How To Pass The CPA Exam: The IPassTheCPAExam.com Guide for International Candidates

CHAPTER 7

Study Tips and Exam-Taking Strategies

In this chapter we go through the tips on the preparation for the exam as well as the strategies on how to optimize your performance on the exam day.

Study Tips

Here are some suggestions for how you can prepare for the exam more effectively and efficiently.

Selecting the Most Suitable versus the “Best” CPA Review Course

Many readers ask me for recommendations of the “best” CPA review courses. I do not think there exists a review product that is the absolute best, but you can find one that is most suitable based on your background, budget, time commitment, self-study versus live class preference, and learning style.

Your Educational Background

The intensity of the review materials largely depends on your own background.

If you recently graduated from an accounting program in the United States, there is probably no need to purchase a fully guided CPA review course. It can be boring for you to go over the concepts again and waste valuable time. Instead, get yourself a stack of summary notes and jump directly to the practice questions. The Wiley Focused Notes and Wiley CPA Test Bank are among the best choices in this category.

If you have been out of school for a while or you studied accounting outside the United States, then it makes more sense to get a guided review course. You can review certain sections of the exam (such as Financial Accounting and Reporting [FAR] and Business Environment and Concepts [BEC]) relatively quickly and ...