Author: Ken Bishop, NASBA Executive Vice President and COO
Posted: August 22, 2011

When NASBA began administering the Uniform CPA Exam internationally on August 1, it wraps up a site-selection process that began more than a decade ago. But much more went into the process than simply determining geographic locations.

Global Outreach

The idea of administering the exam internationally really took off in 2004 when computerized testing came along. And while many still thought that candidates who wanted the CPA designation could/should travel to a U.S. territory or to the United States for the test, the truth is… we’re now in a global economy and as a result, NASBA must be global in its outreach.

Even more to the point, the businesses where these new CPAs are going to work often have branches both in the United States and overseas, so the overwhelming argument for NASBA and the profession has become the need to develop a global accounting strategy.

NASBA Sets the Standard

The international exam is one of many ways in which NASBA continues to be a world presence. We’re heavily involved in the conversation around U.S. and international standards, and how accountants are being credentialed around the world. It’s really a paradigm shift, so we want to ensure that the United States establishes the CPA credential as the relevant, premier world-accounting standard.

That’s why NASBA is carefully and methodically getting a foothold in the countries we’re going into now (Japan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates), and is closely watching the behavior and migration patterns of those who are sitting for the international exam.

We’ll use that information as we continue to expand around the globe, not only in terms of providing the CPA exam, but also in mandating the licensure that ensures the training of CPAs and their practice efforts all over the world.

> Read Part 2 of this series that discusses candidate security and the efforts NASBA is making to ensure safe testing every time, everywhere.