Committee on the CPA Examination.

Abstract The article presents information on some of the recommendations for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination held by the American Accounting Association. The CPA examination has been used as an important part of the accreditation process for professional accountants for a number of years without serious challenge to its suitability or potency. Use of the Uniform CPA examination enables the profession to avoid entangling itself in detailed and politically inexpedient evaluations of academic programs. Some observers contend that the CPA examination has undesirable effects on accounting education. There are at least two branches to this contention. One is that obsolete material appears on the examination so educators are forced to teach it in order to prepare students to pass the examination. A continual upgrading of the professional practice is also brought about through a strong program of continuing education after the person enters the profession. The committee recommends that these programs be sufficiently differentiated from the knowledge required to enter the profession and otherwise strengthened to serve as a vehicle for upgrading the professional practice of accounting.