KU News Release

KU accounting students rank fourth in nation for exam rates

LAWRENCE – Accounting students placed the University of Kansas as one of the top Schools of Business nationwide for CPA exam scores. The KU School of Business placed fourth in the nation for schools with the highest Certified Public Accountant exam passing rate for first-time candidates without advanced degrees.

“This ranking reflects well on the quality of the accounting program and the KU School of Business,” KU Accounting Professor Paul Mason said. “There is no question that we have some of the best students in the country and this ranking helps highlight that fact.”
 
Similar to the bar exam for attorneys, the Certified Public Accountant exam is a professional responsibility for public accounting professionals. Mason said the success of KU accounting students will help attract new job recruiters and prospective students to the KU School of Business.  
 
“Recruiters in the local market already know and actively seek out our students, but it will help us in markets we seek beyond the Midwest,” Mason said. “For example, we frequently have students seek positions in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, etc. Being able to offer this ranking as evidence could help in our recruiting of quality students.”
 
The latest data from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy show nearly 22,000 candidates took the Uniform CPA Examination for the first time. Of these, 72 percent of the candidates from KU passed on their first attempt.  
 
Most CPA candidates taking the exam are repeat candidates. Of the nearly 69,300 candidates who took at least one of the four sections of the CPA exam, more than half of these students had attempted the exam previously.
 
This high ranking for first time candidates means that the KU School of Business is teaching our students the skills they need to succeed in the working world. For more information on the School of Business, visit http://www.business.ku.edu/.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.