Q4 Pass Rates Released: AUD Scores Down
The Final CPA Exam Pass Rates for 2011 have been released by the AICPA.
Overall – pretty much par for the course … July/August (Q3) 2011 was the strongest of the year and January/February was the worst. The notable exception was that AUD scored worse than Q1, which isn’t normal.
Look for 2012 CPA Exam Pass Rates to be stronger as candidates get more familiar with the new exam delivery structure that was implemented in 2011.
Q3 Pass Rates Released: REG Takes a Beating
The CPA Exam Pass Rates for the July/August 2011 testing window have been released by the AICPA. For the most part, the pass rates are similar to this time in 2010 – except for Regulation.
Q3 2011 REG Pass Rate: 45.37%
Q3 2010 REG Pass Rate: 54.03%
Q2 CPA Exam Pass Rates Released; Scores Still Down vs. 2010
Source: AICPA
The AICPA has released the CPA Exam Pass Rates for Q2 2011. Just like Q1, 2011 scores are down compared to 2010.
Auditing and Attestation:
2011 Q2: 47.95%
2010 Q2: 50.75%
Business Environment and Concepts:
2011 Q2: 46.48%
2010 Q2: 48.86%
Financial Accounting and Reporting:
2011 Q2: 44.27%
2010 Q2: 48.37%
Regulation:
2011 Q2: 45.01%
2010 Q2: 52.05%
Analysis: Written communications may have bailed people out on FAR/REG/AUD more than we realized.
Q1 2011 CPA Exam Passing Rates Released – Worst in 3 years; REG down 15.8%
The CPA Exam pass rates for the First Quarter of 2011 have been released by the AICPA.
Auditing and Attestation:
2009 Q1: 47.61%
2010 Q1: 46.86%
2011 Q1: 43.88%
AUD passing rates are down 7.8% over 2009 and 6.4% over 2010.
Business Environment and Concepts:
2009 Q1 46.23%
2010 Q1: 46.59%
2011 Q1: 42.32%
BEC passing rates are down 8.5% over 2009 and 9.2% over 2010.
Financial Accounting and Reporting:
2009 Q1 45.54%
2010 Q1: 44.95%
2011 Q1: 42.43%
FAR passing rates are down 6.8% over 2009 and 5.6% over 2010.
Regulation:
2009 Q1: 47.96%
2010 Q1: 49.00%
2011 Q1: 41.28%
REG passing rates are down 13.9% over 2009 and 15.8% over 2010.
Analysis:
Wow. The lowest passing rates in 3 years. Q1 is historically the worst quarter of the year for CPA Exam passing rates (tax season), but this is a little surprising. I figured pass rates would stay pretty close to 2010, maybe a little lower. What’s up with REG?? I’ve heard people say that REG was brutal in January/February. Now I believe them.
Q4 2010 CPA Exam Pass Rates Released
The CPA Exam Pass Rates for the Fourth Quarter of 2010 have been released.
Auditing and Attestation:
2010 Q1: 46.86%
2010 Q2: 50.77%
2010 Q3: 49.40%
2010 Q4: 44.89%
2009 Q4: 47.99%
2010 Cumulative: 47.80%
Business Environment and Concepts:
2010 Q1: 46.59%
2010 Q2: 48.88%
2010 Q3: 50.79%
2010 Q4: 44.27%
2009 Q4: 45.65%
2010 Cumulative: 47.29%
Financial Accounting and Reporting:
2010 Q1: 44.95%
2010 Q2: 48.39%
2010 Q3: 52.71%
2010 Q4: 45.02%
2009 Q4: 46.15%
2010 Cumulative: 47.81%
Regulation:
2010 Q1: 49.00%
2010 Q2: 52.07%
2010 Q3: 54.03%
2010 Q4: 47.29%
2009 Q4: 46.57%
2010 Cumulative: 50.66%
Analysis: Q4 2009 was the weakest window of the year as well. However, aside from REG, scores were down from this time last year.
Did the AICPA make the exam harder because they knew people would be flocking to avoid the 2011 exam? Are the numbers down simply because of the massive number of people who took exams in Q4 2010?
We’ll never know.
