Chapter 7: CPA Exam Pass Rates and the Role of a CPA Review Course

Prior literature has studied the factors that impact CPA exam pass rates. Our study extends this research by examining whether a CPA exam review course is associated with exam pass rates and whether the nature of the course matters. We controlled for several factors that prior studies show are associated with student success on the CPA exam. We surveyed 76 US accounting programs and added data from school websites and NASBA publications. After controlling for known collates with CPA exam pass rates, our results provide evidence that offering a CPA review course impacts CPA pass rates for both First-time and All Candidates if it is a credit-bearing elective and there was a reallocation of workload from other accounting courses.