UB MBA Students Rank No. 1 Nationally On Cpa Exam

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Management has ranked first on the May 1993 Certified Public Accounting (CPA) exam among candidates with advanced degrees.

A total of 68.4 percent of the UB candidates -- all MBA graduates with concentrations in accounting -- passed on the first attempt all four sections of the test: auditing, accounting practice and theory, and commercial law.

"It's the second time we've been first in the country in the 1990s," says Lawrence D. Brown, Samuel P. Capen Professor of Accounting and chair of the UB Department of Accounting and Law. The school also ranked first on the May 1990 exam among candidates with advanced degrees, with 74.4 percent of the candidates passing on the first try.

Between 1985-93, only four other U.S. universities ranked higher than UB in the advanced-degree category, Brown notes.

"It's really the consistency that is the most gratifying. Every year our students are among the top in the country," said Frederick W. Winter, dean of the UB School of Management, pointing to the school's high caliber of faculty and curriculum for the leading scores.

School of Management students also have been recognized for individual excellence. Donald Cole, MBA '93, a graduate of UB's BS/MBA program, received the New York State Gold Medal for earning the highest score in New York State on the May 1993 exam. He was the fifth UB recipient of the award since 1982.

In addition, Cole received the Elijah Watt Sells Award for scoring in the top 2 percent nationwide out of the field of 65,000 candidates.

An Amherst resident, Cole works for Deloitte & Touche, an international accounting firm.