KAMPALA – The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU), has released examination results for the May 2023 diet showing a decline in performance.
Whereas female students outperformed their male counterparts, the pass rate for the Certified Public Accountants, for example, was 32 percent, having declined from 36 percent in the previous sitting.
Female candidates accounted for 58 percent of the passes, while of the total number of sitting students, 54.9 percent were female.
A total of 6,655 candidates sat for the May 2023 cohort compared to 5279 that attempted the December 2022 exam.
The examinations released on Monday, June 26 were conducted from seven examination centers including Arua, Fort Portal, Gulu, Kampala, Mbarara, Mbale, and Nkozi.
Laura Orobia, Vice Chairperson of the Public Accountants Examinations Board (PAEB) attributed the high failure rate to several issues including the fact that this was the first exam under the new syllabus.
She, however, also accused the students of ignoring ICPAU’s engagement that is done online, most of which is targeted at disseminating knowledge to the students.
“The board is happy to announce that we had more female candidates representing 54.9% than their male counterparts representing 45.1 % ( 3655 female and 3000 male candidates registered for may-2023 examination),” said Orobia.
The new syllabus launched last year was designed with the aim of catering to the changing business and economic dynamics, especially the growing importance of the digital economy as well as the environment and social governance (ESG). The syllabus is reviewed every five years.
The board also condemned the practice of selective revision, also known as spotting, where the candidates choose specific topics and focus on them, with the hope that that is where the exam questions will be picked from.
She urged the students and facilitators to make sure that the candidates concentrate on all the topics to avoid disappointments.
“The board also noted that many students and tutors do not look at the learning outcomes which spell out the competence required and this put the students at a disadvantage and contributes to poor performance,” she said.
“Students and tutors are reminded that examinations may be set from any section of the syllabus. Students and tutors are reminded that examinations may be set from any section of the syllabus,” she added.
The examination board also for the first time, conducted a computer-based exam, and this was for the final CPA course paper; Integration of Knowledge, which will also be used as a pilot for possible online examinations in the future.
“We conducted a computer-based examination (CBE) for the final paper on the CPA course- integration of knowledge and this is an important development in enhancing the quality of Accountants being produced,” she added.
ICPAU President Constant Mayende Othieno said despite the fall in passes, the number of accountants is growing commendably and that the profession will continue to grow.
The institute also reviewed the policy of awarding the best candidates, saying that from now on, for one to be declared best candidate, they must have scored at least 60 percent in the respective subject, though the pass mark remains 50 percent.
Mr Mayende encouraged finalists who have become associate members to use this opportunity to apply to the institute for full membership and then they will be able to participate fully.
Derrick Nkajja, the Chief Executive Officer, of ICPAU, urged the public to cooperate by notifying them of areas that are occupied by persons who are not qualified or licensed accountants, including chief financial officers, principal accountants, or heads of accounts departments in ministries, departments and agencies of government, NGOs and local governments.
The total registered number of candidates was 6,655 however 6,067 candidates sat for the May 2023 examination compared to 5,279 candidates in December 2022 representing an increment of 14.9%.
Out of the 119 candidates that registered for Accounting Technicians Diploma (ATD), only 114 sat for a total of 292 papers and of these, 59.9% were female and 41.9% male. The average pass rate was 43.5% compared to 48.6% in December 2022.
For Certified Tax Advisor (CTA), 98 candidates sat for this exam out of the 117 that registered. Of the 176 papers sat, 62(35.2%) were female and 114(64.8%) papers were for male candidates. The average pass rate slightly improved to 47% from 44.6% in December 2022.
There were 5,855 candidates who sat for the Certificate Public Accountants (CPA) out of the 6,419 that registered.
Of the 10,202 papers that sat, 5,786(56.2%) were female and 4,516(43.8%) papers were for male candidates meaning female candidates sat for more papers.
The average pass rate was 32.6% compared to 35.8% in December 2022 examinations.
91 candidates completed the CPA course compared to 116 in the December 2022 sitting and of the 91, 39(42.9%) are female and 52(57.1%) are male.
