Academic Achievement and Professional
Examination Performance
M. Rai Kapoor
concordia university
K. Hung Chan
university of california
Herbert L. Jensen
california state university
INTRODUCTION
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).
THE SAMPLE
Our research considers the effects of university accounting education on
candidate pass rates for the UFE. The Ordre des comptables agréés du
Québec (OCAQ) has provided extensive demographic data and test scores
for a sample of 824 first-time Quebec candidates who sat for a recent UFE.
University transcripts were either unavailable or unusable for 191 individuals. This left 633 individuals whose UFE results and university transcripts
could be analyzed.
The pass rates for our sample showed no significant differences, with
62.5% of Francophone and 61.9% of Anglophone candidates passing the
UFE. In contrast, the 1990 UFE pass rates for all Quebec candidates were
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17:1 (1992)
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33.5% for Francophones and 60.0% for Anglophones (Matusky, 1991). This
significant difference between samples of Francophone candidates can be
explained by the large number of repeat candidates among all Francophone
candidates and the exclusion of repeat candidates from the sample in our
study. Statistics from CICA consistently show that the performance of repeat
candidates is below that of first-time candidates (CICA, 1985).
Demographic data for these 633 candidates showed that 429 (67.7%) had
graduated from Francophone universities and 204 (32.3%) from Anglophone
universities. Overall, 86.3% of the sample had graduated from university
within 12 months of taking the UFE. Only 2.1% had a university degree in
a discipline other than accountancy. The OCAQ required them to take additional courses in accounting before sitting the UFE.
In our sample, 82.0% were 20 to 25 years old and 63.7% were male.
These demographic characteristics of the candidates were checked against
national data for UFE candidates and found to be representative of the
population of all Canadian first-time UFE-takers.
UNIVARIATE DATA ANALYSIS
Degree Programs
Although the pass rates for Francophone candidates have steadily declined
over the years, there has been no significant change in the education of
accounting students or in the nature of the UFE (Matusky, 1991). We crosstabulated each candidate’s university transcript by courses within the three
major categories of general education, business, and accounting (AACSB,
1983). As table 1 shows, the major difference in the educational backgrounds of Francophone and Anglophone candidates was the amount of university coursework they had completed.
In conformity with recommendations of U.S. educators (Arthur Andersen
& Co. et al., 1989; Bedford & Shenkir, 1987), Anglophone candidates on
the average take 104 semester hours of credit in general business and
accounting courses and 19 hours in general education, for a total of 123
hours over four years—including a one-year postgraduate diploma course—
before sitting the UFE. OCAQ argues that this is the minimum education
needed to prepare a student for a CA’s ever-increasing responsibilities
(Matusky, 1991).
Quebec’s Francophone educators contend that costs for this extra (postgraduate diploma) year of study are excessive, and unfairly imposed upon
students, universities, and the public (Matusky, 1991). Consequently,
accounting degree programs offered by French-language institutions are
relatively narrow in scope. Francophone candidates in our sample averaged
88 credit hours of general business and accounting courses, and only 7 hours
of general education. Although our tests showed moderate positive correlations between general education credit hours and UFE results, the Francophone universities allege their programs are in no way inferior.
19
123
47
90
10
100
Accounting
Total
technical
General
education
Grand total
104
55
49
43
General
business
Credit
hours
Credit
hours
100.0
15.5
84.5
44.7
39.8
Percent
120–127
11–26
94–116
48–63
46–53
Range
Anglophone university
candidates
Academic
area
All “pass”
candidates
95
7
88
45
43
Credit
hours
100.0
7.4
92.6
47.3
45.3
Percent
92–102
3–10
81–95
43–48
33–53
Range
Francophone university
candidates
Average Semester Hours of Credit Completed by 633 UFE Candidates
TABLE 1
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DISCUSSION NOTES
UFE Results
The UFE comprises four papers taken over a two-day period. Each paper is
worth 100 marks, with 400 marks available for all papers combined. The
mean score for this sample of first-time candidates was 242.7 marks, which
produced the usual pass rate of about 62%. Table 2 summarizes the scores
for the four individual papers for both “pass” and “fail” candidates.
Relatively speaking, candidates performed worst on paper I, the comprehensive question, scoring a mean of 52.9 versus 55.1, 57.3, and 53.0 on
papers II, III, and IV, respectively. The comprehensive question purports to
test attributes including diagnostic, analytical, mathematical, and judgmental
abilities, and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively in writing
(CICA, 1985). The difference in performance on paper I and on the other
three papers was somewhat more pronounced among those who passed the
UFE (that is, 68.9 versus 71.8, 72.9, and 69.7, as shown in table 2). Moreover, additional coursework in general education seemed to have a moderately beneficial effect on candidates’ performance on all papers, particularly
the more conceptual paper I.
Grade Point Average
For a candidate in this sample who passed the UFE, grade point average
(GPA) in the degree program averaged 74.3%, around a “B” according to
the grading scales widely used in Quebec universities. The range was 70.3%
to 80.1%. The comparable GPA for failing candidates was 68.5%, with a
range from 62.8% to 72.1%. Numbers were very similar regardless of GPA
measure (table 3). GPAs for general education courses, business courses,
accounting courses, degree program, and diploma courses all correlated
highly. Data for this sample indicate a student with an average performance
(below 70%) at the undergraduate level is unlikely to pass the UFE.
TABLE 2
Average Scores for 633 UFE Candidates
Average score on UFE
Candidates
Paper I
Passing
68.9
71.8
72.9
69.7
All
52.9
55.1
57.3
53.0
Failing
28.7
30.0
33.6
27.4
Paper II
Paper III
Paper IV
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DISCUSSION NOTES
TABLE 3
Comparative Grade Point Averages
Average grade point averages
Candidates
General
education
Business
Accounting
Degree
program
Diploma
courses
Passing
75.1
75.0
73.4
74.3
67.6
Failing
70.9
70.8
65.6
68.5
63.3
4.2
4.2
7.8
5.8
4.3
Difference
REGRESSION ANALYSIS
We assessed the joint impact of candidate attributes on UFE performance
using several multiple regression models. In addition to the demographic
characteristics of the candidates and their sundry GPA measures, we tested
credit hours taken and credit hours failed in general education, business, and
accounting as independent variables. Although we wanted to investigate the
relationship between UFE pass rates and candidates’ geographic origin or
ethnicity, such data were not available.
Regression equations were fitted for each of five dependent variables: the
individual scores for each of the four papers which comprise the UFE and
the total marks awarded. Various plots of residuals against independent and
dependent variables revealed no abnormal patterns. A runs test of the
residuals for each regression equation also failed to detect a violation of the
underlying statistical assumptions (Berenson, Levine, & Goldstein, 1983).
The coefficients of determination (R2) ranged from 0.14 for paper I to
0.32 for total marks. All were statistically significant at the 95% confidence
level. The R2 value of 0.32 for the regression equation predicting total marks
was close to values obtained in other education research studies (Dunn &
Hall, 1984; Kapoor, 1988; Reilly & Stettler, 1972).
Considering the results of the univariate analysis, it is not surprising that
the most important predictor variable associated with UFE performance in
every regression equation tested was the candidate’s GPA in accounting
courses. The coefficients for this variable were consistently of the expected
sign and were highly significant statistically. This finding is consistent with
similar U.S. studies (Dunn & Hall, 1984; Reilly & Stettler, 1972). The
multivariate analysis confirmed our conclusion from the univariate analysis,
that better-prepared candidates do better on the UFE.
Results for the variable measuring credit hours failed in accounting were
of the expected sign and statistically significant for the total marks
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regression equation. This suggests credit hours failed in accounting is linked
to poor UFE performance. However, credit hours failed in either general
education or business had no predictive value.
CONCLUSIONS
The average first-time candidate sitting for the UFE in Quebec was about 24
years old, had less than one year of work experience in accounting, and had
been awarded a university degree in accounting within the last year. Candidates had clear indications from their undergraduate GPAs of their chances
for success on the UFE. Any GPA under 70% warned that the student might
not pass the UFE.
The results of this study also show that the number of credit hours
completed in general education courses have a statistically significant and
positive effect on UFE marks, particularly on paper I. It is unfortunate
Quebec universities do not offer adequate breadth in their undergraduate
accounting programs. On average, candidates from these institutions devoted
only 10% of their undergraduate studies to general education. This is
significantly below the level practitioners and educators consider adequate
(Kapoor & Chan, 1985). The question remains, of course, just why general
studies would have the effects they do—and this deserves careful further
study.
The evidence of positive associations between UFE performance and both
GPA in accounting and credit hours completed in general education
highlights the importance of these aspects of programs for students aspiring
to become chartered accountants. Specific attention to GPA in accounting
and credit hours in general education should result in better counselling of
potential candidates to sit for the UFE. This, in turn, may lead to earlier and
better self-selection by students, avoidance of needless frustration and waste
of resources protesting UFE results, and eventually to a higher success rate
for the UFE.
REFERENCES
American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business [AACSB]. (1983).
Accrediting standards and guidelines for business administration programs. St.
Louis, MO: AACSB.
Arthur Andersen & Co., et al. (1989, April). Perspectives on education: Capabilities for success in the accounting profession.
Bedford, N., & Shenkir, W.G. (1987, August). Reorienting accounting education.
Journal of Accountancy, p. 86.
Berenson, M.L., Levine, D.M., & Goldstein, M. (1983). Intermediate statistical
methods and applications: A computer package approach. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants [CICA]. (1985). Board of Examiners’ report on the 1984 Uniform Final Examination. Toronto: CICA.
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DISCUSSION NOTES
Dunn, W.M., & Hall, T.W. (1984). An empirical analysis of the relationships
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