Which one is harder? CPA or BAR exam
Related Posts
More Posts
Community Builder
TCS vs Infosys for job security?
Ezoo this weekend any youngins??
Additional Posts in Accounting
Will getting a DUI get you fired?
What are some good personal finance books?
Does insurance cover vision and dental?
Happy Pride, all y’all 🌈🐠🐟🌈 out here!
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Can’t compare the two. One tests people with only an undergrad degree without intense competition for grades where the other tests people with 3 years of law school in a highly competitive environment. The pass fail rates cannot be directly compared because law school, unlike accounting undergrad programs, does a significant amount of candidate filtering before the exam is ever taken.
I don’t think cpa pass rate v bar pass rate is an indication of difficulty. Even if we assume you are correct that bar pass rates are higher, you have to remember that most folks taking the bar are studying for the exam full time for 2 months including weekends and doing 6 hours of class per day plus additional studying. Unlike accountants, attorneys must pass the exam to practice law. Put another way, many cannot begin their jobs before passing the exam (unlike accountants who can work without CPA). So the level of study is intense.
In my experience (I’m a lawyer at an accounting firm), and nothing against the CPAs of course, but many of them just flat out don’t study as much for the individual exams. Part of that as far as I can tell is that if an accountant starts working before testing, he/she just doesn’t have the dedicated time in the same way a bar-taker does.
So it seems to me the circumstances may account for the passage rate rather than the passage rate being an indicator of difficulty.
Lol the CPA is not that bad- if the BAR were easier, I’d have a lot less respect for lawyers.
I took both. I think the CPA exam was harder. Of course, I studied for the bar after graduation and before starting work, and I studied for the CPA exam while working full time. So that might have something to do with it.
^ ya but if you factor in the 3 years of law school that were essentially studying for the bar as well you studied longer for the bar exam. I don’t think I felt my undergrad years helped me with the CPA but the law school years helped me with the Bar...but maybe it’s cause I drank a lot in college lol
@AA1 The bar exam barely tests what you "learn" in law school. I agree that law schools 1L rigor does filter out a good percentage of people who can't pass the bar though!
I only say this because you can't learn the critical thinking capabilities to be a lawyer. You either have them or you don't.
GT1, other then REG I did not simply “memorize” content to pass the CPA exam. I passed it because I understand the intellectual framework behind accounting and the related professional standards!
CPA harder than bar
Well I hope that means the accountant first worked at a law firm to make your ridiculous challenge equal.
In all sincerity, I’d gladly take that challenge .
In Illinois bar pass rate is around 80%
CPA exams are way too easy (even compared to non-US CPA exams), so im fairly certain bar exams.
Meaning what? Lawyers are so brilliant???? Please
@ey1 I think they mean that In order to qualify to take the bar you have to have graduated from law school. Most people qualify to take the cpa after undergrad with a few extra credits packed in.
Stc 1 - is this a joke? I’m 100% sure you will fail without studying your ass off.
Both accounting and law has people who went to bottom tier schools and barely get by. People on this forum must not have lawyer friends
Right on SA1. Some of these comments are downright disgusting!
Haahahahahaha the bar.
The CPA is a joke. The pre reqs aren't even close. Try figuring out the civil code version too.
Not that any of it matters. They're all pretty much worthless. No real increase in earning potential for passing either rather than getting a decent undergrad degree
Im not sure about lots of folks. Not sure that the most of the best law schools allow part time students because they want people to be dedicated. Maybe that’s changed since I went, but none of the reputable schools in region allowed part time/night. I think some states may track stats such as that (ft v pt school, first time test taker v multiple test taker etc.). So you may be able to look that up if you had a state in mind.
PWC2 it’s called paralegals
I’ve taken two bars (WI and MA) and also the CPA. I would say the bar is harder (and I took it in relatively “easy” States. The cpa and the bar would be much more comparable in the old days where you had to take all 4 cpa parts at the same time. The bar has significantly more content. The multiple choice on the cpa also have a correct answer whereas the bar is the “best” answer. I get its a subtle difference but it matters and makes a significant difference.
These are two different types of exams. The Bar Exam is about best answers, not about "right" answers, whereas other professional exams like CPA and Med, heavily deal with "right" answers.
The implication is this: Some brilliant people just don't have the right skills or type of intelligence to pass the Bar, and some brilliant people just don't have the right memorization skills to pass the CPA exams.
I have seen people barely study and pass the Bar exam, like 8 hours a week for a few months. I have seen people study 50-60 hours a week for months and not pass, and I doubt they ever will. Are they both making money somewhere, yes.
Taking a torts class didn’t help you pass torts on the bar? I agree it’s mostly 1L classes but still I think they map it pretty well. Whereas I didn’t feel talking my undergrad audit class really helped me on the audit section of the CPA. And I disagree that you can’t learn to be a lawyer, but I guess that is what happens with a post that calls for lawyers...we won’t get an consensus out of it.