armandhoward0108's Blog

Many accountants studying for the CPA exam utilise a CPA review course to help them get ready. The ideal CPA review course should make study time effective and efficient while maximizing the odds of passing the CPA exam. With so many different courses on the market today, it can be tricky to decide on the one that most closely fits both standards above.

1) Course Materials

Though all courses explain similar accounting ideas, each instructor describes them in different manners. Favorable review courses are only taught by engaging lecturers who are able to explain tricky concepts in straight-forward fashion. The best CPA review courses provides free lecture samples that you can evaluate before making the decision to buy. Alternatively, seek out online forums where other CPA-hopefuls gather, to read about their experiences with the various CPA courses, before making your final purchasing decision.
Another thing to consider is what kind of format(s) the course materials are presented in, and what your preferences are regarding this. The portability and accessibility of the media the study contents are available in should be taken into consideration when gauging a review course.

As well, some courses have lectures that are only provided to a student for a certain duration before the access expires. If you must purchase the type that does expire, ensure that you'll have ample time to digest the materials before it expires on you.

2 ) Practice Questions

Having studied the study materials, the student is generally given practice questions to drill the knowledge into their memory as well as apply the concepts they have learned to real case scenarios.

While this may be the safe way to go, it can also be very time-consuming. Many students simply run out of patience, 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 do not provide enough practice questions to adequately prepare the student for the exam. Clearly, this situation is a long way from ideal also.

The perfect CPA review course will contain only questions that are most certain to appear on the exam. Different CPA review courses provide assorted levels of customer support. On the other end of the spectrum are courses that have minimal support, and in the middle are courses that allow students to email questions to the trainers. Before buying a review course, ensure that it will supply the level of support you need.

4) Frequency of Updates

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 people take into account, that has not been discussed, is cost. However , considering the typically substantial pay-raise that is experienced by many accountants after they become CPA-certified, it is advised that you select a CPA review course based mostly on its quality and level of support from the instructors, rather than on price. Considering that the average pass rate for the CPA exam is only 47.49-49.10% (pass rate for Uniform CPA examination in 2008 ), failing a number of sections isn't unlikely. You won't wish to re-study for and re-sit sections of the exam because you decided to save a couple of dollars by buying a lesser quality review course. The only exception is when the course costs will be refunded by your employer, in which case you can want to take advantage of this, even if it might mean having fewer options to make a choice from.

Find out which CPA review courses are the most highly recommended amongst the many CPA exam review courses on the market today.