I am planning on taking far in 10 weeks. I am a finance major and have a basic foundation in accounting. Which review course would be best for FAR to get me up to speed on the details rather than just a gloss over of topics? Thanks
I bought Becker and used it for all 4 exams and passed each on the first try.
Becker is very detailed and very thorough. Their method works if you stick to their syllabus and follow along. It's very comprehensive and I believe it prepared me well for the exam. I did supplement BEC and REG with NINJA MCQ (bought it for FAR but didn't really use it as much since I was pressed for time).
The downsides to Becker is that it's expensive and it expires.
I've read a lot of people who hate Becker because they used it but failed anyway. Many times though when pressed they admit that they didn't complete 100% of the material and skipped large chunks. Just some random thoughts.
I would recommend the Yaeger courses. They worked very well for me. They do a good job teaching the material instead of just memorization.
FAR - PASSED!! - 95
AUD - PASSED!! - 98
REG - PASSED!! - 93
BEC - PASSED!! - 90
Licensed CPA
Just a couple of thoughts I tried to remember as I went through the journey of passing the CPA exams:
Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."
If you have the money you should buy Becker and supplement it with Ninja MCQ's.
BEC - 82
REG - 86
FAR - 85
AUD - 84 and I'm out!!!!!
Ethics - 95
In Skynet's Honor:
Act I: Shutdown Skynet and prevent Judgment Day.
Act II: Add a comma and three letters to my title.
Act III: Time Travel and marry a young Denise Richards (and prevent subsequent plastic surgery),return to present.
Act IV: Serve as Successor to Elon Musk as CEO of Tesla.
Act V: Ensure Judgment Day has been stopped. Utopia achieved.
looking for cheap? ninja materials and maybe the wiley book (wordy but cheap),… expensive? definitely becker. Point? what ever you buy you have to use it. Unfortunately we (candidates) spend a lot of time spending money trying different courses and not really studying, of course it depends upon how you like to learn and study, so think carefully, it's plenty to choose from. Good luck.
It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass
CPAexcel lectures are very boring. I wish I had purchased Roger Cram as a supplement to each section. But CPAEXCELs non expiry is a benefit. I was able to pass 3 sections with Wiley CPA Excel and WTB, and some Ninja MCQ and audio/notes. I also bought Gleim for REG and their MCQs are impossibly hard sometimes. Gleim SIMs are the only definitive purchase I would recommend….
FAR - 76
AUD - 75
BEC - 75
REG - 76
Now I need some experience!!! And some networking...
I used Kaplan book and test bank for BEC and my first round with AUD because they were free. They are detailed, but they will get the job done. The test bank is not at all interactive or as user friendly as Wiley or Ninja. I had CPAExcel, Becker, and Wiley books for FAR and stuck to the Wiley book and the Wiley Test Bank. I don't like the way Becker does everything in outlines and the Wiley books have so many questions to test your knowledge along the way that you can really get a feel for what you understand as you are going through the material. Ninja MCQ is only $47 for a 3 month subscription. You won't find a less expensive option for a test bank and it is interactive and there are a LOT of SIMS to practice, which some test banks do not have.
I love CPA Excel. It's been very effective for the most part (see my CPA scores). I don't have a point of comparison in terms of detail, it was very detailed. To save time I only did the MC questions and not the supplemental questions and still was successful in passing.
CPA (MN) officially NOW DONE AS OF 8/4/15:
* FAR – 79 (11/2014)
* BEC – 82 (1/2013; lapsed 2014), 71 (10/2014), 83 (7/11/15)
* REG – 89 (11/2012; lapsed 2014), 79 (10/2014)
* AUD – 74 (11/2013), 72 (4/2014), 89 (8/2014)
Ethics - 91 (7/15/15)
Used CPA Excel Silver and CPA Excel Iphone App. From 2012 to mid-2014 I was also in law school fulltime while working fulltime.
@ruthnla-were you an accounting major in college? Also, what was ur strategy with CPAExcel? I purchased the platinum one. So far I'm going through the lessons (just reading the text), taking notes, and doing the mcqs and sims after each one. After I do this, I plan on spending the last 3 weeks doing multiple sims and mcqs from the test bank. Is this a good approach? or what did you do differently?
@rmm77 – Yes, I was an accounting major in college and now have over five years of accounting experience: Tax Intern (6 mos.), Controller (1.5 years), Accountant (2 years), Senior Accountant (1 year), Budget Analyst (4+ mos. current).
My strategy with CPAExcel was just reading the materials, doing the MC questions and task-based simulations. Doing the TBS was key to being prepared for REG/FAR/AUD. I did a lot of MC questions on my cellphone app for BEC this go around, hope it pays off (will know in six days and seven hours). For the other sections, I didn't use any of the stuff from the test bank and didn't need to for REG or FAR (or for that matter BEC is the first time).
CPA (MN) officially NOW DONE AS OF 8/4/15:
* FAR – 79 (11/2014)
* BEC – 82 (1/2013; lapsed 2014), 71 (10/2014), 83 (7/11/15)
* REG – 89 (11/2012; lapsed 2014), 79 (10/2014)
* AUD – 74 (11/2013), 72 (4/2014), 89 (8/2014)
Ethics - 91 (7/15/15)
Used CPA Excel Silver and CPA Excel Iphone App. From 2012 to mid-2014 I was also in law school fulltime while working fulltime.
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