Nondisclosed Exam Release #1
In these fast-paced times, changes to the CPA Exam seem to happen almost every time it is given. In the most recent change, the CPA Exam will join all other national professional licensing exam programs in maintaining a secure, nondisclosed bank of questions that have already appeared on an examination. This means students, university professors, and CPA exam preparation course instructors will soon be limited in what they can share about questions that appear on the Uniform CPA Exam beginning in May 1996.
Keeping the CPA Exam questions secure after the exam is administered will allow the AIC'PA to make the difficulty level and the passing grade more consistent from administration to administration through the ability to present and reuse questions. This will make it less likely that candidates will take a particularly easy or difficult exam and will allow the AICPA board of examiners to set a more consistent passing grade for each exam. This makes the exam fairer to everyone.
Disclosure of specific examination questions will be prohibited. Violators will be subject to prosecution under federal copyright statutes and possibly under state laws. In addition, a recent interpretation of the AlCPA's Code of Professional Conduct makes disclosure of CPA Exam questions a violation of ethical rules for AICPA members
Candidates and all others who might see Exam questions (e.g., exam proctors) will be asked to sign a nondisclosure statement similar to the following:
I hereby attest that will not divulge the nature or content of any question or answer to any individual or entity, and I will report to the board of accountancy any solicitations and disclosures of-;which I become aware. I will nor remove any Uniform CPA examination materials, notes, or other unauthorized materials from the examination room. I understand that failure to comply with this attestation may result in invalidation of 17(y grades, disqualification from future examinations, and possible civil and criminal penalties.
Failure of candidates to sign the statement, included on many applications to take the CPA Exam and on the Examination Attendance Record, could lead to their being barred from sitting for the Exam or to their grades being suspended or canceled.
In support of the nondsclosure policy, the AICPA's Professional Executive Committee recently adopted the following interpretation to Rule 501 of the AICPA Code of Professional Standards, which applies to members of the AICPA.
A member who solicits or knowingly discloses the May 1996 or later uniform CPA examination questions and/or answers without s en authorization of the AICPA shall be considered; red to have committed an act discreditable to the profession in violation of Rule 501.
In addition, many states have adopted, or will adopt, language similar to these statements into their laws and professional rules and regulations. The main purpose of these actions-laws, signed statements, and ethical rules- is to emphasize to those with an interest in the CPA Exam-educator regulators, candidates, practitioners-that unauthorized disclosure of CPA Exam questions is against the law, may violate professional standards, and may be grounds to revoke a license to practice public accountancy. For CPA candidates, disclosure may be grounds to deny admission to the CPA Exam or even to deny a license. Nondisclosure after the CPA Exam is administered is new for most CPA candidates and others with connections to CPA Exam preparation and administration, and so it is critical that all parties understand the possible consequences Accidental disclosure may have many of the same consequences as intentional disclosure, so all who see CPA Exam questions should be very careful about what they communicate about the Exam to others.
What does nondisclosure mean for candidates? If you are a candidate, it means you cannot discuss specific questions with others, including educators. In some professions, preparation courses have been known to debrief candidates after the examination. Until now, this has not been an issue with the CPA Exam. Beginning in May 1996, candidate debriefing would violate the copyright laws and the nondisclosure statement: both the candidates and the course instructor would be liable.
What does nondisclosure mean for educators and practicing CPAs? If you are an educator it means you cannot use nondisclosed CPA Exam questions in class discussions or examinations ( ?re-1996 questions will continue to be freely licensed by the AICPA) Should you ask Students about questions that might have appeared on the CPA Exam? Absolutely NOT! What if a student asks you a very specific question that sounds like it was on yesterday's CPA Exam? You should NOT answer it, and you should let the student know that asking a question that has appeared On a nondisclosed CPA Exam is improper. Can students ask you to explain a topic covered on the CPA Exam? Yes-bur how you answer is important. The safest and fairest thing to do is to take the topic or issue and frame it more generally, describing the key features of the topic or explaining how to address the issue, instead of simply providing an answer. In other words, by discussing the topic or issue without reference to a specific examination question, you do not violate copyright laws or AICPA professional standards (though check with your board of accountancy to ensure you are not violating a local law) and you are helping the student to learn.
What are some implications of unauthorized disclosure of CPA Exam questions beyond the consequences for individuals who violate disclosure and other contractual agreements; federal or state laws, rules and regulations; or professional standards? Two that have already been described are in the increased difficulty in maintaining comparability of difficult and of passing grades from one CPA Exam to the next. Another implication is damage to the validity of the CPA for making licensing decisions. If some candidates pass the CPA Exam only because they had de opportunity to learn the answers to specific questions that were likely to appear on the CPA exam, the public safety and welfare protected by licensing might suffer.
A fourth implication is the certain increase In costs to develop the CPA Exam. Nondisclosed questions are valuable assets that are expensive for any testing program to replace. Any serious breach would be costly to all candidates due to the need to write, pretest, and evaluate many new questions. Thus, widespread disclosure of Exam questions would add substantial Costs to Exam development and result In fee increases to boards of accountancy and candidates.
The bottom line is unauthorized disclosure can hurt everybody - candidates, educators practitioners, the public, and the accounting profession. Think before you disclose CPA Exam questions, either with or without intent. A single incident of unauthorized disclosure of CPA Exam questions would have very serious consequences