Last Updated on July 30, 2023
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How To Study For Cpa Exam Reddit
TIPS on how to study and PASS the CPA exam
1. Schedule your exam first, then start studying: (Cramming = key)
By doing this, you keep yourself accountable and maintain that “grind” mentality. Sometimes you just need a fire under your ___ to actually sit down, open up that textbook, and think “This is do or die.. I WANT to pass.” Never have the mindset of I “NEED” to pass because you will start forgetting everything you have learned in the past 4+ years of attending your college accounting classes and you’ll start to have tunnel vision on specific details rather than the whole concept of the exam. For every exam that I passed, I read every page and completed all the MCQ within 3 weeks (6-10 hr/day 5 days/week)..Besides AUD (COVID)
#2. Time Management is KEY — DON’T LISTEN TO EVERY LECTURE/SKILLS PRACTICE
Whenever you have Mike Brown or Peter O (Specifically in BEC/AUD/FAR), don’t even think about listening to them. You will waste so much valuable time drawing arrows going up/down and underlining the entire page for you to have 2 MCQ on the cause/effect (e.g. inc in inflation will result in BLAH). This is where the point above comes into play because just like in college, we never had our professor reading the book for us.. we studied those long, lonely hours in the library learning how to calculate COGM/Variance Budgets/Adjusting JE/Pensions with outdated textbooks and contradicting professors. You need to believe in yourself and carry those studying habits from college rather than adapting a new study technique with lecture videos.
#3. Take a look at the AICPA Blueprint + AICPA Practice Exam (WRITE OUT THE SIMS)
The AICPA Blueprint should be no way of “picking + choosing” what to study, but all of our textbooks are based on the sections of the blueprint. With that, I would definitely take a look at the “Analysis” and “Application” section for (REG/AUD/FAR) because those will be the key questions relating to TBS. The AICPA Practice Exams and newly released questions are SOOO important. If you take the time and write out each of the provided SIMS for review notes, you will honestly be surprised on exam day when you reach the TBS.
EXAM SPECIFIC:
#1. REG (Skip Skills Practice)
According to the AICPA Blueprint–Ethics and BLAW are roughly 20-25% of the exam.. and Peter O says “make sure you know your math section first, then master Ethics/Blaw) and that is 100% absolutely incorrect. Just because those 2 sections make up 20% of the exam, doesn’t mean you should ignore them. In Fact, Ethics/Blaw are NEVER (if rarely) tested as a TBS.. so that 20-25% is now 40-50% of the exam (ALMOST 40 MCQ JUST ON 2 SECTIONS). Don’t sleep on them. For the other sections of REG, just remember the importance of BASIS. Note taking for REG is crucial, especially with MCQ and SIMS. Whenever you see a question on “What is the gain recognized on the related party trans..” it is super important that you don’t just answer the “gain” but rather calculate the basis of the transaction too. This goes for all distributions/contributions..calculate every single possible answer (realized gain, recognized gain, basis for partner, basis for partnership). Drilling down on every aspect is the absolute KEY to passing REG.
*** USE THE IRS LIT FOR EVERY SIM ***
#2. FAR (Do Skills Practice–Ignore Final Review Book = too condensed)
The first thing I have to say about this absolute beast is just breath, relax, and believe in yourself. FAR has some of the lowest passing rates for a reason, and I’ll give you a few reasons why.
– TBS on FAR are the hardest out of the remaining 3 exams. Why? The directions are absolute dog___. Please, for the love of god, just read the directions. If it doesn’t say ANYTHING about how you should fill in a cell, LEAVE IT BLANK!
– PLEASE remember your T-Charts for A = L + E. This will honestly save you when it comes to filling in a TBS (e.g. Depreciation Schedule–AICPA newly released questions). Just because you put the correct amount in the cell doesn’t mean dirt if you put a + when it should be negative. Just remember this… ASSETS/EXP = DR+, LIABILITY/REV = CR-… Assets go against Liabilities, Revenues go against Expenses, Balance sheet vs. Income Statement.
– SO MUCH MATERIAL: This is where the Skills Practices come in handy (only exam you should even think about completing) For topics that just seem impossible to drill down even if you did every sim/mc/etc, please just do the calculation parts of this. It will help so much because they really are little simulations.
– MC on FAR is an absolute cluster____. Per the Blueprint, NFP/GOV are heavily under Understanding/Remembering, so that is a strong indicator of their importance on your first 2 testlets. With saying that, your best bet with FAR is to do countless practice exams (10-12 questions), and once you’ve done 100+, drill down on the sections/modules that are below an 80%.
*** USE THE FASB LIT FOR EVERY SIM ***
#3. AUD (Skip Skills Practice)
This is the exam that surprisingly is the hardest in my opinion (with a shockingly lower passing rate than REG). AUD is where MCQ are your bread and butter on receiving a passing grade. AUD has more MCQ (on Becker) than REG, and you need to complete every single one of them 2/3/4 times fold. The simulations are also one of the trickiest on AUD because the AICPA blueprint has “Analysis” + “Application” for testable TBS..but just about every single row is under those 2 section titles. The Becker Final Review Book is super important for this exam.
*** USE THE FASB LIT FOR ANY SIMS RELATING TO FAR TOPICS ***
#4. BEC (Skip Skills Practice and SIMS)
The lectures on BEC are absolute mammoths with ranging times from 1/hr to 1.75. Just read this textbook and focus on the key sections. For example.. per the AICPA blueprint, B1/B6 will be your heavily tested MCQ, while B3/B4/B5 will be your TBS. The AICPA practice exam is super important for this exam because of the provided TBS (ratios/variances). The Final Review Book is AMAZING for BEC because as mentioned above, the lectures are soooooo long with useless information (arrows going up/down and Peter O talking out of his ____). The FR book honestly saved my butt.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: Here is a template that I found a while back and adjusted it to sound a little better:
Thank you for allowing me to advise you on (e.g. Market Risk). It is important to consider (#1), (#2), and (#3) when developing the strongest approach on mitigating (market risk).
(In 3 paragraphs, talk about each #1/2/3 and how it relates to your topic.)
I hope I provided you with the necessary information on how to (mitigate market risk). Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions relating to (Market risk), and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner.
If you were to receive a question on your WC that you have absolutely no clue what is is, just copy and paste the question into the WC and add key words. WC are graded on key words.
If anybody has any questions or in need of advise, please just reach out and I’ll gladly help. You can do it, just believe in yourself and you’ll be done sooner than you know.
how long to study for cpa exam
The AICPA recommends that candidates spend between 300-400 hours to study for the entire exam CPA exam. Because we all learn differently, some sections will require more study hours than others due to the volume of material included in a section and how quickly one is able to grasp and retain the study material.
Knowing how many hours are needed to effectively study for the CPA Exam is something candidates need to know from the very beginning of their CPA exam journey. This information allows you to create a realistic study schedule that will play a major part in passing the exam. Without a set study schedule in place that blocks out time in each day to dedicate to studying, you won’t know how many hours you should put in to comprehend the material and it will be easy to become distracted by other things.
I passed BEC in February 2016.
I did so by setting a realistic study schedule that consisted of a few hours per day during the work week, while utilizing the weekends for more extensive study time. I mainly studied for 2 hours Monday through Friday. Limiting my study time during the work week worked best for me because I also work full time as an auditor. Most days when I get home from work, I am already mentally drained. Taking just a few hours at the end of the day to review material or watch a lecture prevented me from getting overwhelmed or resenting the process altogether.
I was also able to retain what I studied because I did not allow myself to overdo it.
By not working on the weekends, the opportunity to study for extended periods of time was available to me. I would usually wake up early as if I were going to work and study anywhere from 5-6 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. I would usually be done by noon and could enjoy the rest of my day.
Ultimately, my study time amounted to around 20 hours per week for about 8 weeks, which worked best for me and my circumstances.
Being that I am a single parent living over 100 miles from my entire support system, I do not have the liberty to study for hours and hours in one sitting. Although I am able to put off cooking, doing the dishes, or folding laundry, some responsibilities I’m unable to neglect.
I began studying for BEC in December and took the exam the following February. Although it normally should not take this long to prepare for BEC, my study time was extended due to the holiday season. At any rate, I was able to cover all of the material with confidence and have adequate time for review by studying just 20 hours a week. I plan to keep this same pace while preparing for the remainder of the sections.
If you already have the knowledge and job experience in a particular exam section, that will help to reduce the study time that may be necessary to pass that section.
This was the case when I sat for BEC. I was already familiar with internal controls, sampling methods, and audit procedures because that was such a big part of my day-to-day responsibilities as an auditor. Consequently, the studying process went that much smoother for me.
On the other hand, that has not been the case as it relates to Regulation. I have little-to-no experience with taxes aside from filing my own 1040 tax return and as a result, I find myself spending a greater amount of time on the material. As a result, I am still maintaining 20 hours per week of study time; however, I am doing this for a longer period of time.
The AICPA recommends that candidates spend between 300-400 hours to study for the entire exam CPA exam.
Because we all learn differently, some sections will require more study hours than others due to the volume of material included in a section and how quickly one is able to grasp and retain the study material. With that being said, I have found the AICPA to be correct. Plan to spend an average of 400 hours to study for the entire exam.
Personally, what works best for my current lifestyle is 20 hours per week, so it’s important to figure out how many hours per week will fit your lifestyle best. Obviously, this will also depend on what timeline you’ve set for yourself to pass. A person with a 3 month study plan will need to input more hours per week than someone on a 12 month study plan. Also, if you have the time to take a leave of absence from work, or are a student that has free time available before you start working full time, then take advantage of that time. The more focus you can dedicate to studying for the exam, the better.
