An empirical investigation of the effects of the adoption of a secured process on the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy CPA Examination Review Board has recently addressed the issues surrounding the security of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination. The Board has taken the position that the CPA Examination process should become a secured process. A secured process is one in which previous test items are not released to the public after each test administration. Test score pollution is likely occurring due to the proliferation of intensive review courses which largely depend on the release of previously used CPA Examination test items. Test score pollution may lead to incorrect inferences regarding an examination candidate's competency. It is believed that a secured process would enhance the reliability and validity of the CPA Examination.;This study investigated the impact of examination security on the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination. It was found that the lack of examination security may have adverse implications for the accountancy profession's licensure process. The data collected for this study suggests that test score pollution may be occurring due to the lack of CPA Examination security. The lack of examination security may allow individuals who are less than competent entry into the profession. A secured Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination may be in the best interest of both the profession and the American public.