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This article analyzes the theory section of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination from May 1969 to May 1975. There has been an increase in the number of multiple choice questions on the exam. In May 1971, the Board of Examiners changed the proportion of multiple choice questions included on each exam from approximately 14.3 percent to approximately 28.5 percent based upon time allocation. There has been a tendency to ask questions about topics which have been recently studied by the Accounting Principles Board or Financial Accounting Standards Board. The topics covered in the exam seemed to focus upon the newest techniques and applications required. For example, there have been a cost recognition question on social costs and managerial questions which require some knowledge of linear programing and probability.

This article focuses on the use of the quasi-pricing method in the allocation of scarce resources for intracompany transactions in the U.S. The price mechanism is a method of allocating scarce resources. It is the prevailing system of resource allocation in private-enterprise economies, but it is possible to have a command economy of the Soviet type and still use the price mechanism to perform some resource allocations. A carefully applied quasi-pricing system could result in three distinct benefits for a company. First, the existence of prescribed costs of service would exert some restraint on the user departments, because some of their computer use generally is marginal in importance. If differential pricing is used, a second benefit is that there can be a real selection, based on subjective evaluation by the executives directly concerned. A third advantage of the price system is the record of use it provides.