How to Take the Revised CPA Exam: An Online Tutorial Helps Candidates Prepare for the New, Computerized Test
In September the JofA began a series of articles exploring different aspects of the new CPA exam. These stories offered insights into how the revised test differs from the paper-based exam and the ways in which it benefits the public interest. Future issues of the JofA will include interviews in which state board leaders, educators and CPA firm partners offer their views of the computerized exam. Also, CPA candidates scheduled to take a preliminary version of the test in the coming months will give readers their firsthand impressions of the experience. Beginning April 5, 2004, the CPA examination no longer will involve paper test booklets, pencils and essay questions. Replacing them will be a computerized version of the exam, containing electronic multiple-choice questions and condensed case studies called "simulations." Candidates will be able to take the revised exam, jointly created by the AICPA, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and Prometric, a developer of technology-based testing services, year-round at Prometric's nationwide exam centers. To help test takers prepare, the AICPA has created an online tutorial that gives them a close-up look at the exam's format and lets them practice using its various components. "Over the last decade, business transactions have become more complex and so has accounting for them," said Craig Mills, AICPA executive director of examinations. "As a result CPAs have had to dramatically alter the way they work, expanding their use of technology and relying more on their communications skills. The revised CPA exam reflects these changes by using the latest technology to test a broader range of capabilities than it did in the past." Responding to comments from accounting professionals in a recent AICPA survey of practice management concerns and priorities, the exam focuses more than before on evaluating test takers' communication, research, analysis, judgment and comprehension skills. Mills said that in each of the exam's four sections, candidates must demonstrate they possess these skills. To cover the required subject matter, each exam section comprises approximately five "testlets"--groups of related questions. Three contain multiple-choice questions and each of the remaining two consists of a case study simulation. Only the new Business Environment & Concepts section is an exception; it won't include simulations until later in 2004. Multiple-choice testlets each contain approximately 25 questions. Simulations--which take 35 to 45 minutes to complete--assess candidates' auditing and accounting knowledge and skills in actual business situations. The number of questions they contain varies according to the length of the specific section in which they appear. GET A PREVIEW OF THE NEW EXAM The AICPA has developed a computerized tutorial to help familiarize candidates and accounting students and educators with the exam's new format. Available free of charge at www.cpa-exam.org, the tutorial explains the design and operation of the computer-based test (CBT) and reviews the types of questions and responses it involves. Because the tutorial is not available at Prometric test centers, candidates should review it online before taking the revised exam. "The AICPA is committed to ensuring the computer-based test is easy to use and functions as intuitively as possible," said Arleen Thomas, AICPA vice-president of professional standards and services. "We want candidates to concentrate on answering the questions, not navigating the test. But we realized they couldn't do that without seeing the revised format beforehand and becoming comfortable with it and the new 'simulation' case studies. We therefore strongly encourage all candidates to review this tutorial prior to taking the computer-based exam." WHAT THE TUTORIAL COVERS Originally released in April and recently updated, the tutorial mimics the computerized examination's look and feel, format and navigation controls. …