With flying colors: guidelines to help your candidates pass the CPA Exam.

How many licensed CPAs are there in your business? Now here's a more difficult question: How many will there be in three years or five years? That number will likely depend in large part on the number of CPA candidates in your business that pass the Uniform CPA Examination.

The benefits of having licensed CPAs on staff ranges from establishing your firm's succession plan, as licensed individuals can be trusted to take over in the future, to making it possible to provide the highest quality services and serve clients at higher rates.

ACTION REQUIRED

To maintain a healthy inflow of new and qualified CPAs into the profession, practitioners need to take an active role in helping their employees pass the CPA Exam. Here are some simple steps that businesses can take to implement a CPA Exam tracking process.

Gain commitment. Business owners must rally behind the cause and focus the business' culture on passing the CPA Exam. "The company clearly benefits when our people pass the Exam and demonstrate technical competence," says Tom Gard, department head for the audit division of Armanino McKenna LLP in San Ramon.

Armanino McKenna's executive committee recently revised and significantly enhanced its CPA promotion policy.

The revisions included increasing the amount of the bonus that was paid for successfully passing of the CPA Exam and setting up tiers for the bonus amounts (the amount of the bonus declines as the time period to pass the exam increases).

Gard says it was easy to convince the executive committee to revisit the policy because the number of CPAs in the business demonstrates technical competence in the market place, as well as the marketing of that competence.

Provide encouragement. This can come in any form--often without a cost--and demonstrates a commitment to the professional development of your team members. Businesses can promote the Exam with:

* Reminders during monthly team meetings or in newsletters.

* Links to applicable sites on the business' intranet.

* Information and tools from the California Board of Accountancy or CalCPA.

Start talking early. Gard has noticed that recent graduates are a bit burnt out from studying and often want to take a break before hitting the books again. So, when he works with new hires, he quickly explains why candidates should start preparing for the CPA Exam immediately. His reasons? "You are right out of school and in the mode of studying already," he says. Further, once candidates begin their career, job responsibilities escalate, "which makes finding the time to study that much harder," he says.

Share war stories and memories. Rachel Simon, senior vice president with Gumbiner Savett Inc. in Santa Monica, shares with candidates her Exam experiences, telling them it was harder that she thought, but by sharing that fear, and her pleasant surprise at having passed, she puts many Exam takers at ease.

Include Exam passage as a milestone in mentoring process. Gumbiner Savett incorporates CPA Exam progress in both the semi-annual performance review process and as a topic for discussion in the firm's mentoring program.

Offer incentives. These might include:

* Paid study time during business hours.

* Paid time off to sit for the Exam.

* Study groups, with the business providing space and food for weekly meetings.

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* CPE reimbursement (for example, 40 to 80 hours per year, per team member) to help keep licenses current.

* Bonuses for passing within a specific time frame.

* Reimbursements for review courses or offering free current review material to staff.

* Reimbursements for Exam fees.

* Reimbursements for licensing fees.

Draft and communicate a CPA Exam policy. Your policy should include a description of your business' dedication to promoting the CPA profession and your team members' professional success. Practitioners can discuss their commitment in business meetings or use posters in break rooms and elsewhere to describe the advantages of the CPA license.

Track team member's progress. For example, team members can submit a progress update each quarter. Gard says that Armanino McKenna uses its central tracking sheet as peer pressure as team member can see others' advancement. Business leaders then discuss benefits, options and expectations with those who do not appear to be progressing at an adequate rate. As part of this effort, businesses might add CPA Exam passage as a goal in their performance management system and hold newer team members accountable with a target date.

Putting these steps into action will encourage your team members to pass the Exam in a timely fashion. As a result, the number of professionals in your business--and your practice opportunities--will also rise.

Heidi Brundage, CPA is a member of the AICPA's PCPS (http://pcps.aicpa.org) team. You can reach her at hbrundage@aicpa.org.

BY HEIDI BRUNDAGE, CPA