News > January 31, 2008

By Gary Porter | Contributing writer

In a recent release from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the results from the 2006 Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) exam concluded that the University accounting graduates had the highest passing rate in the country at 83.33 percent. For the accounting graduates of the Calloway School of Business, the CPA exam is a huge milestone in their studies. The No. 1 ranking is not the first time that Calloway accounting graduates have reached that mark.

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The Calloway School offers degrees in accounting, finance, business and mathematical business and is currently ranked as one of the top business schools in the nation. (Kelly Makepeace)

In the nine years that Calloway has offered a master’s degree in accounting, university graduates have scored the top national ranking six times, while placing second only three time.

“I think the reason our students have done so well on the exam is that we have outstanding students that are willing to work hard to be successful in a very rigorous program,” Dr. Dale Martin said. Martin is the Wayne Calloway professor of accountancy and director of the Calloway School’s accounting program.

“In addition, our faculty encourages the students to think in great depth about the various business and accounting issues. We really try to get the students to think about what they are doing and why they are doing it,” Martin said.

Martin is confident in the students’ abilities.

“When the students face new situations they haven’t seen before, whether in the business world or on an exam, they can figure out what should be done to solve the problem,” he said.

“Since our students have been number one in the nation for three straight years and number one or number two in the nation in nine of the last ten years, I don’t know why (their success) should change in the future.”

The Calloway School of Business offers bachelor’s degrees in accounting, finance, business and mathematical business, as well as a master’s degree in accounting.

The school is currently ranked 17th in the nation when compared to the nation’s top 50 undergraduate business schools, according to BusinessWeek magazine. “I think the success of any program at Wake Forest is good for everyone at the university,” Martin said. “Thus, I believe that the success of the accounting program enhances the reputation of all of the Calloway programs. All of the Calloway programs are outstanding. The accounting program just happens to have an external test to validate its excellence,” Martin said.