CPA Exam Preparation

So you have sent in your CPA application and getting all ready, but how exactly are you going to start your CPA exam preparation?

With 4 parts covering a wide variety of topics, the CPA exam can be overwhelming. You have 3 choices:

Self study
Home study using DVD / online course
Live classes

Which is the best way — or should we say, best way for your unique background and learning style?

CPA Exam Preparation For 3 Different Learning Style

1. Self Study

If you are knowledgeable in financial accounting and audit procedure, and you are a very, very disciplined person, you can try the self-study route.

However, CPA is not just a test on accounting knowledge — you’ll need to know how to tackle multiple choice questions and be familiar with the simulation questions.

If you aren’t sure whether you are good at both knowledge and tactics, you can test yourself by doing sample CPA questions in the “free sites” such as CPA Review For Free.

If you can consistently score 70+, congratulations — I think you are all set. All you need to do is to get a Wiley CPA book and / or software (known for very comprehensive questions) and complete the practice tests to make sure you are well covered.

2. Home Study via DVD / Online Course

Most people fall into this category — they need a guided review course to walk through the topics for the CPA examination. If you are busy and can’t commit to CPA exam study on a full-time basis, I’ll recommend you go for this route.

Why? Because the guided course can make sure you finish studying all the exam materials in a specific time, even if you are at times distracted by your full-time job or your family.

Also, statistics have shown that those taking the review courses have a much higher passing rate (generally 85%+ vs <50% for overall candidates).

You can look at my comparison on the CPA exam review courses here, or go straight to my recommended home study CPA Review.

3. Live Classes

Some of you may be attracted by the interaction and instant feedback you can get from live classes. While I agree that live classes such as those from Roger CPA Review can provide a more entertaining way to study for the exam, I personally do NOT recommend Becker CPA live classes (note: Becker self-study is ok) based on my personal experience.

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