By Caroline Nassuuna
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) has announced results from the August 2024 Certified Public Accountants (CPA(U)) Examinations. The results were released on 16 September 2024 at Protea by Marriott Kampala Skyz, Naguru.
The Examinations were conducted from Monday, 19 to Friday, 23 August 2024, in Kampala and were written by a total of 4,401 candidates. 2,438 of these were female and 1,963 were male.
According to the Public Accountants Examinations Board (PAEB), the average pass rate was 31.0% compared to 32.9% for the August 2023 diet, implying a slight decline from the August 2023 Examinations diet.
In terms of gender distribution, a total of 32.2% of scripts written by female candidates registered passes compared to 29.6% registered to have been written by their male counterparts. In terms of age, the highest passes (39.6%) were registered by candidates in the age bracket of 25—29 years, followed by 15.8% registered among candidates aged 30 years and above, and the remaining 15.6% passes were registered among candidates between 18—24 years.
While delivering her speech, the Chairperson of PAEB, CPA Prof. Laura A. Orobia, noted that the candidates' poor preparations have contributed to the poor performance in some subjects registered in this diet.
“We believe that among other things, students had not prepared well. We therefore call upon candidates intending to attempt the December 2024 examinations to intensify their preparations for better outcomes,” noted CPA. Orobia.
She further advised students who intend to enrol for the CPA (U) to do so while they are still younger, to ensure fair competition with their peers.
In her speech, delivered by CPA Ronald Mutumba, the Vice President of ICPAU; the President of the ICPAU Council CPA Josephine Okui Ossiya congratulated the candidates who passed their examinations and applauded them for their dedication, hard work, and perseverance.
“This milestone signifies the start of a path into a profession crucial to the integrity, efficiency, and success of businesses and the broader global economy,” remarked CPA Ossiya.
CPA Derick Nkajja, the secretary/CEO, emphasised the crucial role ICPAU plays as the promoter of the accountancy profession in the country. He also cautioned the public against referring to individuals as accountants unless they are recognised as such under the Accountants Act, which clearly defines who qualifies to be an accountant in Uganda.
PAEB revealed the role played by student engagement webinars in improving students' performance. The webinars are interactive sessions between students and specialists, organised to assist students with preparation for examinations, especially regarding the question approach. PAEB called upon candidates to attend these arrangements.
The August 2024 Examinations diet was held in the Kampala Centre alone for CPA (U) candidates only. This diet registered 80 finalists.
For the year 2024, PAEB scheduled three (3) examination diets: May, August, and December. The first diet (May) results were released in June, and the results for the second diet (August) have been released. The third and final examination diet this year will be written in December, between 2 and 6.
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