Five things are needed to pass the CPA exam, and it is amazing how simple the things are. The good news is, almost everyone has the things, or one can develop them:
1.Intellectual and academic readiness. If you have been approved to take the exam, then the AICPA, NASBA, and/or your State Board of Accountancy think you are (intellectually and academically) ready to take the exam.
2. Good Study Material. I have addressed this topic before. As you may have seen, you are more important or critical to passing the CPA exam than the study material. The material has to meet both the exam requirements and your needs.
3. Commitment to study the material and prepare adequately for the exam. There is no commitment without persistent and focused action and vice varsa. The exam is tough and also passable. You just have to give it the respect, time, focus, and preparation that it demands. There is no substitute for practice.
4.Good exam technique. Mostly, commonsense stuff. Pace yourself (that is time budgeting and sticking to the budget). Read the questions carefully. Educated guessing. Basic computer skills (for example, how to split a screen or use embedded/onscreen calculator). Don’t leave questions unanswered. Focus on each question. Read the question (stem) first. Starting with the essay part of the simulation. Double-checking questions to make sure you read it correctly. Double-checking answers to make sure you selected what you wanted to select. Double-checking spelling and grammar. Making sure all questions aare answered. You can find more of these tips in your CPA review book or your lecturer (on DVD or live) will probably give you some pointers. Good exam technique is more effective if you are fully prepared for the exam.
5. Positive Thinking. You can pass without believing in yourself (that you can do it). I, however, think that positive thinking makes the a trip on this road less traveled a lot easier.
All the tips on this blog and other places can be summarized into these 5 things, or they are closely related to these. That is all you need.
[If you think there is more than this, or that you can take out one of these, please feel free to share below or send me an email via the contact form.]
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found that helpful. Your comments are welcome.
[A little background: My undergrad degree is in Mathematics and Education. When you study education, you learn about Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy, and of course, Theories of Education and Learning. As you may expect, most of the Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy lean towards education. One of the few things I still remember liking from my time in college is the Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning.]
According to Bloom, all of learning is divided into three main domains or categories, namely, Cognitive, Affective, and Psycho-Motor. If I were to explain it to a kid, I would say, “all your learning is either mental, heart/emotion, or bodily” – which seems obvious, until you start getting into the details on how to formulate questions which can be used to assess an academic paper or a dissertation, or the technical competence of a CPA candidate! This article’s focus is the Cognitive Domain of learning and how its understanding can be a handy tool in preparing for the CPA exam.
The Cognitive Domain (or mental) aspect looks at levels of “thinking” from Knowledge (which is simple or (rote recall) to Evaluation and/or Creativity (which is complex and involves creation of something new). Like most skills in life, you build your way up, so there is a hierarchy of learning. The Taxonomy has since been revised; below are the two hierarchies (new and old) side by side.
Bloom's Taxonomy Cognitive Domain Hierarchy
Armed with knowledge of the details of Bloom Taxonomy’s Cognitive Domain, you can easily see through what a CPA examination question is asking. From my experience, most of the CPA exam questions focus on the high-level cognitive skills, (analysis, evaluation, and creativity) which partly explains why the exam is so difficult or demanding. You are expected to exercise those thinking skills from question to question, and the “keywords” for the particular thinking level are implied or hidden within the question. You may have noticed as you were going over practice questions that questions rarely directly ask you to evaluate or critique something. Usually, a scenario will be presented, and from the requirement/question, you will see that you need to evaluate a statement or position.
I think the most useful way to use the Bloom’s Taxonomy is to be aware of it as you are studying or learning or taking notes. For example, are your notes a regurgitation of what you found in the book (lower level), or did you create something that is “new” (higher level)? From your notes or newly acquired knowledge, can you answer questions that directly use the high level “keywords“? Can you debate an issue? Can you explain a concept to a person who is an accountant and have the person satisfactorily explain to another? (That is, can you teach what you know?) If you clicked the “keywords“ link, you may have observed that as you go up the hierarchy, “relationships” appear to be emphasized. This can be relationships between bodies of knowledge, parts of a body of knowledge, a body of knowledge and a particular scenario, etc.
You may get more information on Bloom’s Taxonomy and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) from the following sources:
People ask this question over and over again. May be the only other question closest to it is “which is the cheapest CPA review course?” You just have to look at the forums.
Here is my opinion: passing the CPA depends more on you than anything else. Thus, if you take any of the top 5 or 6 CPA review courses and give it to a good candidate, somebody who really wants to pass, and who will put in the study hours, she or he will pass. First time, no problems. If you give the same (or all of the CPA review courses to a poor candidate, one who is unprepared but wants to pass, or wants to pass with minimum effort possible, I will bet that she or he will fail. So, if I were to advise my brother or son or daughter or mother who was thinking about taking the exam, I would say, pick any of the better known CPA reviews out there, and pick what you think suits your needs. Once you do that, know that you have the best CPA review course in the world, and your only job is to match it. Be a good candidate/student.
Now, the fact that one of the vendors makes so much noise and in the process gets to be well-known does not make it the best. The fact that vendors feature their top students who always say they got 95+ on all parts does not make them the best. The fact that vendors have highly subjective statistics on passing rates, and quote “independent experts”, does not make them the best. Vendors love CPA candidates, and they really want us to pass. However, they love money much more! You know what people will do for money. Some will go for quality and hope to win market share with superior quality, some will lie, some will make noise, some will mock or make fun of the competition.
What if somebody asked me to develop a system for selecting a CPA review course? Well, let’s see how I would go about choosing one. First, I would look at myself to see what my needs are. How long have I been out of school? How motivated am I to read textbooks? Do I need anything in addition to Textbooks? CD? DVD? Live tutoring? How much time do I have to study or attend class or watch DVDs? Do I have access to the Internet? Will I be traveling a lot? Will I need the support of a counselor, or lecturer? What type of customer service will I need? Does it matter to me that the vendor offers guarantees to pass or it will provide free updates until I pass? [Read small print on the offer!] Do I remember anything from my school days? How did I do in school? What type of learner or student am I? etc. Answers to these questions will give you a guideline as to the needs that the vendor you choose must meet. For example, if you don’t have access to the Internet, you may want to stay away from a vendor whose critical parts to your success are all online. If you have access to the Internet, and you hate books, you may want to go with a vendor who has content/items critical to your success online. If you spend a long time on the bus or train, but you cannot open a book while on it, you may go with some Audio CDs or lectures on a jump/thumb/flash-drive. If you love books, and nothing but books will do it for you, you may want to go with the vendor with the thickest books! You get the idea! You are the one who will take the exam, so when you buy the material, you need to buy something that suits you.
Another option, or in addition to the above, I would look to see if I know anybody who has passed the exam and was willing to share his or her opinion, thoughts and experiences on the particular review material that he or she used.
If several vendors meet my needs, I would look at which one appears to give me the most bang for my buck! [That is, maximum return for my investment.]
In my case, I had a classmate who had just passed the CPA exam using Gleim. That is why I bought Gleim the first time I thought I would take the CPA exams. I did not take the exams until a few years later, when a friend encouraged me to go for it. He had used Becker. My friend passed all the sections the first time. I would say our study habits and intelligence is about the same, so I was not sure whether it was Becker or him. He told me he had a study group, and I figured… it was him! I had liked Gleim the first time I cracked the book and went over the multiple choice questions, and even though I had not taken the exam, I felt that they did a good job. So, I didn’t want to move too far from Gleim. I also knew that it had been a few years since I finished my MSA program, so I would probably need some lectures. I Googled something online and in my searches, I found Jeff at another71.com, and he had used Yaeger and he said good things about it. I read his blog for quite a bit just to be sure, and I thought… “this seems like a good program”. I checked a few other programs, but I went with Yaeger because of several reasons: It met my needs, among which was need for lecture DVDs; the pricing was great, as I could get a discount if I bought via Jeff’s website (or he had a discount code); they used Wiley books, and I thought Wiley is a respectable publisher. I also knew that I would be using Gleim testprep CD, which I have always liked. I was willing to give the Wiley 14.0 CD a chance though. Well, everything is history… sort of. I have passed 3, and failed 1 by 1 point. This sounds like a commercial for Yaeger or Gleim (or Becker?), but I just thought I should share my experience.
If you spend enough time on CPA forums (or fora?), or go to various CPA blogs, you will see that people have passed with excellent scores (in my opinion) using RogerCPA review, Excel CPA review, Bisk CPA review, Yaeger CPA Review, Becker CPA review, Gleim CPA review… (I am sure I have missed some other vendors), which goes to tell you that as long as some basic essentials are met (i.e. sufficient content coverage, AND your individual needs), you will pass if you put forth the effort.
A few weeks ago, I wanted to do a chart to compare all the CPA review programs. I think I will do it when I pass my last exam. It is a time consuming project. I faced two main challenges; the packages are different from vendor to vendor, and the pricing is not straight-forward, at least from a comparison point of view (apples and oranges). It is not insurmountable, but it requires a lot of time to correctly decipher. I have seen a few comparisons by the vendors themselves, needless to say I thought they lacked objectivity! So, that’s on my to-do-list, sometime in Dec09 – Jan10, God-willing.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found that helpful.
This post is to offer a shoulder to lean on to those who have failed the CPA exam. [The exams have started coming out. I saw a twit from Jeff[another71] that the AICPA had released BEC. [Shout out to Jeff: Good work, man! Keep up the good work!]]
First of all, to those who have passed any section, I would like to say Congratulations! It is a big achievement to pass any section of the CPA exam. I wish you lots of success and happiness!
To those who have failed. Sorry for not passing. Here is how I would go about handling or thinking about the situation. Actually, I have already thought about how I am going to handle it if I fail REG which will come out in the next day or so. It was in yesterday’s post: CPA exam results: How to Handle the Waiting. Okay, here we go:
1 – You are not alone. What do you understand from that sentence? I would suggest that you read it over, and even say it out loud a couple of times. “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” Now that you have said it at least 5 times, I ask you again, What do you understand from that sentence? It is important to answer that question. My personal answer is long, but I can give a brief version here. First, from a spiritual point of view, I believe I am not alone. The Bible tells me so. This poem tells me so:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
Footprints in the sand - You are not alone!
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
Mary Stevenson, 1936
Another way to look at it (it = that you are not alone), is that about half of the people who take the exam do not pass it. Please see below.
About 50% of CPA candidates pass (or fail) the CPA exam
So, spiritually, and “CPA-ally” , you are not alone! Knowing that I am not alone when I suffer gives me comfort. I will not explain how or why. May be in another post I will. I hope this knowledge gives comfort to those who have failed.
2 – Look on the positive side of life. Count your blessings. Even during the times that one thinks he or she has hit rock bottom, there is a silver lining. Let us count some of the ways. You are still alive. If you think your life is not worth it, those who love you or who depend on you for their happiness think your life is worth living. They could give anything to make sure you are still alive. Be thankful for life. You are healthy. You can read. You have access to this information. You may have a wonderful son, daughter, father, mother, wife, husband, friend, teacher, etc. You have food. You have transportation. You have money. You have a brain that is functioning properly. You are safe. You are in the top 30% of the most educated people in the USA (I am assuming that may be the level has gone up 4 points since 2003; I am assuming that you already have your Bachelors – i.e. condition for being allowed to take the exam – if not conditional-):
If this was 2003!! You would be in the top 26% of the most educated people in the USA
3 - Focus on things that cheer you up. A baby’s smile, a funny movie, loved ones, times when you achieved something, the compliments you have received in your life time. I would suggest that if you are alone and you do not have people who can cheer up, you write down all the compliments you have received in your life. If you don’t have pen and paper, you may type it up in the computer you are using! If you cannot do that, please find pen and paper! If not, think about it for 5-10 minutes. I think about the times I won Chess tournaments. I think about the many times I have been told I am cute I think about my girlfriend and her laughter! I think about the times I said something that was really funny and everybody cracked up – even though I cannot remember the specifics. Now I can think about all the good people out there, that I have not met, but are either linking to this blog, reading this blog, commenting on this blog, or just laughing at me for what I am writing! There are a lot of things I can do to feel better, only if I give myself a chance.
4 – Forget myself and focus on other people or other things. Self-absorption is one of the major causes of anxiety, unhappiness, low self-esteem,… (disclaimer: I am not a qualified psychologist, [I am serious!] think, I am also taking the CPA exams Anyway, on a serious note, I have found that when I am so busy or so involved in something, I have no time to think about myself. The other side of it is, when I think about myself so much, I have no time to think about other people or other things, and life passes me by.
5 – Move on. The past cannot be changed. Now, why should I lose my present (and my future which is quickly turning into my present with every passing moment) by focusing on things I cannot change. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey talked about Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern. The more you focus on your circle of Influence (i.e. the things you have control over), the larger it gets, and small the Circle of Concern gets. You can read more about that at the link below.
Focusing on things you can control grows your Circle of Influence
http://cpastories.com - positive thinking for the cpa exam - moleskine notebook pic
Where do you get the motivation to study at all? How do you keep studying when you don’t think you are getting it? How do you overcome the possibility of failure despite your best efforts? How do you overcome all the negative self-talk that might take place more often that you would like? How do you overcome the thoughts that something that you remember now may escape your brain during the exam? How do you stay motivated, minute in minute out, hour in hour out, day in day out, week in week out, month in month out? Actually, on this last question, all you need to do is keep yourself motivated minute in minute out, rinse and repeat!
For me, I find the POWER (to overcome and accomplish) in POSITIVE THINKING. It comes in all sorts of ways. Some people call it the Secret, other people call it Intention, others call it Will, Mind over Matter,… I prefer POSITIVE THINKING because that’s what Norman Vincent Pearle called it when he wrote his wonderful book, THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING. I read it probably 12 years ago, [I wish I had read it sooner,] and it is one of the best books I have ever read. It is one of the best things I have ever done. One way to look at it is this, since you self-talk any way, why not keep the self-talk positive? Once you decide to try positive thinking, or positive self-talk, or auto-suggestion, or the secret, or whatever you call it, you have several ways to do it. Some people record themselves and listen to it. Others just read wholesome quotes and books and that affects the way they behave or act.
I look at it as having goals. I believe everybody has to have goals and track them. One way to track where you are with respect to accomplishing your goals is to review them often. Thus, you can have your positive thoughts, wishes, goals, meditations as your goals and review them often.
We are trained to be accountants. One of the jobs of accountants is to measure and report performance of a business. If you don’t track it, you cannot measure it, and if you cannot measure it you cannot evaluate and report it. I believe that as one prepares for the CPA exam, she or he has to have a way to measure progress. One of the ways is to look at how you performing on the review tests – for example, are you getting 90% or more on each topic? [Different CPA review course vendors have different recommendations.] You cannot argue with the need to master the content tested on the exam. As you prepare for the exam, there are other things that you also need to keep track of to make sure that you are living a balanced life, and you are not neglecting any activities that may be critical to your success.
For example, you may practice multiple choice questions to the exclusion of everything else. You may get to a point where you are getting 99% on each topic’s MCQs. You go to the exam, and you find out that you cannot write a comprehensible essay to answer the writing part of the simulation, or you cannot effectively and efficiently search for what you need to answer the question. Or you don’t know how or whether to horizontally or vertically split the screen to answer a certain question.
Another example, if all you are doing is answering MCQs and simulations, and not reading the book or watching DVDs or listening to CDs or interacting with your peers (if applicable), then you may miss out on some tips that could be handy during the exam.
Along the way, as I was taking the exam, I tried various things to track my activity. Part of it was blogging, the other part was spreadsheets, the other part was note-taking and writing down when I did what, and yet another part was filling out a calendar as I did some things. Sort of trial and error. I would say it helped me for the most, especially when I was doing FAR, my very first exam. I was a little “bad” and disorganized for REG, but I still tracked my activities towards the end.
So, while doing all that, and thinking about it after the exam (note: I am still waiting for REG, my last exam) I played around with a spreadsheet as I was trying to figure out a way to track my blogging activities. I decided to modify it to see if I could use it to track CPA exam review activities. Below is a link to a spreadsheet I came up. Please feel free to play around with it and change it to suit your needs. Keep in mind that this will track your activities, not performance. To pass the CPA exam, you need to perform well. It is hoped that tracking your study activities will help you be more organized, and hopefully improve your review performance and hopefully(!) your performance in the exam.
On the exam day, the only thing you should be thinking about is the exam. You don’t want other extraneous things to occupy your mind. These extraneous things include directions to the exam location.
The CPA exam is one of the many exams that I have had to take outside the normal or school environment, and I had to go somewhere else, a place with which I was not familiar, to sit for the exam. Each time, usually months before the exam, I would go to the location, just to make sure that on exam day. I would just walk or drive there.
For the CPA exam, I took it a step further. I went to the Prometric location and talked to the people there. I knew from the books, DVDs, and CDs that certain items were not allowed into the examination room. I still wanted to hear it from the personnel. I didn’t ask, “what do you allow or not allow into the examination room?”! No. I told them I was not familiar with the location, and I would be coming over in a few months to take my CPA exams; is there something they would want me to know about taking the examination at this particular location? Traffic? Busiest time? Parking lot? Storage room?
Thank you for reading and I hope you found that helpful.
I think about my girlfriend and her laughter! I think about the times I said something that was really funny and everybody cracked up – even though I cannot remember the specifics. Now I can think about all the good people out there, that I have not met, but are either linking to this blog, reading this blog, commenting on this blog, or just laughing at me for what I am writing! There are a lot of things I can do to feel better, only if I give myself a chance.
