Auburn University’s School of Accountancy takes the CPA exam seriously – and it shows. Not only did Auburn Master of Accountancy students score a statewide-best 83 percent first time testing pass rate in 2015 (national average is 50 percent), but the school also ranked first statewide in four exam categories (All Testing Events, Advanced Degree - All Testing Events, First Time Testing Events, and Advanced Degree – Testing Events Within One Year of Graduation).

Jennifer Mueller-Phillips, Director of the School of Accountancy, cites classroom preparation and the incorporation of a thorough review for students’ CPA exam success.

“We review our curriculum regularly to make sure that our courses are professionally current, and include the important elements of the CPA Exam.”

Mueller-Phillips noted that the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program was “designed for students to start (classes) in the summer instead of the fall.”

“By getting some hours of coursework out of the way in the summer, they take fewer hours in the following spring which allows them to do an extensive review and sit for the CPA exam before they graduate,” Mueller-Phillips noted.

The MAcc program utilizes the nationally-acclaimed Becker CPA Exam Review to help prepare students to sit for one section of the exam (Financial Accounting and Reporting, Auditing and Attestation, Regulation, and Business Environment and Concepts) at a time, Mueller-Phillips said. The results, by section, for 2015:

• 79 percent pass rate in Financial (FAR)
• 82 percent pass rate in Audit (AUD)
• 80 percent pass rate in Regulation (REG)
• 90 percent pass rate in Business (BEC)

“Employers are thrilled because when MAcc graduates start work in the fall, the CPA exam is behind them,” Mueller-Phillips added. “Many peers in their accounting firms will be preparing for the CPA exam as they are starting a rigorous job. We’ve also begun to see more applicants from other universities enroll in our Master of Accountancy program because the word is out that we provide students an opportunity to take and pass the CPA exam before graduation.”

For more, contact Amy Murphy, Master of Accountancy program director, at (334) 844-6118 or amy.murphy@auburn.edu , or Jennifer Mueller-Phillips, Director of the School of Accountancy, at jmp@auburn.edu