Readability of professional accounting examinations – evidence from South Africa

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), the preeminent professional accounting body in South Africa, administers two staggered sequential qualifying examinations – the Initial Test of Competency (ITC) and the Assessment of Professional Competency (APC) – to licence candidates as chartered accountants. Analysing the readability of the exams using the Gunning Fog Reading Index (GFRI) and Flesch Readability Ease Index (FREI), we find that both exams are difficult to read. We also find that the ITC exams are more difficult to read than the APC exams. These findings hold even when different parts of the exam are considered separately. While a difficult level of readability might be necessary to at least some extent due to the technical nature of the content being assessed, our findings raise concerns about potential construct-irrelevant variance (CIV), which could impact the validity, fairness, and reliability of the qualifying exams. Considering that a substantial portion of the candidates are non-native English speakers, these findings highlight the potential role of readability in ensuring equitable access to the chartered accountancy profession.