[Anonymous]

I have enough credits to take the exam but I have not taken an Audit or Tax class. Will a CPA review sufficiently prepare me for the exam?

[FinnishWeirdo]

I…think so? I honestly feel that 75% of doing well on the exam comes down to personal study habits. If you're committed to learn the material, you will do well. I think audit and tax will do wonders for enforcing your understanding on AUD and REG, respectively, but do yo thang if you're in a hurry to take those…

Edit: As you can see, I've yet to battle any of the beasts, so I speak from vicariously living through various CPA-homies. ;-3

Why was there bacon in the soap?!

BEC 4/19/2013: 79 - the "easiest" one doesn't mess around lol
AUD 11/13/12: 90...NOT SURE IF SRS
REG 2/11/13: 87!!!!! LOLWUT!!>???!?
FAR 8/18/12: 81 MOFOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (srsly thought I failed lolol)

Passed all 4 on the first try using Roger, NINJA Notes for FAR, and NINJA Audio for REG & BEC.

[Anonymous]

I think the review course will be enough… regular university classes don't seem to teach in a way so as to specifically pass the CPA exam.

All that being said, the corporate tax courses I took were a very very good base for a lot of the REG stuff.

[Whatdidyou]

Audit – you should be fine. Most all candidates only had 1 audit class in school anyways.

REG – Without having had a tax class, you'll just have to study that much harder than everyone else (I found that my tax classes helped me alot when studying – still don't know if I passed though). Good review courses have everything you need to know within, but sometimes having a few tax classes that went into more detail can be very helpful from a understanding standpoint – especially since SOME review courses have a tendency to just tell you to memorize a bunch of mnemonics instead of teaching you the reasoning behind them.

REG - Passed!!
BEC - Passed
FAR - Passed
AUD - Passed

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[mmcgrad1]

Absolutely!…if you study hard and learn the material rather than memorize.

I graduated 3 years ago and last year I was away at seminary so I wasn't working in the accounting profession. When I studied accounting I missed at least 60% of my classes due to anxiety. So far I've passed two parts of the CPA exam on the first try and hopefully passed the 3rd part. I'm studying for the 4th part right now. My studying has been accomplished in a 6 month span.

I give all this info to assure those who are worried about passing. If I can do it, you can do it!

NIU CPA Review Correspondence is awesome!

I passed all four sections on the first attempt

[Mjs157]

Wait! Have your credential been verified by your state? If you haven't taken an audit or tax class yet, then you may not be eligible to sit for the CPA exam. With that said, you're in for a struggle if you don't take an audit or tax class.

[Sandra]

I didn't have a single audit/tax class either and qualified to sit. You can pick your upper level accounting classes as random electives. I elected not to take any audit or tax classes because I don't really care for either subject.

Anyway- I would never say “you're going to be in for a stuggle” if you haven't taken those classes. A good review course teaches the material. Plenty of people have taken lots of tax classes and still fail REG.

I would make sure that you pick one that you think you will really like and will be able to follow along with easily enough. I almost picked Yaeger (and obviously that course works for MANY people) but I watched the sample lectures and looked at the books before deciding. So glad I did because ultimately my review course (Roger CPA Review) is just perfect for me. In his intro class he says “remember that debits are left and credits are right. I will teach you the rest”.

Obviously FAR was easier for me than REG. I'm not sure I passed REG, but its certainly NOT because of my review course, but rather because I'm on a tight schedule and allowed myself to get distracted and lazy. I take AUD this Saturday and actually feel really good about it. I HATE everything about that section, very few calculations- just hours spent memorizing this BS. But even so I feel like I'll do ok with just the review materials.

I'm a well documented Gleim hater and will throw some hate towards Gleim again- can't really miss an opportunity. Gleim is probably going to be a horrible choice for someone that might need help understanding concepts since they do not provide any real lectures.

Personally I recommend Roger; he's a little annoying, doesn't cover his mouth when he sneezes (funny that even on video that bugs me) but out of the two tests I've taken I felt like all the material I saw on the exams was covered in the material. I keep reading on here about how people (mostly those that use Becker) get sims on the exam on material that wasn't covered in their review. Since I've only taken two test I might just have gotten lucky but I've not been surprised by any sim.

[mla1169]

I would definately have the credentials verified by the state before proceeding just to be positive that you are qualified to sit (if you haven't already).

Whether or not the CPA review is enough for you really depends on how you learn best. I have no problem basically “teaching myself” with a book or online lecture. If you're like that you'll be fine. Some people really need classroom instruction, so you need to know what works best for yourself.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies, I decided to go ahead and take the review and apply for the exam. On the suggestion of having my credentials check by the state, is there a way to verify my classes without having to apply for the exams and pay the fees?

[Anonymous]

A CPA Review is a foot in the door. The rest is up to you and how you're studying.

Asking if a CPA review is enough to prepare for the CPA exam is like asking if a certain college will help you become a good CFO.

[Anonymous]

Diceman and Whatdidyou, can you please tell what is that tax class that you mentioned above.Where do we take them and how much does it cost.I have my REG scheduled for oct 1st week and thinking maybe the class would help me out.

[littlenumberrobot]

@c6huynh

In CA there isnt any way but to submit your application and send your transcripts. I highly reccommend you go ahead and apply. In CA the application is WAY cheaper than review courses…. so I'd do that before buying any review if you have doubts about your credits. You dont pay for your exam until later when you select. Also, have you graduated? I had to wait for my transcripts to say “degree conferred” on them….

Good luck and I also think a review course will be sufficient. There are a lot of things on the exam I never learned in college.

CA CPA - All because of the journey listed below
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR - 53('10), 8/25/12 79 PASSED!
REG - 66('11), 69('12), 12/06/12 77 PASSED!!
BEC - 58('10), 74('12), 01/05/13 77 PASSED!!!
AUD - 43('11), 66('12), 69('13), 74('13) 7/29/13 85 PASSED!!!!!

(Combinations of Roger, Yaeger, Wiley Book, Wiley TB, & NINJA Notes)

Ethics 90%

[RARCPA]

@c6huynh

Definitely get your credentials checked before buying any review materials because they are updated every year. If you need extra credits to sit for the CPA it might take a while. Therefore your review course might be outdated by the time you are actually ready to take the exam… E.g. Some courses like Becker expire in 18 months….

FAR 7/10/2012 - 93
AUD 08/28/2012 - 93
REG 10/16/2012 - 93
BEC 11/26/2012 - 88
ETHICS 12/01/2012 - 93
Done!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

@C6 – In most states, they require certain classes. In IL, you're required to take and Audit class and a Tax class. You should contact your state board immediately, they will tell you exactly what you need. It would suck to pay for a review and then find out you need to take(pay) for more college classes.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Just talked with my state liason(California), I was told that specific classes dont matter as long as they are accounting classes from accredited schools. Also, they could be repeat classes as long as they are from different schools.

@CPAman if you dont have anything useful to post keep it to yourself, don't troll other people's thread.

[leafs43]

CPA reviews are much more broad in what they cover and they try and hit the major portions of the test.

But to pass the test, you need to remember some odds and ends from your accounting classes.

Like just for example, bonds are briefly covered in most CPA reviews but being such a tricky topic, you really need a couple cpa reviews for different angles on bonds or dust off your old text books.

[Author]

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