Passing the exam and the conditional status

Under Republic Act 9298, in order to be conferred with the title of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the Philippines, an applicant must pass a government licensure examination given by the Board of Accountancy and administered by the Professional Regulation Commission in accordance with Republic Act 8981 [Section 13 of RA 9298].

An applicant is deemed to have passed the licensure examination if he/she has satisfied the requirements of Section 16 of the Act as follows:

“Section 16.  Rating in the Licensure Examination. To be qualified as having passed the licensure examination for accountants, a candidate must obtain a general average of seventy five percent (75%), with no grade lower than sixty-five percent (65%) in any given subject. In the event a candidate obtains the rating of seventy-five percent (75%) and above in at least a majority of subjects as provided for in this Act, he/she shall receive a conditional credit for the subjects passed: Provided, That a candidate shall take an examination in the remaining subjects within two (2) years from preceding examination: Provided, further, That if the candidate fails to obtain at least a general average of seventy-five percent (75%) and a rating of at least sixty-five percent (65%) in each of the subjects reexamined, he/she shall be considered as failed in the entire examination.”

Based on the above provision, we can identify different types of candidates: 

• Passed 
• Failed 
• Conditioned

Passed

A candidate is considered to have passed the examination if he/she obtained a general average of 75% or more with no grade lower than 65% in any given subject.

Illustration 1

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
85.00	85.00	85.00	75.00	65.00	65.00	65.00	75.00

This candidate is considered passed because (1) the general average is 75% or above and (2) no subjects had a rating of less than 65% even if the 3 subjects obtained ratings of less than 75%.

Failed

A candidate is considered to have failed the examination if he/she obtained a general average of less than 75% even if he/she has no grade lower than 65%.

Illustration 2

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
85.00	85.00	75.00	75.00	65.00	65.00	65.00	73.57

This candidate is considered failed because the general average is less than 75% even if no rating fell below 65%.

Conditioned

A candidate is considered to have been conditioned in the examination if he/she obtained the following:

• A general average of 75% or above; 
• A majority of his/her subjects has a rating of 75% or above; and
• The remaining subjects obtained a rating of 65% or less  

A majority of the subject shall refer to at least 4 out of the 7 subjects given in the licensure examination. Therefore, this means than in order to be conditioned, at least 4 out of 7 subjects must have a rating of at least 75% or above while the remaining 3 subjects must have a rating of 65% or less.

Illustration 3

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
90.00	85.00	85.00	85.00	60.00	60.00	60.00	75.00

This candidate is considered conditioned because (1) the general average is 75%; (2) majority or at least 4 out of the 7 subjects had a rating of above 65%; and (3) he/she obtained a rating of less than 65% in 3 out of the 7 subjects.

 Illustration 4

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
80.00	80.00	80.00	80.00	85.00	60.00	60.00	75.00

This candidate is considered conditioned because (1) the general average is 75%; (2) majority or at least 5 out of the 7 subjects had a rating of above 65%; and (3) he/she obtained a rating of less than 65% in 2 out of the 7 subjects.

Illustration 5

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
80.00	80.00	80.00	80.00	75.00	75.00	55.00	75.00

This candidate is considered conditioned because (1) the general average is 75%; (2) majority or at least 6 out of the 7 subjects had a rating of above 65%; and (3) he/she obtained a rating of less than 65% in 1 out of the 7 subjects.

Illustrations 3, 4 and 5 clearly show that by majority does not necessarily mean 50% + 1 of the whole rather an incomplete portion of the whole. 5 and 6 out of 7 possible subjects are clearly majorities adding to the fact that 2 or 1 of the subject obtained a rating of 65% or less constitutes what is embodied under Section 16 of RA 9298.

Non-conditional status

A candidate shall not be considered conditioned if at a maximum 4 out of the 7 subjects have a rating of lower than 75% but higher than 65% provided that his/her general average is 75% or more.

Illustration 6

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
80.00	80.00	85.00	70.00	70.00	70.00	70.00	75.00

This candidate is not considered conditioned or failed and therefore passed because (1) the general average is 75% even if majority (4 out of 7 subjects) had a rating of below 75% and above 65%.

This condition shall also apply (if it exists) that 5 out of the 7 subjects obtained a rating of below 75% but higher than 65% with a general average of 75% of above.

Re-taking the exam for conditioned candidates

A conditioned candidate, shall be given a period of two years after the last exam to pass the licensure exam. This means that the conditioned examinee shall re-take all the subject under which he/she was conditioned within two years after the last exam.

Conditioned subject shall refer to any CPA board exam subject having a rating of lower than 65% provided that the general average for the 7 subject is 75% or higher.

Illustration 7

Maria took the exam last May 2011 and was considered as a conditioned candidate since she obtained a general average of 80% but three (or one the least) had a rating of less than 65%. In this case, Maria can register, take and pass the conditioned subjects until May 2013.  

As a conditioned candidate in order to pass the exam, he/she should obtain a general average of 75% or above with no rating lower than 65%. This rating of 65% shall pertain only to the subject under which he/she was conditioned otherwise he/she should have been considered as failed on the first place.

Illustration 8

Referring back to Illustration 4 as presented below, assume that Jose when he took the CPA board exam last May 2011, he was considered as a conditioned candidate who obtained the following grades:

TOA	P1	P2	MAS	BLT	AT	AP	Average
90.00	85.00	85.00	85.00	60.00	60.00	60.00	75.00

From the above, it means that Jose has until May 2013 to register, take and pass the conditioned subjects. When we say conditioned subjects, we mean those subjects whose rating is less than 65% which are Business Law and Taxation, Auditing Theory and Auditing Problem.

This means that in order for Jose to be considered passed, the overall or general rating should be at least 75% and the re-taken subjects must not fall below 65%. Jose must be very careful in re-taking the conditioned subjects because once he did not obtain a grade of higher than 65% on the conditioned subjects mentioned, he shall be considered to have failed the entire exam and the two-year provision for conditioned examinees is forfeited. Therefore, Jose needs to start all over again.

These explanations are the interpretations of the author only and does not embody nor represent the views of the Board of Accountancy and the Professional Regulation Commission.