Pass the CPA Exam With These Preparation Tips
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Pass the CPA Exam - How to Do It
Passing the CPA exam may be a discouraging project, particularly if you've heard of the multitudes of people who have had to sit through multiple sections several times before finally passing the CPA. Below are 10 CPA exam tips that have helped me to pass the CPA exam, and I am confident that they will serve you well also. You will pass the CPA exam, ultimately - it is inevitable unless you give up.

1)Develop the Correct Outlook
This is a huge project that may need lots of time and tenacity in order to accomplish. Some people fail more than one sections several times before ultimately passing all four sections of the exam. Brace yourself for the possibility that you may fail some of the sections before you can pass them, and accept that as a typical part of the process of getting your CPA. On the other hand, remind yourself of past accomplishments that serve as real validation of your mental capabilities, such as having a university degree. Innumerable other people have persevered and passed the CPA exam ultimately, and you will also.

2)Ask for Assistance From People Around You
Attempting the CPA is not a simple project, but you do not need to take it on by yourself. You can ask for assistance from your family members and friends by explaining to them the reasons why you want to pass the CPA and how time-consuming this project is. If they're supportive of what you're trying to achieve, they may assist you with some of your current responsibilities (e.g.

3)Maintain Good Health
Poor health has hurtful effects on concentration, which can seriously impact on your capability to study & think. Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and most importantly, get at least 6-8 hours of sleep each night, and take a 15-30 minute afternoon nap if you must. As Well, do not neglect to schedule regular study breaks - they'll help you to keep from burning out, and will also assistance you to absorb knowledge more easily when you return after the break. Preparing for the CPA exam can be quite exhausting.

4)Purchase a Good CPA Review Program
The most helpful CPA review courses available on the market today are equipped with DVD lectures that clarify the material much better than books ever could. The better CPA review courses are even accompanied by lists of practice exam questions for you to focus on, that will be the most likely to be found on the actual exam. In conclusion, investing in a good CPA review program can considerably shorten your exam preparation time and better your chances of passing the CPA exam.

5)Find a Study Buddy - Or Two
Find other people that are also studying for the CPA exam in your geogrphical area and invite them to study with you. CPAnet.com has a forum where you can post a request for study partners or browse requests from other people also looking for study partners. When the going gets tough, your study buddies may just give you the support you need to keep at it - after all, they're in the same position you are and will understand how you feel.

People find it overwhelming when trying to take on all four sections of the CPA exam simultaneously. There's simply too much material to cram into your brain at the same time. A more manageable way would be to focus only on one single section at a time, pass the exam for that section, take a break, and then start studying for the next section and so on.

7)Target Problem Areas
Reviewing materials you already know will give you that good feeling, but it probably won't help to increase your exam scores ultimately. Flip through all of your learning materials, identify your problem areas, and stay focused on them until you feel confident that you can handle them.

Since your short-term memory is, well, short-term, materials you review during those last few days will be the freshest on your mind on the day of the exam. This small window is just not enough for you to review all your materials from start to finish, so be sure you have a good set of study notes that you can memorize during the last few valuable days before your exam.

9)Use a Timer
When you're doing practice problems, time yourself as if you're actually doing the exam. This will condition your brain to perform under time constraints and prepare you more effectively for the actual exam.

Try to do as many practice problems for as many times as you can. By doing so, you will know the materials better, and also feel more self-assured about passing the exam - both of which will help increase your exam score!

Read more about how Dave Bryant has ultimately managed to pass 3 previously-failed CPA sections over the course of ten months, with impressive scores, in his blog PasstheCPAExam.org.

CPA Review Course - How to Pick the Best One?

Summary: With all the CPA review courses on the market today, which one should a student choose to prepare him/her for the CPA exam? This article will examine the 4 factors that need to be considered before making a purchase decision.

Keywords: CPA review course,CPA exam review course,best CPA review courses

A good review course will minimise study time as well as maximize the chances of successfully passing the CPA exam. Below are some of the factors to be considered when selecting a CPA exam review course.

1) Course Materials

Although all courses cover similar accounting ideas, every instructor explains things differently. Also, a good instructor will spend more time on tricky ideas and just touch on the more self-explanatory ones to make lectures more efficient.

As well , the lectures can be available through a range of media, such as live or recorded webcasts, CDs, DVDs, or USB.

Also, when hunting around for a review course, be sure to note any expiry dates for the class materials. Some questions and simulations software will become disabled at a certain time after activation. As well , some courses have lectures that are only supplied to a student for a certain duration before the access expires. If you must purchase the type that does expire, ensure that you will have ample time to digest the materials before it expires on you.

Having studied the class materials, the student is mostly supplied with practice questions to drill the knowledge into their memory as well as apply the ideas they have learned to actual case scenarios.

Regarding the subject of practice questions, some CPA review courses take the cover-all approach by making the student do every question that has the smallest chances of appearing on the CPA exam. Many students simply run out of study time, and never manage to complete many of the practice questions, which does not prepare them well for the exam.

On the other hand, there are those review courses that don't provide enough practice questions to adequately prepare the student for the exam.

This can be done by investigating past exams to spot questions that appear the most commonly.

3) Student Support

On the other end of the range are courses that have minimal support, and in the middle are courses that allow students to email questions to the instructors. Some review courses provide notice boards and forums to permit students to engage with instructors and with one another. Before buying a review course, ensure that it will give the level of support you need.

Because of changes in accounting-related legislature amongst other reasons, CPA exam study materials have to be updated correspondingly on a regular basis. Some review courses update their course materials and practice questions more often than others, so be sure to take this into consideration when choosing a course.

One factor that many folks take into consideration, which has not been discussed, is price . However , considering the typical serious pay-raise that is experienced by many accountants after they become CPA-certified, it is suggested that you choose a CPA review course based totally on its quality and level of support from the teachers, rather than on cost. You will not need to re-study for and re-sit sections of the examination simply because you made a decision to save a couple of dollars by buying a lesser quality review course. The only exception is when the course fees will be reimbursed by your employer, in which case you'll wish to take advantage of this, even if it would mean having less options to make a choice from.

To find out my personal experiences with the Yaeger CPA Review Course please visit my CPA exam blog at http://www.PassTheCPAExam.org.

Posted by alva4higgins at 2:17 PM EST

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