Are Course Grades and Faculty Intuition Predictors of Success on Professional Accounting Exams?

This research investigates whether faculty intuition is better than a student’s grade point average (GPA) at predicting success on professional accounting exams. This study also investigates the predictive ability of: training office size, professional exam preparation, co-op experience, and case competition participation. A novel dataset is hand-collected based on Lakehead University students who pursued the Chartered Accountant designation in Ontario, Canada. The results reveal GPA as the best predictor, although faculty intuition also has predictive value. Additional analysis reveals that the GPA from courses in financial and management accounting, auditing, and taxation are all predictive of student success. In regards to the other factors, participation in case competitions is the only other factor shown to have some predictive ability. However, case competition participation may be predictive only as an extension of the students with high grades electing, or being encouraged by professors, to participate in case competitions. Overall, this study makes many significant contributions to a broad group of stakeholders, including professional accounting bodies, employers, students, and instructors.