NEW YORK, NASHVILLE, Tenn. & BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The contract providing for nationwide administration of the Uniform CPA Examination in the United States has been extended until 2024 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, and Prometric - the three organizations that jointly offer the CPA Examination in the United States.

"This 10-year extension of the exam contract from 2014 to 2024 continues the close and highly successful collaboration of the three organizations in the delivery of the computer-based examination for the past six years," said Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. "The CPA exam is the gateway to the accounting profession and under this arrangement we have seen the exam improve and grow. About 93,000 candidates took the examination in 2009 – a record."

The Uniform CPA Examination is one of the "Three Es - Education, Examination, and Experience" that are required for licensure as a CPA in the United States. The CPA Examination consists of four sections: Auditing and Attestation; Financial Accounting and Reporting; Regulation; and Business Environment and Concepts. The testing time for the four sections combined is fourteen hours.

"NASBA looks forward to a continued and successful relationship with our partners AICPA and Prometric and is pleased to participate in an examination agreement that provides further confidence in the marketplace as to quality of content, delivery and administration," said David Costello, NASBA president and CEO.

State boards of accountancy are very important to the success of the CPA Examination. They are the only entities with statutory authority to issue CPA licenses, and passing the CPA Examination is a licensure requirement of the accountancy boards in all 55 U.S. jurisdictions (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).

The CPA examination utilizes a combination of question formats. It includes traditional multiple choice questions and essays, as well as highly innovative simulation questions that replicate workplace situations and require application of knowledge and skills to arrive at solutions.

Michael Brannick, Prometric president and CEO said, "The AICPA, NASBA and Prometric have worked diligently to increase access to the Uniform CPA Examination, to ensure accurate and reliable delivery and scoring to make this program a leader among global computerized testing programs. We are pleased to play a role as the partnership's test-delivery vendor."

In its more than 100-year history, the Uniform CPA Examination has undergone many changes. Until the end of 2003, it was a paper-and-pencil examination administered twice each year. In April 2004 the computer-based CPA Examination was launched and the paper-and-pencil examination was discontinued. The computer-based CPA Examination achieved one million administrations in 2009.

Today, the Uniform CPA Examination is a state-of-the-art licensure examination – technologically advanced, psychometrically sound and poised for an additional round of innovations and improvements to be implemented in 2011. For additional information on the Uniform CPA Exam, please visit the website at www.cpa-exam.org.

About Prometric

Prometric, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETS, is the recognized global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services. Its comprehensive suite of services, including test development, test delivery and data management capabilities, allows clients to develop and launch global testing programs as well as accurately measure program results and data. Prometric reliably delivers and administers more than seven million tests a year on behalf of 450 clients in the academic, professional, healthcare, government, corporate and information technology markets. It delivers tests flexibly via the Web or by utilizing a robust network of more than 10,000 test centers in 163 countries. For more information, please visit www.prometric.com.

About NASBA

Celebrating 101 years of service, NASBA serves as a forum for the nation's state boards of accountancy, which administer the Uniform CPA Examination, license certified public accountants and regulate the practice of public accountancy in the United States. NASBA's mission is to enhance the effectiveness of state boards of accountancy in meeting their regulatory responsibilities. The Association promotes the exchange of information among the accountancy boards, serving the needs of the 55 U.S. jurisdictions. NASBA is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. To learn more about NASBA, visit www.nasba.org.

About the AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is the national, professional association of CPAs, with more than 360,000 CPA members in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student affiliates, and international associates. It sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination.

The AICPA maintains offices in New York, N.Y., Washington, D.C., Durham, N.C., Ewing, N.J., and Lewisville, TX.

Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Online Media Center at www.aicpa.org/mediacenter.

NASBA
Tom Kenny, 615-880-4237
tkenny@nasba.org
or
Prometric
Jodi Katz, 443-455-6811
jodi.katz@prometric.com
or
AICPA
William Roberts, 202-434-9266
wroberts@aicpa.org
or
Joel Allegretti, 212-596-6111
jallegretti@aicpa.org