The Comparative Difficulty of Professional Certification Questions in an Undergraduate Accounting Course

Abstract

Unlike other business areas, the study of accounting includes preparation for certifying examinations. Because questions on these exams are available to the public, they are often used as problems in accounting textbooks. Do professional exam questions pose greater difficulty to business students than those developed specifically for the text? Past research on actual business student behavior has not offered reliable information on this issue. In this study, an expert system administered thousands of study questions to undergraduates in a management accounting class. A comparison of questions from past Certified Public Accountancy and Certified Management Accountant exams versus those specifically prepared for the textbook indicated that professional certification exam questions are more difficult. Furthermore, Certified Management Accounting exam questions pose a greater challenge than Certified Public Accounting exam questions in the managerial accounting area.