ABU DHABI 14th March 2011: Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority (ADAA) hosted today a press conference at the Emirates Palace to announce the beginning of the international administration of the Uniform CPA Examination this coming August in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Lebanon. The U.S. CPA exam is being offered internationally for the first time due to rapidly escalating international demand for U.S. CPA licensure, whereby more than 10,000 candidates travelled to the U.S. last year to take the exam marking a 22% increase from 2009. In October last year, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and Prometric (the three organizations collaboratively offering this exam) reached an agreement on how to begin the administration of this exam internationally and the locations most suitable to host it. ADAA was informed upon reaching this agreement, since it had launched an initiative to bring the US CPA Examination to Abu Dhabi back in 2008 which coincided with the review and research being conducted by the Committee of Internationalization of the CPA Examination to identify potential international exam sites and setting the governing regulations and security policy for this process. His Excellency Riyad Al Mubarak, Chairman of ADAA noted: “We are very pleased at Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority with the news; it is overwhelming to see that our efforts have been successful and our initiative becoming a reality. It has been a long journey since our first contact with the Illinois Board of Examiners proposing to administer the exam in Abu Dhabi.” “Bringing the exam to the UAE and the region will contribute tremendously to the improvement and development of this profession. It will certainly help us at ADAA fulfill one of our strategic goals and that is to develop human capital and train Emirati graduates specifically our female graduates that can now sit for the exam here in the UAE.” Al Mubarak added. At the press conference Mr. Ken Bishop, Executive Vice President & COO of NASBA told the press “I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet with our associates in accounting regulation and examination delivery in the UAE and the Middle East during this visit to discuss the local delivery of the Uniform CPA Examination later this year. The business and financial relationships between the Middle East region and the United States are long held. It is appropriate that the historical initiative to deliver the Uniform CPA Examination outside of the United States begins here,” Registration for the international exam will begin on May 1, and applications may be made through certain U.S. state boards of accountancy offering eligibility for international candidates. Initially the exam will be offered internationally during a one month testing window per calendar?year quarter whereby the first exam will be during the month of August in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Japan. The international exam, which will be offered in English, is the same as the U.S. exam administered by the AICPA, NASBA, and Prometric in the United States and will have the same licensure requirements. Future testing months during which the exam will be administered in the Middle East and Japan will be November 2011 and February, May 2012. Along with passing the Uniform CPA Examination, international candidates must meet educational and experience requirements as mandated by U.S. state boards of accountancy which have the governmental legal authority to award the U.S. CPA license. Testing in the new locations will be open to citizens and long?term residents of the countries in which the exam is being administered. In the Middle East, citizens of Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia may take the exam in one of the Middle East locations. U.S. citizens living abroad are eligible to test at any location. About NASBA Celebrating 103 years of service, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) serves as a forum for the nation’s state boards of accountancy, which administer the Uniform CPA Examination, license more than 650,000 certified public accountants and regulate the practice of public accountancy in the United States. NASBA’s mission is to enhance the effectiveness of state boards of accountancy in meeting their regulatory ponsibilities. The Association promotes the exchange of information among the accountancy boards, serving the needs of the 55 U.S. jurisdictions. NASBA is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., with a satellite office in New York, N.Y. and a Computer Testing Center in Guam. To learn more about NASBA, visit www.nasba.org. About Prometric Prometric, a wholly?owned subsidiary of ETS, is the recognized global leader in technology?enabled testing and assessment services. Its comprehensive suite of services, including test development, test delivery and data management capabilities, allows clients to develop and launch global testing programs as well as accurately measure program results and data. Prometric reliably delivers and administers more than seven million tests a year on behalf of 450 clients in the academic, professional, healthcare, government, corporate and information technology markets. It delivers tests flexibly via the Web or by utilizing a robust network of more than 10,000 test centers in 163 countries. For more information, please visit www.prometric.com. About AICPA The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is the world’s largest association representing the accounting profession, with nearly 370,000 members in 128 countries. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education, and consulting; membership is also available to accounting students and CPA candidates. The AICPA sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non?profit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination. The AICPA maintains offices in New York, Washington, DC, Durham, N.C., Ewing, N.J. and Lewisville, Texas. Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Press Center at www.aicpa.org/pressVS |
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