University of Florida students earn No. 6 national pass rate of CPA Exam

Accounting students at the Fisher School of Accounting at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business outperformed students across the nation in the latest CPA Exam performance results. While the 2023 CPA Exam national pass rate is around 54%, accounting students at the University of Florida have an overall pass rate among first-time test candidates of 82.8%.

With this excellent pass rate, accounting students earned the Fisher School of Accounting a No. 6 ranking nationally among large programs, consisting of 251 schools that have more than 60 candidates.

“The CPA Exam represents the pinnacle of professional achievement in accounting, serving as the gold standard that distinguishes the most exceptional and dedicated professionals in our field,” said Gary McGill, Senior Associate Dean of the Warrington College of Business, Director of the Fisher School of Accounting and Director of the Hough Graduate School of Business. “Our students’ outstanding performance demonstrates their engagement and work ethic along with the rigorous preparation and world-class education provided by the Fisher School of Accounting and its excellent faculty.”

First-time test takers who have earned an advanced degree, like a Master of Accounting, had an 81.3% pass rate, ranking the school at No. 4 among 16 high-quality peer programs. This ranking ties the University of Florida with the University of Wisconsin – Madison and places it just behind schools like the University of California – Berkeley, University of Iowa and the University of Texas at Austin.

Comparatively, Fisher School students who have earned a bachelor’s degree had a pass rate of 80.6%, claiming the No. 2 spot among the same 16 peer programs, just behind the University of Texas at Austin.

Fisher School first-time test takers also performed exceptionally well in the various CPA Exam sections compared to the school’s 16 peer institutions, including:

• Financial Accounting and Reporting – 78.5% pass rate; No. 1
• Auditing and Attestation – 76.5% pass rate; No. 2
• Regulation – 81.1% pass rate; No. 3
• Business Environment and Concepts – 88.5% pass rate; No. 4

Compared to public universities across Florida, the University of Florida maintained its No. 1 ranking for both first-time test takers with and without an advanced degree. The University of Florida’s 81.3% and 80.6% pass rates soared over runner up Florida State University (75.6% and 74.5% among first-time test takers with and without an advanced degree, respectfully).

Out of the more than 86,000 CPA Exam test takers in 2023, 40 were recognized with the Elijah Watt Sells Award for their exceptional score of a cumulative average above 95.50 across all four sections of the exam. Fisher School alumna and Forensic Advisory Associate at KPMG Sarah Falkin (BSAc ’23, MAcc ’23) was among the 40 recipients of the award.

“I truly had the best experience in the Fisher School and attribute much of my recent success to the incredible faculty and resources available to me during my studies,” she said.