Professional Inquiry
Barriers to Entry and Success Facing International Candidates to the US CPA Exam: Profile, Performance and Choice of Licensing Jurisdiction
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jose Cao Alvira
In June 2 2022, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) announced that international candidates will no longer be restricted, by their international residency, from writing the US-CPA Exam in International Testing Centers. This move may increase the number of international candidates, and the frequency with which they write the US-CPA exam. Considering the significance of this change, it is surprising to learn the lack of peer-reviewed studies exploring the profile of international candidates for the US-CPA Exam in terms of performance and choice of licensing jurisdiction. Our study analyses data from NASBA comparing results of domestic and international candidates that wrote the US-CPA Exam and provides a profile of international candidates, examine their relative performance, tests predictors of choice of licensing jurisdiction, and -with it- provide valuable information for national and international stakeholders for whom the US-CPA Exam results are delivered and evaluated, and where the information is used in planning and decision-making. We find that removing access barriers in a jurisdiction is significantly and consistently associated with decreasing the performance gap between international and domestic candidates and with improvements in the performance of international candidates. Additionally, we find that while the number of big accounting firms within a jurisdiction does not directly impact the performance of international candidates, it is associated with increasing the performance gap between international versus domestic candidates, benefiting the latter.
The Ethics of Self-care in Social Work: Student Beliefs and Barriers View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jessica Gladden
Students who will be going into helping professions, such as social work and counseling, have an ethical mandate through their Code of Ethics to engage in self-care activities in order to be effective in their workplace. This study integrates multiple research projects that explore what students believe regarding various self-care practices, along with research conducted on barriers some student populations may have relating to their self-care. Methods of reducing these barriers are discussed. Classroom activities that encourage students to engage in self-care to reduce secondary traumatic stress are also reviewed.
