Accredited Business Accountant

Accreditation from ACAT has a positive impact on practitioners in a variety of ways. Whether you want to raise your salary, earn professional recognition or give yourself a competitive advantage, ACAT is ready to assist and support you in achieving your goals.

Comprehensive Examination for
Accreditation in Accountancy

The Comprehensive Examination for Accreditation in Accountancy is a one-day, seven-hour exam that tests the technical proficiency of candidates in financial accounting, financial reporting, financial statement preparation, taxation, business consulting services, business law and ethics. Emphasis is on a practical approach to public accounting. The exam is divided into two parts: Practice 1 (also referred to as the morning, or AM, session) and Practice 2 (the afternoon, or PM, session).

Practice 1 consists of 100 multiple choice questions to be completed in 3½ hours. It covers financial accounting and financial statement preparation, presentation and reporting.

Practice 2 consists of 100 multiple choice questions to be completed in 3½ hours. It covers the following topics: taxation, business law, business accounting and ethics.

For a list of specific sub categories, review the exam blueprint

Test development

The questions on the Accredited Business Accountant exam were developed as the result of a Job Practice Analysis that studied what accountants do, how often they perform each task and how important the task is perceived. The result of this survey was a blueprint or outline for the exam covering the topics to be tested and the number of questions on each topic. This blueprint was given to the Subject Matter Expert Committee, a panel of experts in accounting. They developed and tested test questions for each topic area of the exam. These questions comprise a test bank.

As an exam is developed for each testing period, a program takes questions randomly from the test bank according to the blueprint developed for the test. The SME reviews the questions again to ensure no changes or errors have crept in.

Registering for the exam

Individuals wishing to take the Comprehensive Examination must register with ACAT to sit for the test. The computer-based exam is offered each year nationwide in late May–June, late August–mid-September, and late November-December. Registration deadlines are approximately two weeks prior to the examination date. Contact the ACAT national office for exact deadline dates (703.549.2228 x1343).

The registration form is available online, or by contacting the ACAT national office. Completed registrations may be submitted by mail or fax. Fax registrations must be accompanied by credit card payment.

Examination fee

The fee to sit for the exam is $200 for practitioners, $150 for employees and college students, and $50 for Capstone students, and applies whether the individual sits for the full exam or only one section. Registration is not complete until payment has been received by ACAT. Payment may be made by check or money order (made payable to ACAT), or credit card.

Setting your exam date and time

After your examination registration has been processed by ACAT, you will receive a confirmation letter. Your confirmation letter will tell you how to call ACAT’s testing partner: LaserGrade. You can review possible exam sites by going to www.lasergrade.com and clicking on “Find a Test Site.” When you call LaserGrade you will select a location, date and time for your test. A confirmation email will follow from LaserGrade. If you do not receive a confirmation letter within two weeks after submitting your registration materials, contact the ACAT national office toll free at 888.289.7763 x1343, or via email at info@acatcredentials.org

Cancellation policy

If you want to cancel or reschedule your exam date, you must notify the ACAT national office in writing. Notification by telephone, including leaving a message on voicemail, is not sufficient to cancel or reschedule a test.

Cancellation requests received in writing by the registration cut-off date are eligible for a refund, minus a nominal processing fee of $25. Any candidate who has not cancelled, does not schedule a test window, or who does not report to his/her scheduled test site on the day of the exam for which he/she is registered, will forfeit the full exam fee.

Assigning test sites

LaserGrade has over 500 test sites in the U.S., so you are assured to find one near your home or office. If you have problems locating a LaserGrade test site contact the ACAT office at 703.549.2228 x1343.

Additional exam dates

From time to time, ACAT may offer additional paper-and-pencil exam dates in conjunction with national or regional accounting conventions. Contact the ACAT national office to find out about any upcoming special exam dates.