Journal of Accountancy

Legal Update

Letters

CBT Too Easy? Think Again
The concerns about how easy the new CPA exam is, expressed in the letter “ CBT: Too Easy? ” ( JofA , Sept.05, page 12), are valid but unnecessary. I took the last paper and pencil exam in November 2003. The exam was very difficult, and I was able to get credit on only two parts. I finished the other two parts now computer-based in 2004 and became a CPA in 2005.

Having experienced both versions of the exam, I can tell you the CBT format is much more rigorous. Time pressures have increased, content has expanded and simulations have been added. You see an increase in passing rates because people now have time to focus on one part at a time. However, the trick is having the endurance and focus to pass the entire exam during an 18-month window. Not many people have the stamina required to study for the test that way. The result is that candidates with less capability are weeded out. The bottom line is that if the exam was easier you would not see the drop in candidates that followed its implementation.

The new CPA exam, as all previous versions, is challenging and serves well to protect the public and the profession.

Jose M. Jimenez, CPA
Horseheads, N.Y.

Letters to the Editor
The JofA encourages readers to write letters on important professional issues in addition to comments on published articles. Because space is limited, letters submitted for publication should be no longer than 500 words. Please include telephone and fax numbers. JofA e-mail address: JOAED@aicpa.org .

Letters

One Space or Two

By Cynthia L. Course

ONE SPACE OR TWO?
In “ When Did the World Change? ” ( JofA , Oct.06, page 13) the letter writer asked, “When did the world change from two spaces after a period to one? More important, why did it change?”

With the transition from monospaced typefaces, such as on a typewriter, to proportional typefaces, such as those commonly used in word processing, the need for the extra space to visually mark the end of a sentence became moot. Today, section 6.11 of the Chicago Manual of Style states in typeset matter, one space, not two (in other words, a regular word space), follows any mark of punctuation that ends a sentence, whether a period, a colon, a question mark, an exclamation point or closing quotation marks. For nontypeset material, section 2.12 states that a single character space, not two spaces, should be left after periods at the ends of sentences (both in manuscript and in final, published form).

The letter writer is not alone in continuing to observe the two-spaces-after-a-period rule, as most editors would attest.

Cynthia L. Course, CPA
Wrightstown, N.J.

Letters to the Editor
The JofA encourages readers to write letters on important professional issues in addition to comments on published articles. Because space is limited, letters submitted for publication should be no longer than 500 words. Please include telephone and fax numbers. JofA e-mail address: JOAED@aicpa.org .

Letters

Beyond the Standards

By Robert C. Klick

BEYOND THE STANDARDS
The Last Word column about the San Antonio CPA and his WWII hero father ( JofA , Nov.06, page 100) is the best article the JofA has published in my 20+ years of AICPA membership. So much of our profession and its topics by their very nature are extremely technical and, let’s face it, dry. It’s great to see beyond the exposure drafts and congressional tax proposals and experience the reality and rich history that make up the lives of our membership.

Thanks to Conrad for sharing and the JofA for publishing a great story.

Robert C. Klick, CPA
Fort Collins, Colo.

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