Uganda CPA August 2026 Pass Rate Declines to 34%

• The Uganda CPA August 2026 pass rate declined to 34%, down from 36.4% in August 2025, despite a more than 10% increase in candidate numbers.
• The Public Accountants Examinations Board identified inadequate preparation and weak application of technical knowledge as key reasons for the lower pass rate.
• Performance varied significantly, with Level I and Level IV showing improvements, while Level II experienced a sharp decline and Level III remained challenging.
• PAEB and ICPAU have implemented interventions like virtual student engagements and workshops for tuition providers to address performance issues.
• An operational issue caused a two-hour delay for Paper 18, Integration of Knowledge, at one center during the August 26 examinations.

PAEB officials attributed the persistent challenges in candidate performance to several key factors, including insufficient preparation, a lack of proficiency in applying technical knowledge to practical scenarios, inadequate examination technique, and difficulties in accurately interpreting examination questions.

The Public Accountants Examinations Board (PAEB), in conjunction with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU), announced on September 14 that the overall Uganda CPA August 2026 pass rate experienced a notable decline. The pass rate for the August 2026 sitting dropped to 34%, a decrease from the 36.4% recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. This 2.4 percentage point reduction occurred despite a significant increase in the number of candidates attempting the examinations.

A total of 4,675 candidates participated in the August 2026 examinations, marking an increase of 426 individuals, or more than 10%, compared to the 4,249 candidates who sat for the exams in August 2025. Despite this rise in participation, the number of successful candidates did not keep pace. Out of 6,711 examination scripts submitted, only 2,281 achieved a passing grade, contributing to the overall lower success rate.

PAEB officials attributed the persistent challenges in candidate performance to several key factors. These include insufficient preparation, a lack of proficiency in applying technical knowledge to practical scenarios, inadequate examination technique, and difficulties in accurately interpreting examination questions. These issues continue to be identified by examiners as major impediments to candidates' success in the rigorous CPA program.

While the overall trend indicated a decline, a closer look at the performance across different levels of the CPA course revealed a varied landscape. Level I demonstrated the most significant improvement, with its average pass rate climbing to 49.9% from 41.6% in August 2025. Similarly, Level IV also saw substantial gains, particularly in the Integration of Knowledge paper, where the pass rate surged to 52.1% from 33.5% in the previous year.

Conversely, Level II experienced the sharpest deterioration in performance, with its average pass rate falling to 34.7% from 44.1%. Level III remained largely consistent but challenging, registering a 22.2% pass rate, a marginal decrease from 22.5% in the prior year's sitting. This indicates that while some foundational areas are improving, intermediate levels are struggling, and advanced papers continue to present considerable difficulty.

Subject-specific results further illuminated these disparities. At Level I, Quantitative Techniques improved significantly, with its pass rate rising from 19.8% to 38.9%, and Cost and Management Accounting also saw an increase from 41.5% to 49.1%. However, Level II subjects faced notable setbacks: Financial Reporting declined to 41% from 52.8%, Management Decision and Control dropped to 38.2% from 50.1%, and Taxation fell to 41.7% from 56.3%. Advanced papers in Level III, such as Advanced Financial Reporting (13%) and Advanced Financial Management (13.2%), continued to have very low pass rates, though Audit Practice and Assurance improved substantially to 31% from 12.8%.

In response to these performance challenges, PAEB and ICPAU have implemented various interventions aimed at enhancing candidates' preparation and improving examination technique. PAEB Chairperson Nancy Amuge Owino confirmed that the board has intensified these efforts. These initiatives include offering free virtual student engagement sessions, with the initial phase conducted in March and further activities planned for October in anticipation of the December examinations.

Additionally, examination briefing sessions were held on August 20 and 21, immediately preceding the August examination diet, to better prepare candidates. PAEB noted that students who participated in these engagements showed improved performance and encouraged those preparing for upcoming examinations to utilize these resources. The board also conducted a specialized virtual workshop on August 7, engaging 70 tuition providers to focus on audit-related papers, which have historically shown poor performance. This workshop also served to disseminate research findings on factors impacting performance in core CPA subjects, with plans to extend similar interventions to other persistently weak areas.

Despite these proactive measures, the August examination period was not without its own operational difficulties. PAEB acknowledged an incident on August 26 involving Paper 18, Integration of Knowledge, which caused a two-hour delay in the start of the examination at a particular center, shifting it from 9 AM to 11 AM. The board extended an apology to the affected candidates and stated its commitment to developing lasting solutions to prevent similar occurrences in future examination cycles.

Source: Reporting based on official examination results.