An evolutionary five-year professional program of accounting education will be inaugurated at the University of Houston, Texas beginning September 1958. It stems primarily from the recommendations of the American Accounting Association, American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business, and the Commission on Standards of Education and Experience for Certified Public Accountants. Perhaps the many hours of research and discussion devoted to this project may be helpful to others in their planning. Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements, the new professional Bachelor of Accountancy degree (B.Acc.) will be awarded. If a student follows the Suggested Schedule of Courses mentioned in the article, he can be awarded the Bachelor of Business Administration degree (B.B.A.) with a major in accounting at the end of the fourth year. In the Suggested Schedule of Courses, it will be observed that only one accounting course is suggested in each semester of the third year. Flexibility is thereby provided for those situations where Introductory Accounting is not offered until the second year. It should be noted that, a graduate from the above Suggested Schedule of Courses would have a major in accounting, under present regulations.

The article presents information related to preparation for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) accounting practice examination. Basically, there are four reasons for the failure of qualified candidates in the CPA examination in accounting practice: 1. Inadequate preparation 2. Insufficient time 3. Psychological pressure 4. Lack of aptitude. Insufficient time and psychological pressure go hand in hand with inadequate preparation. If a candidate is adequately prepared he will have both of these factors under control. Through practice in solving examination problems against time, under examination room conditions so far as possible, he will have built up his speed of solution to the point where he is confident of his ability to solve the problems within the time limit of the examination. Furthermore, through directed study and diligent application, he will have thoroughly prepared himself in the various types of problems indicated herein. Psychological pressure will be at a minimum, especially after the candidate has overcome the time factor.

Data processing can be defined as treating or preparing data by some particular method to obtain desired facts and to produce reports. Business data processing is much broader than computing alone and the requisite equipment for it involves the people, procedures, and communication network to cover the gamut from data origination to report utilization. Accounting instruction in data processing should deal with existing problems rather than futuristic problems and rely upon an evolutionary approach. The instructional objectives of a course in business data processing are to define and delineate the area; to show what is possible; to give an awareness of the problems involved; to describe the experience of others in systems analysis, design and installation and to develop skills in computer programming including the use of programs prepared by others, if well understood. The committee recommends that accounting departments introduce courses dealing with business data processing and new equipment developments.