An examination of the relationship between obtaining AACSB accounting accreditation and certified public accountant (CPA) exam pass rates

This is an exploratory study that examines the relationship between obtaining accounting accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International and CPA exam pass rates. We examined CPA exam results for a thirteen year period (1991-2003) for 19 schools that received initial accounting accreditation during 1997-1999. During this timeframe, the exam was administered in a paper-based format. We compared overall exam scores and scores for individual sections of the exam for the years preceding the year of initial accounting accreditation and for the years following the year of initial accreditation. We found that obtaining accounting accreditation had no effect on CPA exam pass rates.