In what order should I take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam? It is a question that many new candidates ask themselves, and others, when starting off on their...
Just starting out on your path to becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)? Unsure where to begin? One of the biggest decisions to make is the selection of a review course. Many people are familiar with Becker, Roger, Wiley CPAexcel, and Yaeger. There is also Surgent, Gleim, Kaplan, Ninja, Lambers, ExamMatrix, and more. With so many options available to a candidate, it may be difficult to determine what will work best. While some programs will boast about a high pass rate for its users, at the end of the day, the content provided is very similar --- is it simply delivered in varying formats. You can get lost reading reviews online about how one course worked for person while another could not imagine having tried to use a worse review course. What this means is a candidate should do their research to figure out how the content is provided (classroom vs. online self-study), what kinds of practice questions are offered (multiple choice, simulations), the length of time a course is available to the user (18 months vs. unrestricted), how many devices can be used (phone, tablet, etc.) what materials are given (online software, course book, study guides, etc.) and other factors along with, of course, cost. There likely is not a perfect course out there for each individual, but a candidate should be able to find one that will meet most of what is desired.
For more CPA resources, also check out Accounting Web.