New Direction for CPA Exam: Proposed Changes Would Enhance Testing of Higher-Order Skills
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The AICPA has proposed changes to the Uniform CPA Examination that are designed to enhance testing of higher-order skills that newly licensed CPAs need to possess in the wake of changes in the profession that have altered job responsibilities. The proposed changes to the exam have been crafted to reflect the profession's evolution and keep the exam in step with the profession. In an exposure draft, Maintaining the Relevance of the Uniform CPA Examination, the AICPA seeks comment on proposed changes, which would take effect during 2017. The ED is available on the AICPA website at aicpa.org. Comments are due Nov. 30, and final decisions on the exam's content and format are expected to be announced in the spring of 2016. Under the proposal, the exam would retain its four existing sections--Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (EAR), and Regulation (REG). But many other changes would be associated with the exam, including: * Enhanced testing of higher-order cognitive skills that include critical thinking, problem-solving, analytical ability, and professional skepticism. * A blueprint for each section of the exam illustrating the knowledge and skills that will be tested, which are linked directly to tasks that are representative of the work of a newly licensed CPA. The blueprints would replace the current Content Specification Outline and Skill Specification Outline and would contain more information for candidates, academics, regulators, and others. * A plan for more task-based simulations for the exam. These would test a combination of content knowledge and higher-order skills. Task-based simulations would be added to the BEC section for the first time. There would be eight or nine task-based simulations each in the AUD, FAR, and REG sections, and four or five of these simulations in the BEC section. * An increase in total testing time from 14 to 16 hours. Each section would be allotted four hours. This represents an hour added to the BEC section to accommodate the addition of task-based simulations, and an hour added to the REG section, partly because of an increase in task-based simulations. The cost of the exam is expected to increase as a result of the time expansion. * It is anticipated that the scoring weight of multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations will be about 50% each in the AUD, FAR, and REG sections. The BEC section is likely to have an approximate score weighting of 50% multiple choice, 15% written communication, and 35% task-based simulation. Currently, multiple-choice questions are weighted 60% and task-based simulations 40% in the scoring of the AUD, FAR, and REG sections. The BEC sections current scoring weight is 85% multiple choice and 15% written communication. Along with regular exam content reviews, the AICPA periodically conducts a comprehensive practice analysis to ensure that the exam continues to assess the technical knowledge and skills necessary for initial licensure to protect the public interest. …