Did anyone take the CPA exam?

[Fall1]

Did any of you or your DH's take a CPA exam? What did you do to prepare?

DH is thinking of taking it and looking for some guidance. I figured someone here might have taken it.

Thanks!!

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Did any of you or your DH's take a CPA exam? What did you do to prepare?

DH is thinking of taking it and looking for some guidance. I figured someone here might have taken it.

Thanks!!

I haven't yet, but I'm scheduled to take a section on November 30 and I'm studying for it now.

There are a bunch of different study programs out there and all comes down to cost and how much self study you want to do. A friend of mine just finished a few months ago so she has given me her study material from Lamber's CPA Review. There are DVDs that have professors "teaching" the material to review with their tips on taking the exam. It also has books with summary chapters and multiple choice questions.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I was lucky. When I took it I went to the CPA School of Washington (DC) and had live instruction. This was a fixed location with a real classroom.

I figured that in the three months before the exam I must have had aabout 200 hours of classroom instruction (Tuesday and Thursday evenings and all day Saturdays for 3 months plus three full days the week before) plus about another 400 hours of reading the study guides and sample tests whenever possible (such as on the subway while commuting, at restaurants during lunch, etc.).

I must have done something right as I passed the entire exam on the first sitting, with two of my scores (Practical and Law) in the 90's.

The school did have additional materials, including videos of classes, available for additional study, especially if you missed a class session at no additional costs.

 

[deva]

I took it a long time ago and the format has since changed. Back then you had to sit for all 4 parts at once and you took it in a big auditorium with all the other aspiring CPA's.

Anyway, I always tell our new recruits to study and then study some more and then do lots of practice questions. I think some programs teach too much with pneumonics so you end up memorizing a bunch of silly sentences rather than focusing on learning the content.

IMO it is totally passable without any extra classes if you make the same amount of time to study on your own with a good review book.