Final examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 1882-1981

              The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 9, No. 1 Spring 1982
John Freear UNIVERSITY OF KENT AT CANTERBURY
THE FINAL EXAMINATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES, 1882-1981
Abstract: This study considers the final examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, from 1882-1981. Discussion of the likely pur-poses of the examinations, and of possible ways of assessing their efficiency, is followed by a review of the final examination structures from 1882 onwards. Final-ly, material on the achieved pass rates is presented. The structural changes illus-trate some shift in emphasis from bookkeeping and law towards managerial ac-counting and economics, taxation, and systems and data processing. Pass rates have declined from around 60 percent to around 40 percent over the period, though not evenly.
Introduction
This study stems from a project carried out for the Research Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (henceforth the Institute). Most of the work was done in 1977 and 1978, although there have been subsequent additions to the data on examination results to bring them through 1980. The In-stitute was granted a Royal Charter in May 1880, and held its first examinations for admission in 1882. This study is confined to the final examinations of the Institute from 1882 to 1981, and has four aims. First, it considers what might be the purposes of Institute examinations. Second, it indicates some of the problems arising from attempts to appraise its success or failure in achieving those purposes. Third, it outlines and seeks to explain the principal structural changes that have occurred in Institute final examinations from 1882 to 1981. Fourth, it reviews the final examination pass rates over the period 1882 to 1980. As mentioned, this study concentrates on the final examinations of the Institute, which represent its central examining function. However, it should be mentioned that the In-stitute has held preliminary, intermediate and post-qualifying exami-nations for varying periods since 1882.
Throughout the history of the Institute, professional training has been based on apprenticeship, known first as articles of clerkship