dmb, welcome to the A71 forum!
1) Regarding your first question, the CPA exam is made up of four sections that you are allowed to take separately, provided that you pass all four sections within 18 months of passing your first one (otherwise you start losing credit). The breakdown of each section is as follows:
a) Business Environment and Concepts: Deals with Cost Accounting, Internal Controls, IT, Economics, Financial Modeling and Risk Assessment, and other general business areas. This section has sixty multiple choice questions (worth 85% of your score), and three “Written Communications” questions, which basically require you to write Business Memos based on the information they provide you (worth 15% of your score).
b) Auditing: Deals with everything about Auditing and Attestation services, as well as professional standards. This section has ninety multiple choice questions (60% of your score) and 7 Task-Based Simulations, which are basically mini case-studies that require you to answer questions on spreadsheets, research databases, and that sort of thing (40% of your score).
c) Regulation: Deals with Taxation and Business Law. This section has 48 multiple choice questions (60%) and six simulations (40%).
d) Financial: Generally considered the hardest section. Deals with financial statements format and transactions for companies, as well as government and nonprofits. This section has 90 MC (60%) and Seven Simulations (40%).
2) In regard to your second question, there is no real “best” review course… it really depends on your learning style. I use Becker, which uses a textbook, and lecture videos that tell you what areas in the textbook to highlight and make notes on, and provides a number of practice test / questions. I've had good experiences with Becker because it utilizes my learning style, but it's not for everyone. Lots of CPA review courses utiluze videos (e.g., Yaegar or Roger) or notes (e.g., Ninja), combined with the Wiley Test Bank. One of the big considerations is whether your employer will pay for the review course or not… courses like Becker are much more expensive than some of the other options. Right now, I wouldn't worry about picking a review course; just focus on doing well in college.
BEC - 90 PASSED
FAR - 84 PASSED
AUD - 93 PASSED
REG - 84 PASSED
I DID IT!!!!
Using Becker Self-Study
"If we were put here to carry a great weight, then the very things we hate are here to build those muscles."
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