The Impact of a Stand-Alone Government and Nonprofit Accounting Course on Passing the CPA Exam Financial Accounting & Reporting Section

• In Event: Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum 5

Abstract

The primary research question is: Does successful completion of a stand-alone Government and Not-for-Profit (GNP) Accounting course by CPA exam candidates result in a statistically significant higher score on the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section (FARS) of the Uniform Certified Public Accounting (CPA) Examination when compared to exam candidates that have not successfully completed such a stand-alone GNP course? The research method will be an ordinary least squares and/or LOGIT regression. Depending upon data availability from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the dependent variable will be the score or a pass/fail measure on the FARS of the CPA Exam; the independent variables will include a dummy variable indicating completion of a stand-alone GNP course and other independent variables which control for factors that may enhance one’s probability of scoring well on the FARS of the CPA Exam (e.g., SAT quantitative score, SAT verbal score, if a CPA prep course was taken, accounting credit hours completed, total credit hours taken, GNP accounting experience, graduate vs. undergraduate status, demographic variables, etc.). This research will benefit the public accounting profession and its regulation by providing policy level decision-makers with information regarding whether failure to complete a stand-alone GNP course prior to sitting for the Exam results in lower scores on the FARS. More importantly, lower FARS scores, especially those related to reduced GNP knowledge, ultimately may result in a reduced level of safety to the public if audit quality of GNP organizations suffers. GNP organizations are audited to provide the public with information regarding whether tax dollars or donated resources were used as intended. A reduced comprehension of GNP accounting may result in lower quality audits of GNP organizations which can ultimately harm our economy.

Authors

• Richard C. Brooks, West Virginia University

• Suzanne Lowensohn, Colorado State University

• Donald R Deis, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi