This page is devoted to CBT-e – the name given to a collection of projects that will result in a new release of the Uniform CPA Examination. (CBT stands for Computer-Based Testing and the "e" for evolution.) Information about the development of the CBT-e initiative and its progress toward implementation is documented on this page.

As information about CBT-e changes becomes available, announcements will be posted on the right.  Be sure to check this page on a regular basis!

Background

Invitation to Comment (ITC) and Responses
In October 2007, the AICPA Board of Examiners (BOE) sought input from accountancy boards and other stakeholders on a series of recommended examination changes by authorizing the release of an Invitation to Comment (ITC) on Proposed CPA Examination Improvements. (Click here to view.) Eighty-two ITC responses were received. (Click here to view summary.)

BOE Approves CBT-e
After reviewing all ITC responses, the BOE made decisions on the proposed CBT-e changes in the spring of 2008. (Click here to view a summary of BOE decisions.)

CBT-e Changes Will Be Extensive

The following are just some of the many changes that will be implemented on January 1, 2011, when CBT-e is launched:

• New Uniform CPA Examination Content and Skill Specification Outlines (CSOs/SSOs), including International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), will go into effect.
• A new release of authoritative literature, with codified FASB Accounting Standards, and a new research task format will be introduced on the CPA Examination.
• The components of CPA Examination sections will be reorganized, with all written communication tasks to be concentrated in one section – Business Environment and Concepts (BEC); section time allocations will be adjusted.
• Short Task-Based Simulations (TBS) will replace simulations in the current (long) format in Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG).