University of Missouri School of Accountancy graduates ranked #14 in the most recent national Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam pass rate rankings. This ranking was based on the pass rate for the graduates with advanced degrees, who took the CPA exam for the first time last year. Some 10,000 candidates, representing 399 schools, took the exam.
"The ranking validates the quality of our students, our well-thought out curriculum and the excellence of our faculty," said Vairam Arunachalam, School of Accountancy director and PwC/Joseph A. Silvoso distinguished professor.
Prospective CPAs must pass the four-part exam to earn certification and as a prerequisite for licensure. MU School of Accountancy graduates with advanced degrees who take the exam for the first time have consistently passed at a rate substantially higher than the national average in all of the exam's four segments.
MU's 89 first-time candidates who took the exam in 2009 turned in a similarly strong performance, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) 2010 report on candidate performance in the CPA exam. More than 70 percent of MU's candidates passed all four exam sections, compared to a national pass rate of 38.21 percent, the report said.
MU graduates surpassed national pass rates in each of the exam's four sections. The chart below compares MU pass rates for each section with national pass rates, as compiled by NASBA.
The CPA exam ranking mirrors high scores the MU School of Accountancy has recently received in a number of national ratings. MU's accountancy school ranked #19 in the 2009 Public Accounting Report survey of the top 25 graduate programs, and placed ninth in the nation in research productivity, as reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Such rankings affirm the MU college's high quality, Arunachalam said. "It enhances our national reputation, and recognizes our excellence," he said.
ABOUT THE ROBERT J. TRULASKE, SR. COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
The Trulaske College of Business, founded in 1914, today enrolls more than 3,800 undergraduate students and 365 graduate students. The college has four academic units – Accountancy, Finance, Management, and Marketing – with 64 full-time faculty members. The college offers an undergraduate degree in business administration, an MBA degree, a 150-hour program that confers both undergraduate and master's degrees in accountancy, and PhD degrees in both accountancy and business administration. The college takes great pride in its graduates. More than 32,000 alumni are contributing their expertise to the public and private sectors in every state in the U.S. and in a host of foreign countries.