Passing or failing? Pass rates for CPA exam fell in 2022

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The AICPA released the Q4 CPA exam pass rates for 2022, showing a decrease in pass rates for all sections except for Auditing and Attestation as well as Regulation, whose rates remained stagnant.

According to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy's latest report, 191,000 exam sections were taken in 2022, which represents a 25% drop since 2018. Reported on a scale ranging from 0 to 99, scores in the AUD, Financial Accounting and Reporting, and REG sections are a weighted combination of scaled scores from multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations. As for the Business Environment and Concepts section, it also includes written communication tasks.

SECTION	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	CUMULATIVE	2021
AUD	46.35%	49.13%	48.67%	47.21%	47.90%	47.98%
BEC	57.33%	61.53%	59.91%	60.30%	59.85%	61.94%
FAR	44.95%	45.66%	44.30%	40.67%	43.76%	44.54%
REG	60.03%	61.25%	61.78%	56.41%	59.85%	59.88%

While the pass rate for BEC has dropped by almost 3% since 2021, it has been steadily improving the last few years, starting at 52.99% in 2017. However, as part of the CPA Evolution Initiative, the BEC section will soon be removed from the exam and candidates will instead choose between Business Analysis and Reporting, Tax Compliance and Planning, or Information Systems and Controls.

The AICPA had no immediate comment.

Juliette Gaudemer

Senior Reporter, Accounting Today

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