Mizzou Ranks First in CPA Exam Pass Rates

According to a report from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, students in the School of Accountancy at the MU College of Business ranked first in the nation on the May 2003 Certified Public Accountant exam. MU students had a 59 percent pass rate compared to a national average of 20 percent. Graduates from more than 1,000 universities were represented among the CPA exam candidates.

"Our students' performance on this exam speaks to the high caliber of our program and the faculty and staff who make it possible," said Loren Nikolai, director of the 150-hour program in accountancy. "MU accountancy students have a history of doing well on the exam, but this group exceeded expectations."
The exam consists of four parts: Auditing; Business Law and Professional Responsibility; Financial Accounting and Reporting – Business Enterprises; Accounting and Reporting – Other Areas. On those four parts, MU students ranked third, second, second and second, respectively; a candidate must pass all four parts.

"This fantastic accomplishment by MU students and recent graduates is really the 'frosting on the cake' in that it follows two recent MU alumni placing among the top three scorers out of about 50,000 candidates in separate administrations of the CPA exam," said Bruce Walker, dean of the College of Business.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy(NASBA) represents state accountancy boards and cooperates with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which prepares and grades the examination on a national basis. NASBA collects information from each jurisdiction and compiles statistics annually.