[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

hey guys,

any advice would be appreciated

I’m a little concerned for when I do the REG part of the CPA. I literally didn’t learn anything in my Tax class it was a joke. Tests were all online and such.

Also, I hear most jobs they’ll train you? because I feel like I’d be clueless going into a job that has to do with tax.

[Namstut]

You will learn what you need to know for your REG CPA exam when you study for it.
What study material are you planning on using?

AUD 7/6/16 Passed
BEC 9/3/16
FAR TBD
REG TBD

[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

i was planning on only using Ninja notes, audio, and mcq. Maybe the book if i must

[Anonymous]

Yup. I didn't learn much in my tax class either, which was online. I remember Googling a lot of stuff and finding what I needed to on the IRS website, which is in fact what any tax accountant does if they don't know the answer to something. “Dear AICPA – can we please use Google on REG??”

What I did do, a year or so later, was become a VITA volunteer. I learned a lot more about taxes doing that, and chose to get the IRS's advanced certification, which allowed me to process Schedule C returns for the people who came into the VITA center. I did some interesting and a couple rather complex returns. If there's a VITA site in your area, they'll be more than happy to have you. You can take the Basic certification exam (extreeeeemely easy, but you only get to do the simple 1040 returns) or the Advanced one (let's put it this way, if you have a degree in accounting or you've studied for any parts of the CPA exam and done the review course MCQ's, you will pass it with no problem.) Both tests are online and they email you the certificate after you pass.

BTW – that VITA experience counted towards my CPA coursework requirements. It was a 3 hour “class” that I registered and paid tuition for.

[Moeshow]

Yeah, don't judge how you performed in tax class compared to the REG section of the CPA exam. The exam is a totally different beast. You don't want to be arrogant and think because you did great in tax class you'll do great on REG and not study as much or the other way around. To be honest, I thought REG would be my hardest section but I ended up with the highest passing score. I've heard individuals being out of school for over 12 years and passing the CPA exam. The review course will outline the things you'll need to learn FOR the CPA exam so focus on that.

BEC 2/26/2016 81
FAR 05/2016

Purely Roger CPA Review, for now!

[Anonymous]

PS – agreed with other responders about “tax course” vs. REG. The REG exam has other components that are not taught in tax courses and I believe that includes business law and some other things.

[Anonymous]

You'll definitely learn everything you need to know about REG with the course material. I was the exact same way! Also, I never took corporate tax in undergrad and I only took individual tax. I thought I was going to struggle learning the material but it was actually interesting to me. I really enjoyed learning REG. That may sound crazy but you can do anything you set your mind to do!

[ThomasHallberg]

Hey, I did not learn anything in tax class either. I also have never done my own taxes. I passed REG my first try. I enjoyed studying for it too! You can do it!

[mitchvols]

I didn't learn hardly anything in my tax classes either. And I took them 8 years before I took the CPA exam. Then REG was the test that I had the easiest time for actually, but it was my first test and the pressure was relatively lower than the others since my clock had not started running.

For any section of the CPA exam you are going to need some kind of book or lectures (I prefer Roger, he was really good in REG for me). If you don't do that you are probably setting yourself up for failure. It is possible to learn REG from scratch (I did), but the Audio and Notes are supplementary materials to help brush things up. There is no quick way around it.

Some people have passed using only notes, audio, and mcq, but that is a significant minority – especially with first time passers.

[JMG]

“Dear AICPA – can we please use Google on REG??”

The Authoritative Literature tab is sort of like using google, but only for the sims of course.

[Anonymous]

@JMG – yeah, to a VERY limited extent.

[Anonymous]

A small number of people do all 4 with only Ninja – particularly if they know all the material covered on the exams very well already. I wish I was one of those people who could do that!!
But, there's a lot about accounting and these exams that I didn't get in school.

[cmcook]

I am in the same boat. I'm about 1/6 through the study material (Gleim) and it's not pretty… Going to give it my best though!!

[Anonymous]

@cmcook – Not sure if you used Gleim for BEC and AUD but looks like you did well on those exams. Gleim may not be as easy as some other review programs but the pass rates
seem to be good for those who do use it. I am sure you will do just fine on FAR and REG.

[Skynet]

REG will make you wish you were back in tax class again because it really is that Brutal but you will learn a lot and much more.

[Anonymous]

I didn't learn much in my review of FAR or AUD. Virtually all that stuff, I learned in school and it was just review, but the retention has been the challenge. It's all rather easy to forget, and I feel like I have Alzheimers sometimes. I'm going to have a good ol' time on BEC and REG because I know almost nothing about the areas that those cover. I took business law about 5 years ago and my “Business 101”-type courses were eons ago. BEC seems like a real mixed bag of topics and now that the test has SIMs, I have absolutely no idea what to expect.

[Author]

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