Topic Outline

Certified Public Account Licensure Examination’s decline of passing rate since 2016 in the

Philippines: The factors affecting the result of the Certified Public Accountant Board

Examinations

I. Difficult licensure examinations

A. Sought after profession

B. Passing rate since 2016

II. Causes or factors

A. Redesigned curriculum

B. New BOA Chairperson

C. Reformatting of CPALE process

D. Demand for CPAs

III. Quality education

A. Efficient and effective

B. Undergraduate teachings to students

IV. Self improvement

A. Effective study tips

V. Consistency and motivation

VI. Achieve high passing rate

 Sentence Outline

Certified Public Account Licensure Examination’s decline of passing rate since 2016 in the

Philippines: The factors affecting the result of the Certified Public Accountant Board

Examinations

I. Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) has been one of the

most difficult licensure examinations to hurdle.

A. Being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is one of the most sought-after

professions in the Philippines.

B. The passing rate of Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination is

decreasing since 2016.

II. The causes or factors that contribute to the decline in Certified Public Accountant

Licensure Examination passing rate are the following:

A. The redesigned accountancy curriculum is the main contributory factor.

B. The new Board of Accountancy chairperson gives a high level of rigidity of the

exam with no leeway on assisting board takers to pass.

C. The reformatting of the Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination

process of the future will include two levels of examinations.

D. The demand for Certified Public Accountant in the job market right now is in

moderation.

III. Quality education is significant to provide enough knowledge to students.

A. Providing efficient and effective teaching to students are such a great help.
 B. Undergraduate teachings to students must be in accordance with the Certified

Public Accountant Licensure Examination.

IV. Improving oneself is the first step a person must do to his/herself.

A. There are ways and tips how to study effectively.

V. Keeping the students motivated everyday and being consistent to successfully attain

the target.

VI. Knowing the factors and applying the solutions will help students achieve high

passing rate.
Certified Public Account Licensure Examination’s decline of passing rate since 2016 in the

Philippines: The factors affecting the result of the Certified Public Accountant Board

Examinations

“The Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination is so easy,” said no one ever

(Cruz, 2019). Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examination (CPALE) has been one of the

most difficult licensure examinations to hurdle and has been consistently ranked within the Top

Ten of the Hardest Licensure Examinations in the Philippines (Chua, 2018). Despite of the

difficulties, being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is one of the sought-after professions in

the country. However, the performance of CPALE was declining continuously since 2016

(Castillo, 2017). The recently held CPALE on October 2019 was recorded as the lowest passing

rate of 14.32%. What could be the reason behind the dismal passing rate?

The causes or factors that contribute to the decline in CPALE passing rate could be the

redesigned accountancy curriculum which is known as the main contributory factor. According to

Borgonovo (2018), the Board of Accountancy (BOA) revised the subjects covered by the CPALE

to the set in June 2015. The sudden changes in the examination coverage include the peculiar Tax

Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law. In addition, the reformatting of the CPALE

process of the future will include two levels of examinations wherein graduates of the accountancy

program will have to undergo and pass the first-level Certified Accountant (CA) examination

before pursuing the second-level, CPA examination (BOA Secretariat, 2016). Another would be

the new BOA chairperson gives a high level of rigidity of the exam with no leeway on assisting

board takers to pass. Lastly, is the demand for CPAs in the job market right now wherein robotics

and automation are now practiced in the workplace which can led to the necessity on decreasing

the number of CPA (Reddit, 2019).

 Appropriate action and solution should be done to address these problems. Providing

quality education, improving oneself, and keeping motivated and consistency to students are just

a few ways to achieve a better passing rate. Quality education is significant to provide greater

knowledge to students. As stated by Abejero (2019) in the Philippine Star Global, schools should

improve the style and their way of teaching base on the new curriculum and generation Z. They

should also provide efficient and effective teachings and it must be in accordance with the CPALE

to produce world-class graduates.

Improvement should not just lie only to schools. At the same time, students must also

improve theirselves. No examination is too hard with the right preparation. To aim the CPA title,

students must apply the ways and tips how to study effectively; allocate sufficient study time to

their schedule and make sure it is worthwhile. It is important to study today, not just for the sake

of passing a quiz, but to prepare for the rigorous board exam.

Students must keep motivated everyday and be consistent to successfully attain the targeted

title. They must keep moving forward no matter how many times they fail an exam. Learn from

the mistakes and focus on studying harder and smarter. Effective preparation will enhance mastery

and confidence to take the board examination. Push yourself consistently and do not let distractions

take you off the track.

The CPA title is awarded to few individuals who pass the licensure examination – those

who really deserve it. It is a symbol of excellence and an emblem of achievement. Moreover, it is

a platform that will introduce to bigger career opportunities. It is worth chasing and pays off hard-

work once the title is achieved. Knowing the factors and applying the solutions will help students

aim for a high passing rate.

References:

BOA Secretariat. (2016). New Accountancy Tracks Forthcoming. Retrieved from

https://philcpa.org/2016/08/new-accountancy-tracks-forthcoming/.

Borgonovo, A. J. M. (2018). Redesigning the Accountancy Curriculum of the Philippines.

Retrieved from https://businessmirror.com.ph/2018/10/29/redesigning-the-accountancy-

curriculum-of-the-philippines-3/.

Castillo, R. (2017). Performance of an Accountancy School in Certified Public Accountant

Licensure Examinations in the Philippines. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320708276_Performance_of_an_Accountancy_

School_in_Certified_Public_Accountant_Licensure_Examinations_in_the_Philippines.

Chua, P. (2018). Factors Contributing to the Success of Palawan State University’s CPA

Licensure Examinees. Retrieved from https://simplyeducate.me/2018/08/11/factors-

contributing-to-the-success-of-palawan-state-universitys-cpa-licensure-examinees/.

Cruz, A. (2019). Everything You Need to Know About the CPA Board Exam. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.edukasyon.ph/college-life/everything-you-need-to-

know-about-the-cpa-board-exam/amp/.

Reddit. (2019). Only 16.46% passed the May 2019 CPA Board Exam. Retrieved from

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/philippines/comments/btnici/only_1646

_passed_the_may_2019_cpa_board_exam/.