This study examines pass rates on the computerized Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam by comparing the results for candidates with bachelor’s degrees from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB)-accredited institutions to candidates with bachelor’s degrees from unaccredited institutions. The comparison includes both business-only-accredited and accounting-accredited institutions. When we examined computerized CPA exam passing rates for a four-year period (2005 to 2008), we found that candidates with bachelor’s degrees from accounting-accredited schools outperformed candidates with bachelor’s degrees from business-accredited only and unaccredited schools. Furthermore, candidates with bachelor’s degrees from business-accredited schools outperformed candidates with bachelor’s degrees from unaccredited schools. These results support previous findings from the paper-and-pencil and computerized formats of the CPA exam, which showed candidates from accredited schools outperformed candidates from unaccredited schools.
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