Exam Change Announcement: AICPA Announces Exact Date of CBT-e Implementation

Just released! The AICPA has finally announced a specific date for the implementation of CBT-e, the next round of CPA Exam changes. As most of you know, the CPA Exam is continuously updated to meet the standards of the time and make processes more efficient and effective. The last major transition people underwent was when the exam changed from a paper-and-pencil test, to the now used computer based exam. The next round of large changes, dubbed CBT-e, will take effect on January 1, 2011.

There are two large changes that will have the most impact on CPA Exam candidates. The AICPA announced:

1. On January 1, 2011, new Content and Skill Specification Outlines (CSOs/SSOs) for the Uniform CPA Examination – including the testing of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – will go into effect.
   
2. On January 1, 2011, a new release of authoritative literature – with codified FASB Accounting Standards – and a new research task format will be introduced on the CPA Examination.
   

These are both changes that we have been forecasting and discussing for quite some time, only with an exact implementation date we can now be 100% sure that they are coming. CPA Exam Candidates will need to be completely prepared to face these exam changes; it is likely that the majority of candidates who sit for the first time in 2010 will be taking at least one of their exams in the new format. It is now essential that your CPA Review program be up to date and preparing you for this transition.

Additionally, the AICPA has released this statement, "Over the next several months, a series of announcements will be made with more details about each of the scheduled CBT-e changes to be implemented – from the transfer of written communication tasks to the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) section to the introduction of new Task-Based Simulations (TBS)."

As always, Roger CPA Review will be bringing you all of the AICPA exam update announcements as soon as they happen. Make sure that you subscribe to the blog (on the side bar to the right…) to get the updates sent directly to you. Additionally, we will begin incorporating IFRS into our curriculum in the next few months to ensure all Roger CPA Exam Review students are properly prepared for the new test format.

More information:

CBT-e Overview

See the new CSOs