The average pass rate in the CPA exam was 36.9 percent, up from the 35.6 percent registered at the December, 2025 diet, but there was a significant decline in the performance of Financial Management from 51.3 to 16.4 percent.
The number of students who have completed the Certified Public Accountancy (CPA) course has now grown to 5,341, following the completion by another 99 at the May 2025 sitting. This means these qualify for a practicing certificate and membership of the Institute of Certified Public Accountancy of Uganda (ICPAU) should they take up the Practical Experience Training (PET), a means of paving the way to join the profession.
In Uganda, no one is allowed to join the accountancy practice unless they are members of ICPAU or hold a certificate issued by the Institute. Laura Aseru Orobia, the Chairperson of the Public Accountancy Examinations Board, urged those who have completed to enroll for the PET so as to put their qualifications to use.
//Cue in: “Completing the course…
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The average pass rate in the CPA exam was 36.9 percent, up from the 35.6 percent registered in the December 2025 diet, but there was a significant decline in the performance of Financial Management from 51.3 to 16.4 percent.
The average pass rate for Advanced Financial Management also declined by half to 16.7 percent. Of the total 11,025 scripts presented, more than half (57 percent) were by females. The examinations, which also featured the Accounting Technicians Diploma (ATD) and the Certified Tax Advisors (CTA), were sat by 6,628 candidates, representing a slight (2.46%) reduction from the December 2024 numbers.
The bulk (6,428) of the candidates were CPA students, and CTA had 122 candidates, while 78 sat for ATD at the different levels of the courses. For ATD, this is the second last examination diet conducted by ICPAU, with the last coming in December this year, before Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB), or now UVTAB (Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board), takes over.
The May 2025 examinations diet gives a mixed picture of the overall performance, with ATD registering a decline in performance 41.2 percent pass rate compared to the 51 percent at the previous sitting. However, there was a 70.6 percent pass in the Level 1 exam compared to the 51.2 percent registered in December for the same level. Levels 2 and 3 registered declines in performance.
Ten students were finalists, with four being female and six male, bringing the total number of those who have completed the ATD course to 1,882. These presented a total of 194 scripts, of which 118 were by females and 76 by males, and 80 of these registered a pass.
The 122 CTA candidates, on the other hand, presented 212 scripts and registered an average pass rate of 57.1 percent, compared to 48.4 percent registered at the previous sitting, with a huge improvement in performance at Level 3 from 16.7 to 75.9 percent.
Level 2 performance was 57.1 percent up from 48.5 percent, while at Level 1, it remained unchanged at 65 Percent. Of the 121 pass scripts, 54 were for female and 67 for male candidates. The May diet had six CTA completing candidates, bringing the cumulative number to 106 since January 2023.
Josephine Ossiya, the President of the ICPAU Council, urged students to work towards completing the course so as to reap the benefits of the profession. She added that the country needs more accountancy professionals to help in not just financial accounting and management, but also advising on economic development.
