Predictors of success on the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination

The purposes of this study were to identify personal and intellectual characteristics associated with successful performance of first-time candidates on the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Examination and to develop prediction equations for success on each of the four exam sections.;Exam success was measured in several ways. An individual with a higher score, a passing grade on an individual section, or more passed sections was considered more successful. Two general methods of analysis were used with the first two measure of success. One method involved finding a canonical correlation between the criteria and predictor variables and used the most important contributors to this correlation to form backward elimination linear regression equations. Another method used principal components analysis to reduce the number of predictor variables to a manageable set and then performed a canonical correlation of these components scores on the criterion variables.;The final measure of success, the number of passed sections, used principal components scores to build equations.;Total Grade Point Average (GPA), years of public accounting work experience, and the completion of an auditing review course were found to be positively associated with and significant predictors of success on the auditing section. Additionally, a principal component labeled "academic achievement" helped distinguish successful from unsuccessful candidates. Years of public accounting experience, GPA in tax and "other" business classes, academic achievement and another component representing academic aptitude were positively correlated with and significant predictors of success on the business law section. Hours of exam study effort, intermediate and total accounting GPA, academic achievement and aptitude, and completion of an exam review course represented characteristics associated with success on the accounting theory section. Years of public accounting experience, intermediate accounting GPA, academic achievement and academic aptitude were positively related to success on the accounting practice section. Academic aptitude and review course completion were positively correlated with the number of sections passed.;CPA candidates who received undergraduate degrees from the University of North Dakota and who wrote the exam in 1988, 1989, or May 1990 were eligible for the study. Data for the 39 characteristics were gathered from candidate questionnaires and the university registrar.