[mdnunn]

Hello everyone, I am a new member and after several years of procrastination and family/work responsibilities, I am planning to sit for the CPA exam this year. Which part would you recommend I start with? Thanks in advance for your input!

[henryv]

Depends on your work experience. If you did public practice with focus on financial audit, you can try AUD/FAR.

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[Anonymous]

It depends upon what type of person you are. Do you want to get the “hardest” section out of the way first, or do you want to “ease” into the exams with something that is a bit easier? I needed a bit of a confidence booster so I took AUD first because I thought it would be semi easy for me. Others recommend FAR or REG because there is a lot of information in both of those sections and they wanted to get those done first.

[mdnunn]

@dukelover3130: I want to ease into it as you did. Since I have not sat in almost 10 years, I think I need a confidence boost. What review material did you use for AUD?

[Anonymous]

I used a combination of CPA Excel and supplemented with the Wiley Books. I got the Wiley books for free my school's library. I liked having the option for additional multiple choice questions. A lot of people on this site seem to go with a main review course and supplement with Wiley test bank. It is definitely a more efficient option than the books, but I'm cheap so the books worked for me.

I also spent $10 and purchased cpareviewforfree's audit simulations. I think those were definitely useful because they allowed me to think about concepts in a different way than I was before.

I'd shop around for a good review course. Try the demos, etc. Also look around on this forum for other posts about which exam to start first because there is a lot of good information about each specific exam that can help you make your decision a bit easier.

[mdnunn]

@dukelover3130: did you use CPA Excel + Wiley for FAR as well? I have looking at CPAExcel and it seems to fit my time requirements and budget.

[mla1169]

I started with FAR because I had read it was the hardest (that is now up for debate as far as I am concerned)

I'm a fan of taking the hardest one first because (a) the 18 month clock doesn't start ticking until you pass it which is a benefit if for some reason you don't pass it the first time and (b) You'll never be more motivated to study hard than you are the first time. It was my experience that my stamina for studying went progressively downhill.

Good luck!

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

@mdnunn Yes, I have used CPA Excel + Wiley Books for all three exams that I have taken so far. CPA Excel has its positives, it also has some negatives, but I feel like all review programs will. I like CPA Excel because I have a short attention span and the lectures sometimes are as short as 2 mins. I will say that CPA Excel sometimes assumes that you have a base level of knowledge that you might not have. I do like the software and the exam planner that it has though. It makes it easier because I can open up the program and know exactly what I am supposed to for that day without having to do any work myself.

@mla1169 I agree with you about the motivation. I was supposed to start studying for REG on Sunday, but I have only gotten through a very tiny section of it and it's Wednesday. Definitely lost almost all of my motivation from before.

[Getting a CPA]

@mdnunn – I have been out of school for many years like you. I have been using CPAExcel and started with FAR. CPAExcel I have heard is the best if you have been out of school for a long time, you work full-time, have a short attention span, and/or you can't see yourself sitting in a classroom anymore – those are all checks for me. I started with FAR because I have been out of accounting for so long, I figured relearn the basics first. I have been studying FAR for over 5+ months – ha! Exam is April 2.

[Author]

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