This study examines determinants of accounting students' successful bid for the uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination in Texas. With a sample of data from 30 public universities in Texas from 2005 to 2007, our analysis suggests that academic deficiency of incoming first-year students explains 49% of the institutional variation in the CPA exam pass rate. In contrast, educational quality (as measured by faculty salary, AACSB accreditation in accounting and accounting programme size) provides a less pronounced contribution to success in the CPA examination (13% of the institutional variation). Thus, the institution-level variation in the CPA exam pass rate among public universities in Texas seems to be predetermined to a great extent by the pre-college preparation of the students they admit. Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.