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CPA Review Course - Which is the Best?

By: Matthew Huff

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Most accountants who study for the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam make use of a CPA review course to help them prepare. A quality review course lowers study time and improves the chances of successfully passing the CPA exam. The most difficult decision to make with a review course is which one increases the likelihood of success the most. Below are some things you need to consider when selecting a CPA exam review course.

1) Course Materials

Although all courses cover similar accounting ideas, every instructor describes things in their own way. The best courses use qualified instructors who are able to teach difficult ideas while making sure students fully understand them. Also, a great lecturer will place more emphasis on tricky concepts and skim the more self-explanatory ones to make lectures more effective. The best value CPA review courses include free lecture samples which you may evaluate before deciding to buy. A further way to understand the quality of a review course is by visiting CPA exam preparation discussion boards and review sites to see what people are saying about the lecture quality of other courses.

As well, the lessons can be obtained from a variety of media, such as live webcasts, CDs, DVDs, or USB. If access to course material is restricted, it limits how you can benefit. It is therefore wise to consider how the course material is delivered before deciding which course to buy.

Always keep in mind, access to course materials can expire and you should note the expiration date before making a purchase. Important simulation software may become unfunctional when access expires and this can reduce your chances of success in the exam. As well, some courses have lectures that are available to students for a certain duration before they become inaccessible. Access expiry is normally only relevant when you access online materials, but the material can become redundant as some topics may be omitted from the exam. If you buy the type that expires, ensure you have enough time to understand the materials prior to expiration.

2) Practice Questions

Practice questions offer an alternative way to make sure students know the key ideas and are able to retain them. They help make it easy to retain through use of practical real world examples.

Each of the CPA review courses take different approaches with practice questions. Many courses aim to tackles every conceivable question likely to show up in the CPA exam. This tactic is time intensive, but ensures all topics are covered. It is not unusual for students to run out of time and fail to cover some of the critical questions. This impacts on their exam preparation and ability to succeed.

On the other hand, there are courses that fail to provide sufficient example questions to sufficiently prepare the student for the exam. Obviously, this scenario is far from ideal also.

The ideal CPA review course will focus on the most probable questions likely to come up in the CPA exam. This is possible through checking past papers to identify questions that appear the most frequently. This ensures the highest rate of return for the student's study time by allowing the student to focus on areas that will probably matter the most.

3) Student Support

All CPA review courses provide some level of customer support. If you like to ask questions and prefer to talk to instructors over the phone, then choose a review course which offers that service. Some courses offer limited student support while other courses provide interactive support via email. Some review courses provide message boards and forums to allow students to interact with tutors and with each other. Naturally, you should check whatever review course you buy offers the right type of support suitable for your needs.

4) Frequency of Updates

Due to changes in accounting-related legislature amongst other things, CPA exam study materials need updated to reflect the changes quite regularly. Some review courses update their course materials and practice questions more often than others, so be sure to take this into consideration when choosing a course.

Something to consider, that has not been discussed, is cost. However, substantial pay rises experienced by many people after becoming certified, it is advised that you choose a CPA review course based on quality and assistance from the tutors, rather soley on price. As the average pass rate for the CPA exam is only 47.49-49.10% (pass rate for Uniform CPA Examination in 2008), failure in one or more sections is not uncommon. The cost of failure the first time is usually down to opting for a lower quality review course or lack of effort on the part of a student.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Find out which CPA review course is the most highly recommended amongst the many CPA exam review courses on the market today.

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