Academic achievement and professional examination performance

Although licensing of chartered accountants (CAs) in Canada is governed by provincial law, the basic requirements are similar across the country: the equivalent of an undergraduate education in accounting, two years of experience, and a passing score on the Uniform Final Examination (UFE). The UFE, taken by candidates after completion of a bachelor’s degree, is administered and scored annually by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). The profession agrees that standards for the UFE and for other licensing requirements should remain high; still, the pass rate on the UFE, which has ranged as low as 29%, has worried a number of observers (Gibbins, 1986; Matusky, 1991; Meikle, 1986; Rosen, 1978, 1982). Recently, candidates aspiring to enter the field of chartered accountancy in Quebec have brought political arguments into the debate on the reasonableness of UFE pass rates (Matusky, 1990).