Cpa Exam Study Tips

To earn your Certified Public Accounting license, you must pass the CPA exam. Each state has their own requirements that must be met before a candidate receives a Notice to Sit, so make sure you thoroughly research your state's Board of Accountancy website.

CPA exam review courses are commonly used by candidates prior to taking the exam. These are lengthy and comprehensive study aids that will absolutely help in preparing you for the exam.

The CPA exam consists of four parts, each one lasting three to four hours. Business Environment and Concepts, Regulation, Financial Accounting and Reporting and Auditing and Attestation are the subjects and each are comprised of a series of practical tests and multiple choice questions.

You must schedule a time to sit for the exam during the first two months of each the quarter. The third month is used by the testing organization to grade and evaluate last round of test takers. Now, to pass the exam, you must receive a score of 75 or greater. That is not as easy as it sounds. The test is graded on a curve using psychometrics and approximately half of all exam takers will pass during each quarter.

With the low pass rate, it is extremely important to give yourself the best possible advantage. That means you must practice effective studying techniques.

Do not schedule marathon studying sessions. It is both physically and mentally exhausting and does more harm than good. Since so many of the CPA exam review courses use the computer, you should be careful at spending too much time staring at your monitor. It will hurt your eyes. To counteract this strain, take several breaks per hour. Don't spend your downtime checking email or social media! You outside for a quick, brisk walk. It will stretch your muscles and ease the stress on your eyes.

Force yourself to spend enough time sleeping. You may have been successful in high school or college when you pulled the occasional all-nighter, but it is not a good long term solution. If you are not getting 7 - 8 hours of sleep consistently, you will not be at your peak performance.

Develop short ranged goals. Before you go to bed at night, write out the items you want to accomplish during the next day. The key here is to set short term goals and to make them well-balanced. Do not devoted 16 hours on a Saturday just to studying. Odds are that your family is making sacrifices so you can prepare for your CPA exam. Devote time to them, devote time to yourself, and devote time to the exam.

These CPA exam tips will keep you on track to quickly earn your Certified Public Accounting license!