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Did you know that the University of Northern Iowa tops the nation in preparing students to pass the CPA Exam? As we discussed in Episode 425<\/a> of The Accounting Podcast, the CPA Success Index<\/a> provides fascinating insights into which accounting programs most effectively prepare students.<\/p>\n The index, established in 2020, measures the percentage of students who pass all four sections of the CPA exam within the crucial 18-month window\u2014which is everyone’s goal, right? You definitely don’t want to have to start over.<\/p>\n The methodology is pretty straightforward: they take NASBA data on sections passed on first attempt in the preceding 12 months, adjust it to an 18-month timeframe using each school’s average first-time pass rate, then divide by total sections attempted.<\/p>\n The top performers might surprise you:<\/p>\n University of Northern Iowa<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Texas A&M University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n University of Texas at Austin<\/p>\n<\/li>\n University of Virginia<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Brigham Young University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Washington and Lee University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Baylor University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n University of Kansas<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Georgetown University<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Four schools have consistently remained in this elite group: Texas A&M, UT Austin, Northern Iowa, and Kansas.<\/p>\n What makes these programs stand out? An accounting department that makes the passing the exam the objective. Texas A&M, for example, benefits from their integrated five-year Bachelor’s\/Master’s program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n