The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The pass rate for accountancy students continues to worry, with only 32.9 percent of the 3919 passing the August exams of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU). This, however, is an improvement of 0.3 percent from the June 2023 exam.
According to the results released Monday, the failure rates increase with the advancement of the levels, with Level 3 having Advanced Taxation as the best-done paper with only 33.9 percent of candidates passing it. Integration of Knowledge, the only paper done at Level 4 and computer-based registered a 38.9 percent pass. This was the first August exam since 2019 following the disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laura Aseru Orobia, the chairperson of the Public Accountants Examinations Board (PAEB), explains that one of the main causes of the high failure rates is the “targeted preparation” also known as spotting where candidates choose areas to concentrate on when preparing for the exams.
She says that the August exams were meant to give chance to those who failed at the previous sitting to be able to catch up, and thinks that not enough time is given to them by the candidates.
According to the results released Monday, the most failed papers were Financial Management 8, Advanced Financial Reporting 12, Public Financial Management 13, and Advanced Financial Management 15.
The pass rates for these papers ranged between 12.3 and 18.5 percent of the candidates that attempted them. Ms. Orobia expressed concern that the papers that failed were the core papers of the Certified Public Accountancy course and the ones that measure the technical competence of an accountant.
On concerns that the failure rates could be arising from an issue with the syllabus or other technical areas in the examination system, ICPAU President Josephine Ossiya Okui dismissed this as impossible. She said their study of the failures and those who pass show that there is no problem with the syllabus but inadequate preparations since other candidates do well.
According to her, the fact that some students have completed the course in just one and a half years is evidence that the syllabus is well-designed and that they will continue following the international standards.
A total of 3,919 candidates sat for the August diet, with the majority (54.7) percent being female, who also posted a better performance than males overall. Of the 18 top candidates, there were 13 females while males topped in the other six papers, and of the 64 candidates who completed the CPA course, 35 were females.
At the final stage (Level 4), which has one paper, Integration of Knowledge, the best candidate was Irene Ndagire, followed by Sharifah Babirye and Denish Okello Onenecan. While males still account for more than 61 percent of the 4,958 students who have cumulatively completed the CPA course, Ossiya is confident that the gap will get smaller and the membership balanced in the profession.
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