their part to prepare students by including assignments that force students to work with problems that have no clear-cut answers.
  
  
• Require students to conduct research using professional literature. Include assignments that require students to find appropriate answers rather than to memorize them. Schools and educators now can get access to databases of professional audit and accounting literature at substantially reduced cost. CPA candidates who have applied to take the Exam, been deemed eligible by their state boards and received a valid Notice to Schedule can get a free six-month subscription to an online package that contains AICPA professional standards, FASB current text and FASB original pronouncements. Go to the CPA Exam Web site to find more information and subscription links. The key is to become familiar with professional literature.
  
  
• Give some open-book exams. We believe an essential goal of accounting education (as it relates to financial reporting, auditing and taxation) is to teach search skills rather than foster memory skills. Practice with open-book formats makes students more comfortable performing professional research in a reasonably time-constrained environment.
  
  
• Give exams on a computer. It may seem like a simple step, but students frequently react very differently to computerized exams if they are accustomed to only a paper-based format. Educators should give students an opportunity to develop self-confidence in a computerized testing environment.
  
  
• Encourage students to visit the CPA Exam Web site to use tutorials, review sample questions and become familiar with the Exam's user interfaces.

Note: This is an exerpt from "A Vision Fulfilled," a July 2005 Journal of Accountancy article by William W. Holder and Paula B. Thomas.