[matt]

Hi All,

In early-2014 I’ll begin studying for the CPA exam and I need help purchasing materials. I’m currently 28 years old and have an MBA.

Here is some pertinent information concerning the factors used in making the decision.

Cost – I’ll be paying for the materials out of my own pocket. With that said, I’d like to minimize the cost (who doesn’t?), but if paying $3,300 gives me the best chance for success I’ll gladly spend the money. I was originally just going to bite the bullet and buy the Becker course for $3,300 because of the reputation, but am questioning that plan now.

Educational/Professional Background – I’m taking the exam in MA and have never worked in public accounting. In fact, I just began working in accounting within the past few years. My undergrad was in finance/economics and my MBA was in operations. I fell into accounting by mistake and began to love it! I currently work as a Sr. Revenue Accountant for a large software company in a suburb of Boston. I’m taking the final required accounting credits as we speak and will be finished in December of this year.

Work – I work around 45-50 hours a week at the previously mentioned software company and closer to 60 during quarter-ends. With that said, being able to bang out a quick 30 minutes here and there during lunch or before work is key.

Personal – My wife is newly pregnant and is due in July 2014. Not sure what relevance that has to making a decision on prep materials but it’s just another constraint on my time.

With all this said, I can’t be the first busy professional with a family who has studied for the CPA exam. What programs have people used in the past that have proven successful? I see that some people go the Becker route, some go with CPAexcel, and some buy bits and pieces from different programs.

Thank you to everyone and anyone who responds to this post. Your guidance and assistance is deeply appreciated!

FAR: 89
BEC: 88
REG: 81
AUD: 76

CPAexcel, NINJA 10 point combo, & NINJA MCQ

"Pain is temporary, it may last for a minute, or an hour, or a day, or even a year...but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit however, it will last forever."

[Kscope]

Hello all! I am finishing up my MSA and plan to start sitting for the exam in January. I have been working full time through both my undegrad and grad programs. Currently I do not have accounting experience. I had opportunity to not pay for Becker's so luckily for me that was cheapest route. I am curious how people decided what order to take take sections and how many hours were allocated to each section studying. If anyone did Ninja notes and/or Wiley in addition to Becker's, how did that work? Did you follow Becker's guideline, supplement with Wiley and use Ninja for final review. Feeling a tad overwhelmed with coming up successful study plan.

AUDIT: 88 2/12/14 (Lost Credit), 92 11/30/15
FAR: 71 4/14,70 5/15, 70 8/15, 80 10/15 (FINALLY)
REG:80 11/14
BEC: 80 5/15

[Jennifer241]

@matt85 Yes, NINJA notes I purchased on all of them. Think of them like cliff notes. They key to this is re-writing them and studying them everyday.

CPAExcel – never expires 🙂

AUD - Jan 9,13 Pass
REG - Aug 30,13 Pass
BEC - Oct 26,13 Pass
FAR - Dec 4,13 Pass

Licensed CPA in the state of Oregon

[Jennifer241]

@matt85 Yes, NINJA notes I purchased on all of them. Think of them like cliff notes. They key to this is re-writing them and studying them everyday.

CPAExcel – never expires 🙂

AUD - Jan 9,13 Pass
REG - Aug 30,13 Pass
BEC - Oct 26,13 Pass
FAR - Dec 4,13 Pass

Licensed CPA in the state of Oregon

[runnerup]

I did a trial of CPAExcel and found it boring.

I tried Roger next and chose his course as I found his lectures entertaining. And his course was $1500 (not too bad IMO). Still waiting on my BEC score, but I've passed the other three. For reference, my BA was in Political Science, I have 9 years of accounting work experience (compilations and taxes only), and worked F/T while I studied. Started studying 8/21/13 and took my last test 11/20/13. I think I was able to cram it all in 3 months because of Roger's teaching style and course material. Highly recommended.

What's right for you will depend on your learning style, of course.

REG 10/12/13 - 94
FAR 10/17/13 - 93
AUD 11/11/13 - 92
BEC 11/20/13 - 87
ethics 11/27/13 - 92%

[runnerup]

I did a trial of CPAExcel and found it boring.

I tried Roger next and chose his course as I found his lectures entertaining. And his course was $1500 (not too bad IMO). Still waiting on my BEC score, but I've passed the other three. For reference, my BA was in Political Science, I have 9 years of accounting work experience (compilations and taxes only), and worked F/T while I studied. Started studying 8/21/13 and took my last test 11/20/13. I think I was able to cram it all in 3 months because of Roger's teaching style and course material. Highly recommended.

What's right for you will depend on your learning style, of course.

REG 10/12/13 - 94
FAR 10/17/13 - 93
AUD 11/11/13 - 92
BEC 11/20/13 - 87
ethics 11/27/13 - 92%

[KDunc]

Becker is overpriced in my opinion. I had it in my cart ready to buy and then I thought even if Becker is good the chances of it being over two times as good as all the others is very low. It's priced at 2 times what most of the other programs costs. I went with Yaeger which included Wiley test bank and book. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just buy the Yaeger lectures for FAR since Cindy is a really good lecturer and use Wiley test bank and book for all four. Phil for REG is not worth it! He has to go back and correct himself on stuff he said? I'm thinking why can't he edit the video and fix it instead of saying the wrong thing and then going back and telling us oh that's wrong. Phil for REG is also impossible to pay attention to even for people that have great attention spans. CPA Review for Free's website was a huge help for me. The questions were trickier and wordier than Wiley which is not fun, but I felt like it prepared me more. Looking back, I think all the review materials are suffiecient it's just about putting the time in, and if you need the lectures find a good lecturer and go with that program.

FAR:91 2/28/13
AUD:89 5/29/13
REG:75 8/30/13
BEC:? 11/21/13 Waiting
(Yaeger, Wiley, CPA Review for Free)

[KDunc]

Becker is overpriced in my opinion. I had it in my cart ready to buy and then I thought even if Becker is good the chances of it being over two times as good as all the others is very low. It's priced at 2 times what most of the other programs costs. I went with Yaeger which included Wiley test bank and book. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just buy the Yaeger lectures for FAR since Cindy is a really good lecturer and use Wiley test bank and book for all four. Phil for REG is not worth it! He has to go back and correct himself on stuff he said? I'm thinking why can't he edit the video and fix it instead of saying the wrong thing and then going back and telling us oh that's wrong. Phil for REG is also impossible to pay attention to even for people that have great attention spans. CPA Review for Free's website was a huge help for me. The questions were trickier and wordier than Wiley which is not fun, but I felt like it prepared me more. Looking back, I think all the review materials are suffiecient it's just about putting the time in, and if you need the lectures find a good lecturer and go with that program.

FAR:91 2/28/13
AUD:89 5/29/13
REG:75 8/30/13
BEC:? 11/21/13 Waiting
(Yaeger, Wiley, CPA Review for Free)

[Author]

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