Getting Your CPA Exam Scores Faster

Beginning this month, CPA Exam scores will now be released faster. The AICPA has published a schedule for the fourth quarter of 2011, outlining the new dates on which you can expect to receive your results. This is great news for CPA Exam candidates, as you can now better plan your strategy for tackling all four section within the 18 month window. The biggest challenge in planning your studies is waiting for the results of your previous section before fully committing to sit for the next one. Good luck to all the Exam candidates out there!

The CPA Exam Goes Abroad

In August 2011, the U.S. CPA exam will be offered outside of the U.S. for the first time. The countries in which the exam will be offered include Japan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Lebanon. Given the accelerating demand by foreign nationals for taking the exam, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and Prometric have agreed to offer the same CPA exam in the aforementioned countries during a one month window each calendar-year quarter. The exam will be offered in English, and will be open to citizens, permanent residents, and long-term residents of the host countries that have satisfied the requirements to sit for the U.S. CPA exam.  International exam candidates will need to select and apply to a U.S. state board of accountancy to validate that they have satisfied the requirements to sit for the exam in their chosen state of jurisdiction.  The NASBA is now accepting applications for international exam candidates. For more information, visit the AICPA’s website at http://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/Pages/CPAExam.aspx.

2011 Changes to the CPA Exam

The Journal of Accountancy recently posted a video discussing the changes to the Uniform CPA Exam which took effect on January 1, 2011. In the video, Colleen Conrad, CPA, the Immediate Past Chair of the AICPA Board of Examiners highlights the fact that the CPA exam is designed to test the knowledge required of an entry level CPA. Upon surveying CPA firms, the AICPA Board of Examiners found that the expectations of entry level CPAs in the field has been quite dynamic over the past year, and therefore the 2011 exam will reflect these changes.

The format of the exam will shift from a large simulation at the conclusion of 3 of the 4 sections, to multiple smaller simulations. This is intended to expedite the grading process, however, Ms. Conrad notes that faster grading will likely not take effect until the later part of the year.

The BEC section of the exam will now include essays, which means that the essays on the other 3 sections will be removed. This change will add 30 additional minutes to the BEC section and reduce the Audit section by 30 minutes.

CPA firms surveyed by the Board of Examiners reported that entry level CPAs are increasingly required to be familiar with IFRS. Therefore, general IFRS questions have been added to the exam. Because IFRS is not yet readily used by all US firms, the questions will not require candidates to have intricate knowledge of concepts, merely familiarity with certain topics.

It is highly recommended that exam candidates take advantage of the practice examinations available at www.cpa-exam.org, in order to familiarize themselves with the format and resources of the exam. In 2011, there are new calculator and research functions that test takers should be comfortable navigating in preparation for the exam.

CPA Exam Action Plan. Part II

Yesterday I suggested a few ways to mentally approach the CPA exam. Today I'll provide some tangible tips on preparing for and passing the exam:

• Set the date - When beginning my career in public accounting, many first year staff, including myself, thought we could conquer the CPA exam by passively studying, scheduling a section of the exam only when we felt fully prepared. This plan didn't work for a single person I knew. Over the course of my entire first year, I probably studied a total of 10 hours, nowhere near being prepared for the first part of the exam. After a year had passed, I attended my firm's annual training, and was shocked to learn that almost all of my colleagues in the classroom had passed part, if not all of the exam. This finally motivated me to stop languishing in laziness and actually schedule my first exam. Only when I had a date on the calendar was I able to keep myself in a rigorous study routine. Even though I had scheduled my exams in the midst of busy season, the fact that I had a deadline helped me to study late each night, despite the long work days.
• Have a plan - Once you have the dates of your exam permanently fixed on the calendar, work backwards to the present and figure out how many chapters/topics/lectures you need to cover in order to be well prepared for each exam. Figure out how much you can reasonably manage each day. For example, if your study materials provide you with a book, can you cover a chapter a day? If that is too much, perhaps 1/3 of a chapter. Create a spreadsheet with each date from the present to the test day, and detail what material you will cover each day. Don't forget to schedule reviews, practice exams, and a rare day off only if you know you won't have any time to study (e.g. if your wedding day is scheduled during your exam preparation period, you probably won't have much time for studying that day). But try not to take too many days off. Even if you have a special event scheduled, plan on reducing your study hours for that day, but not eliminating them. Breaking your routine for even one or two days could put you in a procrastination slump, which should be avoided at all costs.
• Hold yourself accountable - Sharing your goals, deadlines, and study plans with those closest to you will help keep you on track. I was so afraid to tell my co-workers that I had scheduled my exam, because that meant my manager might ask me how it went! Eeek! What if I failed miserably?! When I finally did tell me co-workers I was preparing for my first exam section, they provided a lot of encouragement. I was able to push myself harder in preparing because they knew I was planning to take the exam soon. My husband also provided a huge amount of accountability, since he knew the details of my daily study schedule, and would ask me regularly if I had completed my agenda for the day.
• Take a break when necessary- While it's important to keep the momentum going once your 18 month clock starts ticking, don't be afraid to take a mental health break after each section of the exam. Many people take a week off of studying after sitting for each of the 4 exams. This time is an important stress reliever, and helps you jump into your preparation for the next exam with renewed enthusiasm and motivation.
• Stay on target - Even if you're not in the mood to study one day, don't think you can save up the lessons you skipped and cover them all in a 10 study session over the weekend. The effectiveness of your studying will greatly wane if you attempt to conquer too much at once. According to the National Training Laboratories, we only retain 10% of what we read and 5% of what we hear in a lecture. So if you think you can take everything in through cram sessions, think again. It will be much more effective to incrimentally tackle all of the material you need to cover on a daily basis.

CPA Exam Action Plan. Part I

Whether you're weeks away from graduation, starting a new job this year, or an experienced accountant who has decided to take their career a step further, the CPA exam is likely staring you in the face. It seems like an insurmountable test of cerebral strength, computational dueling, and an 18 month sentence to solitary confinement spent studying. Rather than focus on the negative, look at some of the great things about beginning your preparation for the CPA exam:

• It should only last 18 months at the most. Thanks to the various state accountancy boards who administer the exam, you only have 18 months in which to pass all 4 parts. So even if it takes you the entire time to get through all 4 parts, it's not forever, right? Doctors and many other professionals are required to take periodic examinations throughout their careers. CPAs are different. Rumor has it the acronym actually stands for "Couldn't pass again!" So once you pass, you pass forever!
• Think of all that free time you'll have when you're done studying? After committing to an intense period of study and surrendering most extracurricular activities, you'll really appreciate all of the free time you suddenly have once you finish your final exam.
• You'll have an immense amount of professional and academic respect once you've conquered the CPA exam. Becoming a CPA opens doors for you to climb higher within the field of public accounting, or even to pursue a completely new career. Graduate and professional schools often hold CPAs in high esteem, because the title carries with it an implicit mark of self-discipline and professional expertise.

Now that you're focusing on all you have to look forward to after passing the CPA exam, it's time to roll up your sleeves and come up with an action plan to get there. Tomorrow I'll provide some tangible steps you can take in preparing for the exam.