A new report from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy offers a detailed look into CPA exam candidate success and trends across jurisdictions and institutions for 2024.
Designed with jurisdiction and university analysis in mind, The NASBA Report: Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination (2024 Edition), features comprehensive statistical data from all four testing quarters for 2024, including the three primary CPA exam content areas—Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Auditing and Attestation (AUD), and Taxation and Regulation (REG)—and the three new disciplines—Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), and Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).
The redesigned CPA exam, which launched last year, places a greater emphasis on technology and analytical skills, as well as on tax, accounting, and audit.
- Related article: AICPA Releases 2024 CPA Exam Blueprints
The 2024 edition provides summary performance for candidates applying to each jurisdiction, with trending data for number of sections, number of unique candidates, average age, and percent pass while also providing university rankings and statistics based upon examination data.
Additional features include country performance for the top five countries and jurisdiction rankings for number of sections, number of unique candidates, average age, and percent pass. Section descriptions are also included to explain each view of the performance metrics.
In 2024, the states with the highest pass rates were Nebraska with 61.9%, Utah with 58.6%, and Montana 57.4%. Nebraska had the third-highest pass rate in 2023 with 57.6%, behind South Dakota with 58.3% and Iowa with 60.9%.
Performance metrics indicate 74,165 candidates took the CPA exam in 2024, of which 27,994 were new candidates, with 13,070 candidates passing their final section of the exam. By comparison, 84,980 candidates took the CPA exam in 2023, of which 41,415 were new candidates, with 20,036 candidates passing their final section of the exam.
Among the universities with the most candidates sitting for a first-time section in 2024 were: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (524), Baruch College CUNY (502), and California State University, Fullerton (472).
NASBA began gathering data on CPA exam candidates in 1982 and has published reports on performance and selected characteristics since 1985.
Background data for the publication was obtained from board of accountancy submissions of eligible candidate information into NASBA’s National Candidate Database and then analyzed and assembled by editor Noël Dedmon.
Sold in softback format, the 2024 edition is available for $300. Orders can be placed through NASBAreport.com.
Questions regarding The NASBA Report: Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination (2024 Edition) and other candidate performance products should be directed to cpb@nasba.org.
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Tags: Accounting, CPA exam, CPA exam pass rates, NASBA
