[weareallone]

So guys,

Some people end up taking ‘a’ section of the CPA exam more than once before they pass the entire exam. Others pass all four section all in their first attempts.

The percentage of folks who pass all four sections of the exam on their first attempt is, well, I don’t know for sure!

I’ve heard various numbers such as less than 10% (Beckers Final Review?) and 25% (someone who called the AICPA to ask?), but I am not sure what to believe.

Well, my question to all of you is:

Who here knows the correct/factual percentage of people who passed all four sections of their CPA Exam on their first try?

I understand that perhaps this piece of statistic has no ‘real’ value as there is a difference between someone who passes all four sections in a span of 15 months and another person who passes them all in 2 months (both passed all four sections on their first attempts, but one does seem to be superior compared to the other), but nonetheless, I would really like to know the correct stat.

Please let us know! Thanks.

REG[5/18] - P BEC[8/5] - P
FAR[7/9] - P AUD[8/30] - P

[75 CPA]

I have heard that between 10% and 17% pass all four exams on the first try.

I set my goal on passing ALL four exams within the 18 month time period. I achieved my goal with God's help and a lot of work.

I did not want to get stuck trying to pass an exam that I had failed AND retake an exam that I had already passed! I took REG, BEC and AUD each quarter and FAR after 6 months. That left me with 3 months to spare, just in case. I focused on passing each exam on the first try.

[weareallone]

@ 75 CPA,

First and foremost, nice to hear from you.

It would really suck if one has to retake something like FAR or REG.

Those two are monster-like exams, and I would hate to study for them again. I wish everybody who is currently studying for FAR and REG the best of luck btw.

Nonetheless, I came to think about it that if the pass-rate for each exam is about 50%, then in order to pass all exams without failing once, based on pure probability, 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 = 0.0625, is about 6.25%.

But then again, taking the CPA exam and getting your results is not like a coin toss!

REG[5/18] - P BEC[8/5] - P
FAR[7/9] - P AUD[8/30] - P

[75 CPA]

weareallone

I think that it was Becker that said that 10% of CPA candidates pass all four exams on the first try.

[MaydayCPA]

To me the more interesting question is what percentage of candidates attempt the exam and never complete it.

REG 88 - BEC 92 - FAR 90 - AUD 93 - Ethics 100

Oklahoma resident and Becker user.

[VAactgGrad]

The info is slightly dated, but take a look at page 3 of this newsletter from the AICPA: https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ExamNewsletter/DownloadableDocuments/cpaalertfall08.pdf

Here's the report by Dr. Zhang as mentioned in the newsletter: https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/PsychometricsandScoring/TechnicalReports/DownloadableDocuments/Technical_Report_Tracking_Candidates_Zhang_2007.pdf

[Anonymous]

ccording to a recently completed study of testing patterns since

the launch of CBT, a total of 154,401 candidates took some or all

sections of the Uniform CPA Examination in the fifteen testing windows

between April 2004 and the end of December 2007. Of this number,

74,283 (48.1%) took each of the four examination sections at least

once and, of the 74,283 total, 46,009 (61.9%) passed all four sections.

Of those who passed four sections, 21,127 (45.92%) did so after testing

four times – in other words, just once per section.

So I guess you could say 21,127 / 74,283 so aprox 28%?

[potatogun]

MaydayCPA,

The very nature of that question makes it unanswerable. At what point do you declare that someone has never completed the exam? When she dies?

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[Anonymous]

does anyone know what happens after you pass all four? Does NASBA or the AICPA send you anything besides your last score in the mail?

[Anonymous]

bumppp

[Anonymous]

The report mentioned above clears all of this up. The number of people who passed the entire exam and passed each section on the first attempt is around 13.6 percent. The report says about 29.8% of all test takers ever pass the exam. Of the 29.8 percent, 45.92 percent only took 4 sections (i.e., they passed all on the first attempt. Therefore, one can multiply these percentages together to get the number of test takers who passed all 4 sections on the first attempt–13.68%.

[MaydayCPA]

potatogun,

When they don't renew their NTS. Exclude the candidates who didn't need to because they passed all four parts on the first go-round. You'd probably look at time frame of ~2 years. It wouldn't be perfect, but it could give you a good idea.

REG 88 - BEC 92 - FAR 90 - AUD 93 - Ethics 100

Oklahoma resident and Becker user.

[weareallone]

Thanks so much for the great answers guys.

REG[5/18] - P BEC[8/5] - P
FAR[7/9] - P AUD[8/30] - P

[Anonymous]

I think that stats like these invite a lot of abuse. For one thing, it is my understand that your participation as a Candidate, and your results are completely confidential if you choose them to be, and the only thing that you have to divulge is whether or not you passed. So, unless these results were obtained by the AICPA themselves, I wouldn't trust them. I've also heard that review courses statistics are especially unreliable, because the only way that they have to quantity the percentages is by self-reporting, and people are going to be less likely to reply if they can't pass.

I would say that the best way to look at these statistics is to use the population, or a fair statistical sample of candidates that starts at a certain time, and track them for the next three years. Calculate the number of candidates who pass all four on the first time, the number who pass within 3 years, and those who are unable to pass within 3 years. I would think that it is safe to say that if they have not passed within 3 years, that they're likelihood of eventually passing is low, and those who do get back on the horse and beat the odds is immaterial to the study.

I also think that only including candidates who have taken all 4 as part of the percentage is misleading, as you will most likely only advance that far if you have taken a certain amount of sections. Therefore, the 61.9% statistically is pretty meaningless. The 29.8% statistic shows who has been able to pass “eventually” and the 13.68% shows who really can “sweep” the exam (which in my opinion doesn't really matter, because passing is all that matters, and you should do it in your own way, there's no lost points for failing).

Now, they should also give the statistics for the people who pass all 4 sections, but somewhere along the line, are unable to obtain their license. It may sound very likely, but it's possible that they don't fill the paperwork out appropriately, can't pass the ethics exam, or can't get the applicable work experience.

[F5 to Refresh]

I have read that 43.7% of statistics are made up on the spot.

AUD 79 Q4 2010 - NY
BEC 84 Q4 2010
REG 79 Q1 2011
FAR 86 Q2 2011 - Done

[75orbust]

Sixty percent of the time you pass everytime.

FAR-1/04- 86 KAPLAN Review
REG-5/12- 89 MN Licensed CPA
BEC-7/17- 81 ETHICS - 100
AUD-8/31- 85

[Author]

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