[ODstudyCPA]

Hello all. My name is Alan Smith and I am about to graduate from Binghamton University in New York with a BS in Accounting. I thought that I did not want to pursue a career in accounting and missed the boat to apply for the masters program here. But I soon realized that becoming a CPA was the right course for me. I want to start studying for the CPA now and hopefully have it within a year. My dad took the CPA in Illinois and passed it his first try, so he is my inspiration. I am looking for a good starting point and would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you so much just reading over the posts has been greatly helpful already.

[Anonymous]

I recommend going to your state board website first and fill out all the paper work that is required. If you have done that then you would need to order your review material. I strongly recommend Becker with the Wiley test bank and the Ninja Notes. I also recommend that you buy the Wiley test bank from this site. Jeff usually has discounts you can take advantage of that you wouldn't get otherwise. Also, it supports the site, which we all love! Next you will need to decide what section to take first. I recommend starting with what you are good at. Meaning, I was an auditor for 3 years so I took audit first. The reason I feel this way is 1) it boosts your confidence and 2) if you time out I would rather take Audit again then say FAR or REG. Then you get to start studying 🙂

[KassiusKlay]

Like akb said, make sure you have the required accounting credits to sit for the exam. Here's the link for the education reqs for NY:

https://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/cpa/cpalic.htm#edu

If you plan on taking it in another state, make sure to check up on that. I know you have a BS in accounting but make sure you have all the required credits. If you do not, you can take classes at a CC or online at an extension program (LSU, UCLA), just google that info. As far as study materials akb had it right again! Becker and Wiley test bank!! Cheers and good luck!

Form is temporary, class is permanent.

Audit 4/19/12 - 77
BEC 5/31/12 - 75
FAR 8/30/12

[ODstudyCPA]

Thanks alot for the link

[2/15 n/30]

@KassiusKlay is absolutely right. Typically, a BS is 124-128 credit hours making you 26-30 hours short of the required hours to sit for the exam. On top of that, the jurisdiction you plan to sit in may require additional or different accounting credit hours that you may not have. The following lists out all jurisdictions and other FAQ's of first time applicants.

https://www.nasba.org/exams/cpaexam/

You mentioned that you have missed the opportunity for the Master program. A Masters isn't necessary, but a few “extra” upper division accounting courses may be. You should check if your school will allow you to apply as a “Special Student”. Every school is different, but mine allowed me to enroll in 9 credit hours of graduate level classes with, literally, just a small fee (no GMAT or GPA requirement).

If you decide to take that rout, you'll still need a few hours. You should consider a finance degree because you've already taken the majority of classes needed for the degree anyway. In fact, I only needed 28 more hours to get a separate finance degree and the 150 hours CPA requirement.

With both of those strategies I was able to obtain all necessary upper-division accounting courses required in the jurisdictions that I am sitting in (Colorado) and plan to move too (Texas), while also making myself a little more marketable (The dual degree marketability is up for debate 🙂

Hope this helps, good luck

Bec: 8/31/12
Aud: 8/1/12
Reg: 76
Far: 73

[Author]

Replies