[mohanna81]

Hello guys,

I just have two simple questions:
1- I have been completely out of the accounting world for almost 4 years. Should I jump in directly to the CPA books or finish intermediate accounting book before I start my CPA journey (planning to start with FAR)?

2- How much score in simulations (planning to use Wiley) give you the confidence to pass the real test?

Everyone is welcome to share his/her views regarding these two question. But please mention your review course or test bank.

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Radez]

I would suggest just beginning with the CPA. I think they do an adequate job of covering the material. If you find yourself struggling to understand a concept, you can always refer back to your intermediate text for the chance of getting additional clarity, but personally, I am skeptical that you'd get any marginal benefit by deferring your CPA prep.

I used Roger, and his software doesn't score Sims very well, in that if any part is wrong, it marks the entire thing as incorrect, so I can't speak to relative scores on Sims.

[mohanna81]

Thanks Radez for answering my Inquiry. I think I'll just jump in Wiley Books directly as you suggested.

[M123]

Yes, any of the good prep systems will have sufficient info for the exams. Are you talking about a book from a class you took? With regard to your prep system, have you done the trials for the other programs? I haven't used Wiley but most have some kind of sample or trial to give you a better feel of how it works. All of them take hard work anyway but a slight advantage in compatibility could make a difference.

I used Becker and Ninja. My approach was not to look for a specific simulation score (those were depressing!) but to look for the hockey stick in the learning curve. With FAR, I started at about 50-55% (Ninja) and when things started to kick in it went up to 65-70. That's barely cutting it for FAR and now with the 50/50 weighting of mcq to sims, one has to be polished.

Speaking of learning curves – for some it will be a spike followed by a plateau – for me – which was very difficult, it was a lot of trial and error followed by finally starting to make progress.

[tskits75]

I was out of accounting for 5 years, I had a couple textbooks, but I jumped straight into the prep materials, the textbook will probably just delay you for no substantial benefit.

AUD - 92
BEC - 79
REG - August
FAR - TBD

[Bianca]

Just jump straight into the CPA material. To be honest, I have learned more in the last few months studying for the CPA exam than I learned in all 4 years of college. College courses skimmed the tip of the iceberg – no sense in wasting time being you need as much time as you can get!

[Earla Riopel (NYCARE)]

I am an old US CPA candidate. I believe, you only harvest what you put in anything you do, that includes passing the CPA exam.

Not recommended, but I did a shortcut to learn what's in 2017 Q1 & 2017 Q3 by taking 2 sets of 4 sections. I didn't do much of studying in these 2 sets, and didn't do much research on the newer testings, so my Q1/Q3 exams were in a mess. It's expected. If I pass one section for Q3, I'm happy.

Taking these Q1/Q3 exams are costly and tedious. However, it gives me a ‘peace of mind'. Though the new CPA exam format is tougher, but it is doable if you're willing to put the work.

Most of CPA review materials are fine. Depending on your budget for review materials, other related costs, and basic accounting foundation, you might just need CPA review materials that fit your style of studying.

If you're on a budget, just trying it out, check the following links:

– https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/ninja-mcq-simulations-complete-topic-list-by-sim/
– https://www.another71.com/ninja-cpa-review/
– https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_8_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cpa+exam+review
– related info: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWu1tVBhdmMeAI-pkJeaGjQ/playlists
– https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ForCandidates/TutorialandSampleTest/Pages/default.aspx

I hardly used my undergrad/professional accounting program textbooks. I always like Becker textbooks (my apology to @jeff and other great CPA textbooks out there).

Four years of out-of-school is not that bad. Most CPA review courses are adaptable to new students/candidates.

The sooner you take the CPA exam the better. Good luck.

[Author]

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