No event in the life of a CPA is as monumental as taking and passing the Uniform CPA Exam. So it’s not surprising that your responses and postings about this famed rite of financial professional passage are generating so much buzz.

As regular CPA Insider™ readers recall, we reported in “Ready, Set, Sit!” that the number of CPA exam candidates seems to be returning to historical levels, before the paper-and-pencil exam went the way of, well, paper and pencils and was morphed into a computer-based test.

In that article, we listed the six key strategies that firms can employ to encourage as much exam success as possible. And we asked you to weigh in on what’s working at your firms. Here’s how the six strategies rate, based on the first 100 responses to the survey:

It’s clear from the early responses to the survey that the overwhelming majority of firms are contributing in some way to encouraging young accountants to become licensed CPAs.

In addition to the survey responses, we received dozens of smart and passionate comments.

CPA Warren Bedminster writes:

“All of these efforts are good. But I think it really comes down to us, ourselves, as practicing CPAs. We must accept the responsibility of stewardship that being a member of a learned profession requires. To that point, we must treat our firms, our colleagues and our legacy as if we want our kids to go into the profession. That’s the question; do you want your kids to go into the profession? If so, what kind of profession do you want for them?”

Tom Hood, chief executive of the Maryland CPA society saw Warren’s comment, and adds:

“I agree with Warren and would like to add to his comments — What seems to be missing are the rituals and culture that we had developed in the old paper-based world of May and November. Remember when partners and even CPAs in industry would come around and ask who is sitting? That does not happen much, if any, now. In fact we are now a profession where most of our senior members and leaders (partners and CFOs) do not know the new rules and procedures to advise young people on how to become a CPA. Think about what impact that must have on young candidates. We need a stronger sense of stewardship and a commitment to reinstitute new rituals and celebrations that will make the CPA exam special again.”

Linda Wedul, director of member relations and marketing at the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, joins in:

“I read your post titled ‘Ready, Set, Sit.’ Thanks for mentioning state societies that are helping CPA candidates navigate the exam process. I couldn’t help passing on to you that the Minnesota Society of CPAs has a Web-based tool to help the exam candidates and their employers track their progress. It is called ExamTracker.

See www.mncpa.org/career/ExamTracker/login.asp. We have had it for two years now and have had 455 accounts set up since we launched it. Besides helping the candidate track their progress, there is also a firm administrator component built into ExamTracker. A firm administrator can see the employees of their firm who have an ExamTracker account, view the scheduled test dates, and score expiration dates. Besides helping the candidate, we felt it was equally important to help the employer be supportive during the exam process.”

Don Meyer, communications director at the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, adds a comment:

“Thanks for your post about keeping CPA Exam candidates on track. I agree with Tom that the best way to encourage these young professionals is simply by talking to them. Asking an exam candidate ‘when are you sitting’ may be the best way to motivate them to take the next step. By the way, here’s a link to N.J.’s CPA Exam Cram blog that was mentioned in his post — http://njscpa.typepad.com/examcram/. Twenty thousand page visits and counting.”

That’s just a few of the comments we received. Stay tuned for more good ideas on HOW TO KEEP CPA CANDIDATES ON TRACK: Join the survey; get the results.

SOUND OFF: Rants, raves, ideas or questions? Contact Rick Telberg.

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