[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The number of candidates for the 58th Certified Public Accountant (CPA) 1st exam in 2023 was recorded at 15,940, an increase of 3.4% compared to the previous year. The competition rate based on application submissions is 6.13 to 1, which is lower than last year's 7.01 to 1.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 18th, a total of 15,940 candidates submitted applications for the CPA 1st exam from the 5th to the 17th of this month. This is a 3.4% increase from 15,413 candidates last year. The number of candidates has been steadily increasing since 2020. The Seoul region had the highest number of candidates with 12,670, followed by Busan (1,110), Daegu (914), Daejeon (702), and Gwangju (544). Among the applicants, 54.6% were male and 45.4% were female, with the proportion of female applicants increasing every year.
Although the number of candidates increased, the expected number of successful candidates was expanded by 400 to 2,600 compared to the previous year, resulting in a slight decrease in the competition rate.
The average age was 26.5 years old, similar to last year's 26.3 years. By age group, the largest proportions were late 20s (41.0%), early 20s (40.6%), and early 30s (8.9%).
The proportion of applicants currently enrolled in university was 57.9%, and those majoring in business-related fields accounted for 70.8%.
The 1st exam passers are selected up to 2,600 candidates based on high scores among those who scored at least 60% (330 points out of 550) without any failing subjects. In case of ties exceeding 2,600 candidates, all tied candidates will be considered passers. The exam locations and times for the 1st exam will be announced on the 8th of next month. The 1st exam will be held on the 26th of next month. The announcement of the 1st exam passers is scheduled for April 7.
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