1) Get into the Right Frame of Mind

The test to become a certified public accountant is known for being very challenging.  Doing well on your CPA exam is important, and you will need to study diligently in order to pass.  Often people find they need to retake one or more parts or the test before they pass successfully.  Prepare  for some hard work, but don’t forget to congratulate yourself for having the determination to improve your life by taking on such a daunting task.  Don’t forget about your past accomplishments, like getting your undergraduate degree.  Keeping these achievements in mind will increase your confidence in your abilities.  Even though the CPA exam is difficult, many people pass it every year, and you will pass it too.

2) Purchase a Quality CPA Exam Review Course

Are you a visual or auditory learner?  Try to find a CPA exam review course that offers the lessons on DVD.  Sometimes concepts that seem difficult when reading them in a textbook, are easier to understand when you can see and hear the material in this type of format.  Look for a CPA exam course that provides an analysis of past CPA exams.  It should include which types of questions  occurred most frequently.  Having this knowledge will allow you to concentrate your time on studying  areas that you are more likely to see on your exam.  This will make your test preparation efforts much more efficient and effective.  Do you think you would benefit from one-on-one help and advice from a live instructor?  If so make sure you select a CPA exam review course that lets you contact professionals who will answer questions you have about the course materials.  A high quality CPA exam review course is one of the best investments you can make in your career.  It can give you a much better chance of getting the score you need to pass.  The best CPA review courses  can also save you time by showing you the types of questions that are you are most likely to see when you take the exam. 

3) Devote Yourself to a Study Schedule

There is a plethora of information to learn before you take each of the four parts of the CPA exam.  Staying up late to study starting a week before the test will absolutely not be enough.  Most sources suggest spending at least three months of structured study time before taking each section of the test.  It is advisable to plan some free time for yourself even during those months of intense studying.  If you spend every minute of the day studying, you may get burned out before you are fully prepared.  You have a better chance of sticking to your schedule if you consistently study a short time each day.

4) Get Help from Friends and Relatives

Getting ready to take the CPA exam can be difficult.  Remember that you don’t have to do everything by yourself.  Take this opportunity to enlist the help of your loved ones.  Sit down and have a serious conversation with them.  Explain to them that passing the CPA exam is very important to you.  If they know that the test is very challenging, they may offer to lend you a hand so that you have more time to study.  You might ask if they are willing to pick up some of your usual household tasks  like running to the grocery store or doing weekend cleaning.  Also, they will probably be more understanding if you are unable to hang out with them as often as you would like while you are studying.

5) Locate a Study Group

Try to find a group of people who are also trying to pass the CPA exam.  Studying with them can help you stay focused and motivated.  Your study group can also help you understand material that is confusing to you and and keep you encouraged if you start to feel stressed.  You may be able to find people to study with at work.  If you are at an accounting firm there may be other employees who are getting ready to take the CPA exam also.  If you are having trouble finding study partners near you, try looking online.  There are forums created for almost every kind of niche in the world – and accounting is no exception.  Just do a quick search on Google for CPA candidate forums and you will almost 100,000 pages listed in the results.  Visit various forums until you find one that seems genuine and active.  Do a search to see if anyone on the forum lives in your area.  You can also start your own thread asking if anyone is looking for a study partner near you.  Even if you don’t find someone close by, you can still communicate and ask your questions right there on the forum. 

6) Study for and Take One Section of The Exam at a Time

As you know, the CPA exam has four different sections, and each one is difficult to pass.  Don’t make the mistake of scheduling testing for all four parts at the same time, or even one right after the other.  Doing this would require you to study for the entire exam all at once.  While it may be possible for some people to pass this way, you will have a much better chance at doing well if you study just once section at a time.  Each part of the test contains different information for you to remember.  Trying to remember the material for all four sections of the exam at once puts you at risk for study burnout, and may lower your chance of being able to pass the test.  Once you pass one part of the CPA exam, you will have 18 months to successfully complete the other sections of the test.    Because you will be facing this time constraint, it may be a good idea to decide which section of the  exam will be the most difficult for you to pass.  This is probably the part of the test you should take first so you can take as long as you need to study for it.  Then you will have a better chance of passing the other three sections before credit for the first section expires.

7) Focus your Energies on Studying Unfamiliar Material

When people are good at something, they generally like to spend a lot of time in their area of expertise.  You may feel more confident spending your time studying material that you already understand.  However, this confidence will not be enough to get you through the more difficult areas on the CPA exam if you have not studied sufficiently for them.  Rather than focusing on familiar material, identify the areas that could be more difficult for you.  Spend the majority of your time studying these topics so that you are confident during every part of the test.

8)Take Concise Notes as You Study

You can only keep a certain amount of information in your short term memory.  Whatever you study the last few days before your test will be the easiest for you to remember.  Because of this it is very important to take notes on important material and concepts each day when you study.  Then when you are in “crunch time” right before the test you can pull these notes out.  Reviewing and memorizing the most important facts from your notes can be a big help to you as your CPA exam day approaches. 

9)Time your Practice Tests

Sometimes people get test anxiety because being under a time constraint makes them nervous.  You can eliminate or reduce some of that stress by timing yourself when you are working on practice questions from your CPA review course.  Set yourself up with testing conditions similar to those you will face the day of the actual test.  Make things as similar as possible and imagine you are really taking your exam.  Doing this will help you be more relaxed and confident on the big day.

A CPA review course is helpful to accountants who are preparing to take the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam.  The best review courses will decrease the amount of time you need to study and increase the likelihood that you will pass the CPA exam. There is a large variety of study courses available these days.  How should you go about finding the one that will best help you meet both of the goals listed above? Here are four things to think about when deciding which CPA exam review course to buy.

1) Course Materials

While all CPA courses contain very similar topics, the fact is that every teacher has his  own way of explaining things. You want to find a course taught by someone who can keep your attention and help you understand challenging material.  The best instructors will focus on the  most difficult concepts and just briefly review the ones that are more basic.  This will help you make the most of the time you have to study.  Look for a CPA exam review course that allows you to view a sample lesson before you buy the entire course.  That way you can see if the instruction matches your learning style.  Before you buy you may want to search online for reviews of the course you are considering.  Because some review sites may be biased, try to find forums and individual reviews as well.  See what people like and don’t like about the course before making your final purchase decision.

Different companies provide course study materials in different formats.  Do you want to want lectures that are live or recorded?  Do you want to listen to them on your way to work?  Would you rather be able to watch them on DVD at home?  Make sure the course you decide to buy has course materials  in the format that you prefer. 

Another thing to consider when looking for a review course is the amount of time you will have available to access the materials.  Sometimes question banks and testing software are only activated for a certain length of time after your payment.  If you are accessing lessons online, you may only be purchasing a subscription that will also expire when your allotted time period is up.  Try to find a CPA review course which has no expiration date.  If the software or website does have a time limit on usage, be certain you will have enough time to make full use of it. 

2) Practice Questions

Most CPA study courses include practice questions.  The purpose of these questions is to review the material you have just learned.  It also allows you to test your knowledge in realistic practice scenarios.

Some CPA review courses promise to cover every type of question that may be asked on your exam.  However, this extremely thorough approach may actually work against you.  You will be faced with so many practice questions that the chance of finishing them all is slim.  Plus, trying to answer questions on every minute point might become frustrating to you and dilute your study efforts.  This broad but shallow approach of providing questions may not be what you need as you prepare to take your exam.

On the other end of the spectrum are CPA exam courses that do not give you enough practice questions to be ready for testing.  Of course, this is not the what you want either.

The perfect CPA course will concentrate on providing the types of questions you will probably see when you take the exam.  How can they do this?  The company can analyze actual released CPA exams.  From the results they can find out which questions are asked most often.  By providing a sufficient amount of questions that have been assessed on previous tests, a CPA course can help you make the most out of the time you have to study.  When you are studying for the CPA exam, efficiency is of utmost importance. 

3) Student Support

You will receive different amounts of support depending on which CPA review course you choose.   Do you anticipate wanting to talk to your instructors about questions you have regarding the study material?  If so, would you like to be able to talk to them on the phone or would email interaction suffice?  Would you feel more comfortable in a forum setting, where you can post questions and get help from both the instructor and other students?  Maybe you feel comfortable tackling the material on your own or with your study group.  Whatever level of support you need, make sure it is offered by a CPA review course before you buy it.

4) Update Frequency

A CPA review course that was considered the best ten years ago may not be the best today.  Changes in laws that relate to accounting or many other factors could influence the materials and questions you need to study.  CPA study materials need to be kept up-to-date. Not all review courses  have frequent updates to their materials.  This is something to look into when deciding which review course is the best for you.

Price should not be a deciding factor when buying a CPA review course.  Passing the CPA exam and becoming certified often lead to quite an increase in salary and job opportunities for an accountant.  The best option is to buy a high quality CPA review course that provides the amount of support you need to pass the test, regardless of course price.  Of course, if your employer is providing you with the testing materials, you may have fewer options.  However, if you are the ones making the purchasing decision, think about this.  Only half of the candidates who took the Uniform CPA Examination in 2008 passed the test.  Do you want to be in the half that failed the exam and have to take it again all because you wanted to save a few dollars on study materials ?