KAMPALA —The new examination syllabus for the students pursuing courses in accounts will be implemented in April-May 2023, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) has said.
CPA Geoffrey Byamugisha, the Chairman of the Public Accountants Examinations Board, a directorate under the ICPAU, was speaking during the release of the September 2022 exams at Millennium Terrace Hotel on Tuesday, 4 October 2022.
PAEB is an examining body for accountants in Uganda.
The examination results included those of the Accounting Technicians Certificate of Uganda and the Certified Public Accountants of Uganda.
Byamugisha said the changes are necessary to keep up to date with the developments in the accounting world.
“We keep on reviewing, looking at requirements and what is driving the world and what has changed. With all those in mind, we get back and look at our syllabus and have to keep it up to date and relevant, “he said.
He revealed that the review of the syllabus started in 2019 and has since been approved by the National Council for Higher Education, the higher education sector regulator.
#ICPAUSept2022ExamsResults: the revised ATD and CPA syllabuses have been approved by the National Council for Higher Education as required by Section 16(2) of the Accountants Act 2013. They will be examinable in June 2023. pic.twitter.com/B6Om4cyC3A
— ICPAU (@ICPAU1) October 4, 2022
Unimpressive performance
The results resulted on Tuesday indicates that upto 3,555 candidates registered for the September 2022 examinations of which 94.7% (or 3,367) turned up for the examinations.
There was a huge drop in the performance pass rate of 4% — from 39.9% in the March diet to 35.8%.
Byamugisha blamed this poor performance partly on inadequate preparation by the candidates.
“PAEB has noted unimpressive performance in the core/computational/ analytical subjects including Integration of Knowledge, owing to among others, gaps in interpretation, computation, communication and analytical skills,” he said.
He said that the CPA as a professional course is demanding, and requires sufficient preparation for the exams.
Releasing the results, ICPAU president Constant Othieno Mayende said all courses offered by ICPAU are a premier international qualification in accountancy.
“Despite the increased number of Certified Public Accountants in the country, there are organisations that are still employing unqualified accountants which is not acceptable going by the accountant’s law,” he warned.
He added: “As ICPAU, we are going to bite (on quack accountants) and let everybody be on alert that we are coming.”
#ICPAUSept2022ExamsResults: 3,555 candidates registered for the September 2022 examinations of which 94.7% (or 3,367) turned up for the examinations.
— ICPAU (@ICPAU1) October 4, 2022
A total of 3,555 candidates registered for the September 2022 examinations of which 94.7% (or 3,367) turned up for examinations. According to the top performer’s list, female candidates starred more than male ones, with the overall best being Doreen Kyomuhendo.
Eron Nabatanzi was the best in Financial Reporting, and Sharon Namaganda topped in Financial Accounting. Salome Atuhaire came top in Advanced Financial Reporting, while the best male student was Gerald Mbonimpa, also second overall.