CPA Exam Candidates: You Better Hurry Up and Apply For BEC Before It’s Gone Forever

5 thoughts on “CPA Exam Candidates: You Better Hurry Up and Apply For BEC Before It’s Gone Forever”

1. Personally, I actually liked BEC the best out of all the sections of then CPA exam. The material just made logical sense to me, maybe because it wasn’t strictly based on rote memorization (*cough* REG *cough*), but rather tested more general intelligence and problem solving skills within a capitalist business context.

   CPA Evolution sounds like a sports car from the Fast & Furious movie franchise. Who the hell comes up with these names? At this rate, I suspect eventually the CPA credential will be progressively diluted and watered down to irrelevancy. In about 10 to 15 years time, accounting will have experienced a seismic paradigm shift in terms of the overall business structure.

   By then, the Big 4 will have consolidated down to Big 2, called: “D&E&Y” , and “KPWCMG”, and the staffing model during busy season will consist of Partners only, using large Chat GPT Version 7.0 installations to do all the tick marks, tracing, vouching, and actual analysis and grunt work. Partners will simply be there to shout and be angry all the time (no different than now). Chat GPT by then will have attained sentience and will complain about stress and burnout due to insufficient down time or PTO. (Whatever the equivalent of extra PTO would be for a disembodied General A.I. – extra liquid cooling and increased airflow for its NVIDIA processors, perhaps?)

   1. When they announced CPA Evolution two (?) years ago I thought that was just a code name. Like “CPA Evolution” was the project to modernize the exam but the actual redesigned exam would be given a fancy acronym. The fact that the gatekeepers of the credential did not give it a snazzy acronym is further evidence of the profession losing its touch and my disappointment is immeasurable.

2. That’s an interesting observation regarding “code name” for the CPA exam.

   Well, back in the 1990’s the easiest way to make something seem “modern” or “with it” or “hip” or “up to date”, was to throw “2000” after the name, for marketing purposes. Hence, “Microsoft Windows 2000” and “Beyond 2000” (Australian TV series about futuristic gadgets supposed to change our lives, that never actually saw the light of day).

   The trend still continues, to a certain extent, for example, 2K Sports publishes video games with titles like “NBA 2K24” and so forth.

   So maybe it’s time to start labeling the CPA according to the year the person passed the test and got licensed. Something like “Susan Q. Poindexter, CPA 2024”.

   Or maybe version numbers like software releases

   “CPA version 2.7”

   Or maybe just impressive sounding names, like how Apple labels its Mac OS X Version releases after mountain passes and geographical features

   “CPA Big Sur” “CPA Mount Rainier”

   (Just Thinking out of the box here)

   At any rate, I share your disappointment & disillusionment with the overall perpetual decline of CPA as a snazzy & impressive credential. I feel like it just doesn’t command the same level of respect, attention, and admiration as say, “Airline Captain”, “Medical Doctor” or “J.D.”. Even though, based on what I have heard, supposedly it is considered a “terminal degree”. “Terminal” as in “the last certification you should need to obtain in order to have a successful career in this business”, rather than “causes death”.

   The way things stand now, I see CPA as just another piece of paper that people accumulate in order to justify their position and defend their job security. So it’s effectively an arms race, and that’s why there are all these other credentials that people like to pile on top. Certified Internal Auditor, PMP, etc. etc. it’s like, we need to just draw the line and say, ok – this is it. After getting a “CPA 3000” or whatever, and then you’re mainly done with your education. As it stands now there is just this whole massive amount of money pouring into these certification and degree programs , with dubious ROI, . I think that’s why people are quitting the profession in droves (myself included). 😢

   1. Speaking of the turn of the century, ridiculous naming conventions, and placeholder names remember when the AICPA tried to launch the XYZ credential in the very early 2000s?

      In response to this opportunity, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has launched its XYZ credential initiative. The XYZ label is simply the placeholder name for a yet-to-be selected title. A previous name, “Cognitor,” had been used; however, the AICPA membership did not find the “Cognitor” label appealing and it was dropped. Once the credential is officially launched, a new global professional body, separate from the AICPA, will be formed to provide the ongoing infrastructure and support for the credential. Essentially, the XYZ credential will constitute a new profession that will be different and distinct from other existing professions and will complement, not compete, with the other credentials.

      When the XYZ idea was put to a vote, 83,390 (62.5%) of AICPA members were opposed and 50,034 (37.5%) were in favor, thus ended XYZ. Maybe they should resurrect the “Cognitor” idea.

      1. Wow I never heard of that one before. Thanks for the history lesson. Wow, just Wow. “XYZ Cognitor” really just rolls smoothly right off the tongue doesn’t it ? How about CEIHP, “Certified Intelligent Educated Human Person” ? (I thought that’s was a Bachelor’s Degree was suppose to signal. That at least you are minimally qualified and trained at some basic level.)

         When someone asks me at a cocktail party what I do for work I will say I’m an “XYZ Cognitor”. But first I will get a few drinks before I say that, in case they immediately try to cut me off.

         Ultimately I think it really brings into focus the whole actual cannibalism and ultra-competitiveness happening everywhere everyday within accounting…. Not just between firms competing for client work, but also internal intra-firm competition. (Which is why I mentioned the notion of a certification “arms race” before). So if a Junior person is vying for limited number of promotion slots to the next level, they will use every tool at their disposal to make themselves stand out during review period, right? So they’ll gladly fork over another $3K to become a “CPA, XYZ, Cognitor” if it means a stronger chance to get $10K or $15K bump in salary. And Becker and Gleim and the other companies will gladly accept the money and print up some new certificates with embossed seals.

         So you can see how it just becomes this never ending exercise in “who moved the goalposts”.

         So either it’s enough to be a CPA, or it’s not enough. Personally I think I should have studied Law instead of accounting. Because whenever things start to get complicated or confusing, or contentious, or a dispute emerges, on a professional services engagement, (any kind really, could be Internal Controls, Integrated Audit, Agreed Upon Procedures, Bookkeeping, whatever), the first thing accounting people do is call General Counsel for a consultation. Everybody Lawyers up when things get hot. So Law & Legal Principles essentially becomes a superset or more powerful force than accounting principles. The Law overrides & takes precedence over GAAP & GAAS. (just my 0.02 cents ). 😭

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