Comment on exposure draft concerning CPA exam scores
March 29, 2023 | Linda Wedul, CAE
NASBA, with the encouragement and support of several stakeholders, has issued an exposure draft to lengthen the time CPA exam scores are valid. Currently, the exam score window is 18 months.
After passing one exam, a candidate must pass the remaining three exams within 18 months or lose the successfully passed exam score. Considering workloads, busy season and unexpected events, and, in many places, limited testing seats, most candidates have only six to eight months that are viable to sit for three exams in the 18-month window.
The exposure draft would allow scores to be valid for 24 months.
The MNCPA, along with 15 other state societies, support a period not less than 36 months before exam scores would expire. We believe that 36 months is a practical solution that accounts for busy season, studying and scheduling for the remaining exams.
NASBA estimates that as many as 2,000 candidates annually timeout of the exam process. For those who retake an expired exam, they incur additional fees to sit for a passed exam a second time. By extending the 18-month period, more candidates will complete the exam and the cost will be lowered for some candidates.
At the March 2023 Minnesota Board of Accountancy meeting, the BOA approved sending a comment letter to NASBA that supports a 36-month window for passed exam scores. The MNCPA will also send a comment letter encouraging changes that allow for no less than 36 months for the exam score window.
To increase the impact, CPAs also need to send comments to NASBA.
April 17, 2023, is the deadline for submitting comments. The following information provides more details on the changes and how to submit comments:
- Review the proposed changes. Here is the NASBA exposure draft.
- Email comments to uaacomments@nasba.org.
- Use sample language, if preferred. If drafting a comment from scratch is a barrier, we have collaborated with the Ohio Society of CPAs to allow MNCPA members access to an online advocacy tool to submit comments. Personal stories about losing exam scores and the impact to candidates are especially meaningful.
This is one of the factors impacting the CPA pipeline. Extending the exam score window will reduce the number of candidates that timeout and reduce fees for candidates who retake exams due to losing a score.
Comments are due by April 17, 2023. Thank you in advance for your consideration comment on the proposed changes.
Topics: Staffing, Succession, Education
Linda Wedul, CAE
Linda Wedul is president and CEO of the MNCPA. She’s usually spotted at MNCPA events, introducing herself to members with a warm smile and memorable laugh. Mixed among the Footnotes, accounting journals, leadership books and three monitors in her office, you’d be surprised to see a dog kennel. Her unpaid job is volunteering as a foster family for service dogs in training through Can-Do-Canines. She and her husband have two adult children and live in Farmington. Linda can be reached at 952-885-5516 or lwedul@mncpa.org.
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