ACCOUNTANTS are very keen on details, especially numbers. The recent Certified Public Accountants Licensure Examination's (CPALE) national passing rate of 22.29 percent is 7.01 percentage points higher than the October 2021 CPALE's 15.28 percent. The improvement, however, doesn't change the fact that reforms are needed.

To compare, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the national professional organization of CPAs in the United States, had overall first-quarter 2022 CPA exam pass rates of 46.35 percent, 57.33 percent, 44.95 percent and 60.03 percent or a total estimated average passing rate of 52.16 percent if combined.