By Ken Tysiac
The updated CPA Exam makes its debut at the start of this month with an adjusted focus designed to continue to ensure that the candidates who pass it have the required knowledge and skills to protect the public interest.
The updated exam places greater emphasis on higher-order skills of analysis and evaluation, and lowers the emphasis on remembering and understanding. The changes are necessary because the skills newly licensed CPAs need have evolved. Automated systems have been developed to handle many of the routine tasks that new members of the accounting profession used to perform. As a result, newly licensed CPAs require broader knowledge and more advanced skills, which are reflected in the updated CPA Exam.