Tag: CPA Exam

Can a CPA Exam Candidate Who Failed REG With a 71 Prepare for a Retake in Three Weeks?

Today’s CPA exam question from the mailbag has to do with a familiar topic to many of you: failure.

Hi Adrienne,

I slaved for an HOA audit firm and our busy season just officially ended. I found out last week that the very last day I can schedule to sit for REG is on 5/27 so that give me approximately 3 weeks to cram for the materials. I sat for that section in January and failed at 71. I am planning to spend 4 hours studying during the week and 8 hours to cram on Saturday and Sunday so I can study at most 36 hours per week. Should I go try for 5/27 or postpone the exam until July when I am more prepared?

Also, I am using both Becker & Gleim to review. In the past, I watched the Becker lectures, completed MCs and simluations on both Becker & Gleim and using Becker book to review. Due to not having enough time, should I just work on MCs and simluations and forgo re-watch the lectures?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Our candidate has also sent in her score report, included below:

We should point out here that our candidate admitted in a follow-up e-mail after very little badgering that she had, in fact, done poorly on the simulations as she suspected, telling us “I went into Regulation knowing that I was weak on simulations and as you can see on my score report, not making an effort reviewing and re-doing the simulations led to my failure.”  And yes, it’s pretty clear to us that’s exactly what happened here.

With only three weeks to study before the new test date, it wouldn’t make sense to spend much time reviewing lectures or even entire chapters as a 71 shows an excellent command of the information and her score report confirms that suspicion. Unfortunately, the days of “kind of blowing the simulation part of the exam” are over with the advent of CBT-e, meaning you’re obviously going to have to do better in that area if you want to pass.

The good news is you get it, overall, except maybe for that federal tax process area. Check the CSOs (page 25 of the PDF) for more detailed info on what is tested in that area (naturally it has a lot to do with federal taxation) and practice problems in those areas. If you feel particularly lost in any one area, go ahead and read the chapter or watch a lecture over again but since time is of the essence, try not to use the lectures at all. Don’t get too focused on your one weak area, though, since you presumably haven’t studied any of this stuff for months. You’ll need a good once over (that means all your MCQ at a minimum) before exam day, so try to set aside at least three hours a day, more if you can fit it in. If you have more than three hours a day to study, try not to study for more than three hours at a time, break it up to some in the morning and some in the evening if you can.

As for the simulations, practice working through simulation problems while timing yourself. Set your cell phone alarm or an old school kitchen timer to work out 10 – 15 minutes per problem and start blasting through them on whatever software you still have access to in hour-long intervals. Work towards finishing each simulation in no more than 10 minutes as that will allow you time on exam day to review your sims once you have finished.

Good luck!

International CPA Exam Applications Now Being Accepted By Participating State Boards

With just three months before international CPA exam testing is scheduled to debut, let’s hope the state boards can get to it and have everyone rolling in time.

Via NASBA:

In March 2011, in conjunction with the AICPA and Prometric, NASBA announced the opportunity for international administration of the Uniform CPA Examination to be offered in Japan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

The CPA Examination application process is basically the same for U.S. and international candidates. In order to qualify to take the CPA Ehe U.S., candidates will have to establish their eligibility through a State Board participating in the International CPA Examination Administration program. Click the following link for the list of participating State Boards.

Before applying to sit internationally, please read the Candidate Bulletin and the International Examination Informed Consent. Candidates should then visit the Jurisdiction Map in the CPA Exam section of the NASBA website for information about eligibility requirements and the examination application process for the jurisdiction in which they wish to apply. Prospective candidates must select the U.S. jurisdiction to which they will apply, contact the Board of Accountancy (or its designee) in that jurisdiction to obtain application materials, submit completed applications and required fees as instructed, and once deemed qualified, schedule the examination. After receiving the Notice to Schedule, you may then register to take the examination in an international location through the NASBA website.

Note: After the registration process is complete for each examination section, you will need to wait at least 24 hours before you schedule your appointment. Initially, the examination will be offered internationally during a one-month testing window per calendar year quarter.

Regardless of which Board of Accountancy has declared you eligible for the examination, in addition to paying any domestic testing fees, you must pay additional fees for each examination section you plan to take internationally. Those fees per examination section are:

AUD: $292.85
BEC: $314.90
FAR: $292.85
REG: $314.90

Certain jurisdictions have specific rules and requirements to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination, as well as qualifying for CPA licensure after passing the examination. Before applying in any jurisdiction to take the CPA Examination in an international location, be sure to read the jurisdiction’s Information for Applicants on the website. It may also help to visit the Board of Accountancy’s website of the jurisdiction where you wish to apply. Further details about international administration of the examination can also be found on the international testing FAQ sheet that is available on the AICPA Uniform CPA Examination website.

For candidate convenience, NASBA has recently extended call center hours and created an international number. The hours of operation and contact phone numbers are as follows:

• Call 1-800-CPA-EXAM Days and hours of operation: Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m., Eastern Time, and Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Eastern Time (UTC -5).
• Call 1-855-CPA-GUAM or 671-300-7441 (international candidates). Days and hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Japan Standard Time (UTC + 9).

Well let’s see, let’s pretend we’re an international CPA exam applicant in Ohio testing for the first time. If we want to sit in Japan, we can look forward to spending $140 for the application and $500 for each section of the exam. Assuming we pass the first time through, that’s $2140. I guess it’s cheaper than flying to the U.S. to test with plane tickets and hotels and all that stress.

Is BEC Still the Junk Drawer of the CPA Exam?

Note from AG: If you have a CPA exam question for us, get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer without making you feel like we don’t like you or somehow disrespect your career decisions. No judgments, least of all from a girl who grew up to write for an accounting tabloid.

Today’s question is a good one because it addresses a CPA exam candidate concern that has been valid since the exam went computerized in 2004. I always call BEC the junk drawer of the CPA exam since up until 2011 it contained all the crap left over from other sections that wouldn’t fit anywhere else. I have consistently heard the same complaint: it is random and no matter how well you prepare, you’re going to see a bunch of off-the-wall material that you never covered. This is pretty standard regardless of which review course you are using, so for the purposes of answering the following question we’ll speak generally (not being familiar with Becker’s 2011 product):

I am taking BEC in May 2011. I have seen people writing in the forum that Becker’s materials are not representative of the exam. I have passed FAR, and I felt Becker/Wiley is very representative (as in “no surprises”). For REG, Becker/Wiley is quite representative (prepared me well enough), but still I have to make guesses. I actually felt like giving up half way on REG because there are many twists in the questions that I have never seen before.

So, for BEC, how do you think I should prepare so that there are not many surprises? I am using Becker/Wiley. I can’t take any surprises…

With sections like FAR and REG, it’s assumed that you took at least a couple general accounting courses in school, which would have taught you journal entries, revenue recognition, inventory and maybe even pension accounting if you overachieved and went for Advanced Accounting. But with BEC, you’re dealing with variance analysis, cost accounting and corporate governance; areas many of you probably avoided in college if you could. Meaning not only is it random, it feels more so because so much of it can be unfamiliar.

That being said, a little birdie told me that COSO, corporate governance, ERM and the other new areas in BEC for 2011 showed up last window in larger amounts than suspected, so be sure to review those areas thoroughly. Remember too that the review courses all get their information from the same source, the AICPA. You can get that info too by checking out the CSOs in detail.

With BEC, you can expect to be tested on six core areas in the following percentages (current as of January 1, 2011):

I. Corporate Governance (16% – 20%)
II. Economic Concepts and Analysis (16% – 20%)
III. Financial Management (19% – 23%)
IV. Information Systems and Communications (15% – 19%)
V. Strategic Planning (10% – 14%)
VI. Operations Management (12% – 16%)

Now go back to your materials, do you see a similar breakdown in what you’re covering? One complaint I heard from someone who prepared for BEC in the first quarter was that her Wiley materials did not cover nearly enough corp governance compared to what she saw on her exam.

Until we have better information, be prepared for the unpredictability of BEC to continue. Looking at 2011 material compared to past years, it does appear that the AICPA has addressed some of that unpredictability to create a more succinct section but don’t expect it to be as streamlined as, say, FAR any time soon. Just a guess!

Just How Important Is Research on the CPA Exam?

Today’s fantastic question comes from loyal reader Chloe who wants to know about research. We addressed this way back in September of 2010 but now that the new CPA exam is in the wild and you guys are actually out there taking it, it’s appropriate to revisit.


Question as follows:

My question is about research tabs. In one of your previous articles, you said that Research tabs are worth a lot more now (something like 8 points if I remember correctly).

In the first quarter 2011, I took REG and passed with 88. I got 2 research tabs, which I think I got both wrong (one may be pre-test). I dont really believe that the research tabs has so much weights now. I mean, how can the weighting go from so unimportant to being so important now? Also, my score suggest to me, the research tab may not be worth so much like the 8 points that you mentioned. I tried to ask this same question to my Becker instructor, but she has no idea.

I am going to take AUD in May 2011. I wanted to know what really is the weightage given to research tabs. If I can’t find the correct research, it can mean a lot of collateral damage. U know I mean?

According to the AICPA, task-based simulation problems (TBS) make up 40% of your score in FAR, AUD and REG. Of your seven simulation problems in AUD and FAR and six in REG, one of these for each section is pretest, meaning it does not count towards your score.

The AICPA does not differentiate research from other simulation problems in the 2011 exam, so it should be assumed that each simlet is worth the same amount of points. Because we are unable to determine just how many points are allocated to each TBS, the best we can say is that with the new exam format, you must do moderately well in the simulation part of your exam to pass. The exam is on a plus-point basis and a passing score is not a percent correct, so it would be difficult to determine the actual number of points each TBS is worth.

But we can guess that if TBS problems make up 40% of your score and, in AUD, there are seven of these problems, each one is worth about 6 1/2% of your score (since one is not counted). Do with that information what you will.

In previous incarnations of the exam, candidates could blow an entire simulation (of two) and still pass fairly easily, as long as they did fairly well on the MCQ portion. For the new exam, however, this is fairly impossible since TBS problems are now smaller but more heavily-weighted.

Long story short, treat research problems like they are operational and worth just as much as your other simulations since they are. Don’t forget to take advantage of six months free access to the professional literature so you can practice research ahead of your next exam.

In your case, you probably did pretty well on the MCQ and your other simulation problems or fairly well across the board and actually got the research questions you thought you got wrong. Don’t question it, celebrate it and know you’re that much closer to your CPA. Congrats!

Everything You Thought You Knew About How the CPA Exam is Scored is Wrong

I’m 97% sure most CPA exam candidates are confused by the CPA exam’s psychometric scoring, either because it is supposed to be that way or they haven’t done their research. Either way, I once again got the chance to speak with John Mattar, Ed.D., Director of Psychometrics and Research and Mike Decker, Director of Operations and Development, both of the AICPA’s examinations unit. This time we focused on how the CPA exam is scored. Remember that most of this information is already available on the AICPA’s website, check out How the CPA Exam is Scored and the Psychometrics and Scoring section for more detailed, less sarcastic information than what you might find here. That being said, we appreciate John and Mike taking time to humor us anyway.


Of course, no discussion about how the exam is scored would be complete without rehashing last quarter’s somewhat tardy score release issue. John and Mike compared it to buying a new car but driving home in your old car, meaning scoring is going to be a broke down Toyota Tercel for just two more quarters but if you all can be patient, you’ll be spinning around town in that shiny new Lexus by December. “We’re doing everything we can to administer a quality exam, including communicating with candidates,” Mike told us. They also let us know that they will be using NASBA to push out timely information to candidates in the quarters ahead. See? Told you they were listening to candidates’ scoring concerns.

When talking about how the CPA exam is scored, it’s important to remember that candidates take different but equivalent exams. “It’s not possible to say what each testlet is worth because everyone is taking different exams,” said John. That being said, we did manage to get them to tell us that, contrary to popular belief, candidates are not compared to each other when they are scored. How do we know? While we still don’t know how many points each question is worth, John told us “we can say with 100% assurance if two different candidates get the same question, they will both get the same amount of points or credit for getting that question right.” This whole exam scoring thing is feeling less and less insidious by the minute, isn’t it?

For the final time: the CPA exam is not graded on a curve, nor are you compared to everyone who did better than you, nor are you compared to everyone who showed up to Prometric that day or week or month. “The way the exam is scored, candidates are compared to a fixed ability level. They are not compared to each other. If in the next window candidates maybe aren’t as well-prepared, fewer people will pass. They are being compared to a fixed level of ability,” John told us. Twice. Just to make sure we all got it. Got it? Let’s go over it one more time (from the Scoring FAQs):

The CPA Examination is NOT curved. Every candidate’s score is entirely independent of other candidates’ Examination results.

The CPA Examination is a criterion-referenced examination which means that it rests upon pre-determined standards. Every candidate’s performance is measured against established standards to determine whether the candidate has demonstrated the level of knowledge and skills that is represented by the passing score. Every candidate is judged against the same standards, and every score is an independent result.

Are we clear on that? Awesome, moving on…

Pretest questions make up fifteen MCQ in AUD/FAR and twelve in REG/BEC, one task-based simulation in FAR, AUD and REG and one written communication in BEC. The problem with gaming this system is that you can’t, since you have no way of knowing which questions are pretest and which are operational. So just guess equally on all of them as if every single one counts, mmmkay? Pretest questions will resemble operational questions since they are testing whatever is in the Content Specification Outline, meaning IFRS wasn’t tested on a pretest basis last year. What this means for candidates is that nothing outside of the CSOs will EVER be pretested. Maybe not a life-changing piece of information but really useful to know if you are prone to asking “what should I be studying?” and are familiar with the CSOs.

So what’s with the score report you get when you fail that compares you to those who scored between 75 and 80 in that window? Why not compare you to the CPA exam superstars who pulled down 99s without breaking a sweat?

“If you compared [failing candidates] to people that got all the way up to 99, it’s not as useful,” John said. “We want the basis of comparison that is going to be the most meaningful to the people who failed and that group is those that got closest to passing. If I got a 62 and the comparison group includes all the people who got above 90, that isn’t going to help me as much. Most of the people who pass are between 75 – 80.”

While we appreciate the AICPA taking the time to speak with us, we feel it’s important to point out that, at the end of the day, they are the best source of information for candidates. Answers to most of your questions can be found on their website. If you’re having trouble finding something or have a specific question related to the CPA exam, get in touch and we’ll do our best to do the Googling on your behalf.

Desperately Seeking a CPA Exam Study Buddy?

Contributor note: with busy season winding down and such awful CPA exam performance the first quarter of this year, we suspect many of you are thrilled to cuddle up with Peter Olinto and dust the cobwebs off your CPA review books. That being the case, though you might still be mad at us from last quarter, we invite you to send in your CPA exam questions so we can do our best to answer in a way that offends the fewest candidates possible.

Being an accountant already isolates you from a large number of non-accountant people, most of whom automatically assume you do taxes for a living and will never understand why it’s funny to claim Ex-lax as “moving expenses.” Taking on the CPA exam naturally isolates you further; from your significant other, who doesn’t get why you never seem to have time for them anymore, from your friends who are still trying to get you to do their taxes and from your higher-ups who seem determined to tell you for the 40th time how much harder the CPA exam was back in their day.


Seeking a CPA exam study buddy doesn’t need to feel like having to find a partner in middle school gym class and it doesn’t matter where you are, you can find one. Here are a few tips:

• Try CPAnet – You can find an entire section of the forum dedicated to study groups, ranging from Phoenix to Seattle to Dubai. Don’t see your city listed? Register for the forum and post your own.

• Get on Twitter – Try the #twudygroup hashtag on Twitter to chat with other CPA exam candidates, bitch about how your review courses have let you down and talk about how messed up it is when asshole bloggers call you out on their websites. Speaking of, we’d like to send a very personal congratulations to former #twudygroup member @CStrunk for passing the CPA exam, proof that alcohol and computer cleaning in lieu of studying can help, if you’re willing to put in the work when you’re sober. Congratulations, Chris, we knew you had it in you otherwise we’d have never called you out in the first place.

• Ask around your office – Unless you are in a two-man office in which one of you is the accountant and the other one the boss, someone in your office is also studying for the CPA exam. You can do a quick cube check to determine who might be studying but if you’re too shy to ask, just look for the sleep-deprived look in their eye, MCQ on their computer screen during lunch or the “kill me now” sign taped on their wall the day scores come out. Just make sure to pick someone you actually like, sharing the next year and a half with someone you can’t stand can only lead to conflict and/or increased diversity training later down the road.

The Right (and Wrong) Way to Save Money on CPA Exam Review Materials

As anybody who has done even remedial research on CPA review materials knows, exam prep doesn’t come cheap. The major review programs run from $1,500 to $3,000, and usually come with access limits anywhere from 9 months to a year. The larger review courses don’t guarantee a pass and often include hidden fees for administrative costs (what is that, anyway?), so-called free repeats and updates to books. There’s no doubt that CPA review is a big business, and you can trust me on that because I used to be in it.

That being said, CPA review doesn’t have to cost you a metric shitton of cash you don’t have. Here are a few ways to save some money if you’re not one of the lucky few getting your course paid for by either your employent parents.


Look for discount codes – CPAnet often has discount codes posted on CPA Exam Club, whether you are looking for cram courses, a full review or just Wiley materials. Check out their discount page for more details.

Avoid supplemental products like flash cards – Flash cards are an easy way for review courses to make a few extra bucks. Save the $100 or more dollars, buy a $2 pack of index cards and make your own. You’ll learn more that way and have more money your pocket when all’s said and done, which you might need if you end up having to retake any exam parts.

Call or email the review course to ask about discounts – They’ll probably tell you no and try to sell you into their bundle CPA review/masters program for $125,000 but hey, can’t hurt, right? Like any other business, CPA review programs sometimes run special deals so pick up the phone and ask.

Order through someone other than the review course – CPA Review Materials sells verified products at a discount and includes free shipping on orders over $400 – something you can’t get if you buy from the review course directly. As a trusted vendor, you know you’re getting what you’re paying for since the site deals directly with the review courses to provide products to candidates. But this brings us to our next point which is…

Do NOT buy from unsavory sellers – When you buy second-hand CPA review materials through eBay or Craigslist-type sites, remember you are taking a risk that the “book” you think you are buying is really just a photocopied binder full of outdated, pirated material. Products you purchase from individual sellers are not covered under review courses’ policies, and in many cases it is a direct violation of these courses’ copyrights to buy or sell materials. But CPAs would never dream of breaking the rules, right? If you are absolutely broke and in need of second-hand materials, you can usually find the Wiley CPA Exam Review books on Amazon for cheaper than retail and won’t be violating any rules by buying them that way.

Do NOT buy materials from your friend who passed four years ago We won’t suggest that you buy materials from your friend who passed just last quarter since that would also be against most review courses’ rules and we would highly recommend you stay away from materials any older than one year. The CPA exam changes twice a year and especially with the implementation of CBT-e, you will want to make sure you have the most up-to-date information available, even if you need to spend a little more to get it.

Lastly, a money-saving suggestion is to do a cost-benefit analysis of cheaping out on a review course over having to pay additional retake fees if you do not pass the first, second or third time out. There’s no reason why you have to spend a lot of money to get through the exam (plenty have passed using just the Wiley books, which are usually around $50 a piece), just make sure to analyze your own needs and plan accordingly. And remember: you can’t buy your way to a 75, all the money in the world does you no good if you don’t actually use the materials and study!

Q1 CPA Exam Pass Rates Worst in Three Years

Jeff shared some pretty depressing news on Another71 yesterday, it looks like pass rates are down. Way down:

Auditing and Attestation:
2009 Q1: 47.61%
2010 Q1: 46.86%
2011 Q1: 43.88%

AUD passing rates are down 7.8% over 2009 and 6.4% over 2010.

Business Environment and Concepts:
2009 Q1 46.23%
2010 Q1: 46.59%
2011 Q1: 42.32%

BEC passing rates are down 8.5% over 2009 and 9.2% over 2010.

Financial Accounting and Reporting:
2009 Q1 45.54%
2010 Q1: 44.95%
2011 Q1: 42.43%

FAR passing rates are down 6.8% over 2009 and 5.6% over 2010.

Regulation:
2009 Q1: 47.96%
2010 Q1: 49.00%
2011 Q1: 41.28%

REG passing rates are down 13.9% over 2009 and 15.8% over 2010.

What’s strange about this is that REG was the section least changed in CBT-e, leading us to wonder if some CPA exam candidates were, in fact, better at written communication than they thought. Taking these easy 10 points out of FAR, AUD and REG could have something to do with the first quarter’s awful scores, or it could be that candidates were not familiarized enough with the new format to do smashingly this time out.

One commenter on Another71 said “I took REG and felt like I studied for the wrong exam when I saw the questions,” which I’ve heard a lot about BEC but never about REG. In fact, for the last four years I have consistently told candidates that REG is the easiest for some candidates simply due to the cut-and-dry nature of tax and business law. It is not as large and all-encompassing as FAR, nor does it require all the extensive calculations. But this information could be game-changing.

The other strange fact here – and I have no specific numbers on this, going on my perception based on comments I have received from candidates who tested last quarter – is that for those who did pass, it seemed like many of them scored in the high 80s and 90s, as opposed to the usual large number of 75 – 79s like I usually see from passing candidates. Since I didn’t actually aggregate any real data, it’s hard to say whether or not this is an important point to mention. Perhaps I’ll try harder next quarter to get some actual numbers.

It’s also important to recall my conversation with the AICPA earlier this year when we discussed the possibility of changing the passing score in 2011. The exact statement was “In terms of the score reported to candidates, right now the passing score on that reported scale is a 75 and it’s going to remain there because we want to have consistency over time” from John Mattar, Director of Psychometrics and Research. What I took that to mean was that a 75 last year may or may not be the same as a 75 last year, which could explain why more candidates missed the mark this time around.

What do you think?

NASBA Reaches Out to Japanese CPA Exam Candidates Impacted by March Disaster

By disasters, we don’t mean that thing that happened with scoring.

When Katrina hit in 2004, NASBA granted affected CPA exam candidates an automatic extension. This time around, they are asking Japanese CPA exam candidates directly affected by the earthquake and tsunami disasters to contact them for assistance.

Here’s the official word from NASBA:

Our hearts go out to those in the Japan area who are dealing with rebuilding their lives and communities after the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters in that region. Japanese candidates who are scheduled to test in the near future, (United States or at our Guam Testing Center) and who may not be able to do so now due to the logistical issues that the disaster caused, should know that we are here to assist during this time of uncertainty.

Japanese candidates who may need to request an NTS extension and/or rescheduling, should contact NASBA’s Candidate Care department by emailing candidatecare@nasba.org and we will handle each concern on a case by case basis as we receive requests.

We recommend that all concerns of this type be directed to NASBA’s Candidate Care department. For this particular issue, only those affected by the earthquake/tsunami disaster should email us at candidatecare@nasba.org.

We assume that last line means “please don’t use the Candidate Care department to yell at us about scores” but did not ask to be sure. Let’s just pretend it did just to be safe.

Comparing CPA Review Courses

We’ve gone over how to choose a CPA review course in the past but it seems we’ve been getting more emails than usual asking about specific review programs. Due to a potential perceived bias (this author was employed in CPA Review for four years), we have avoided covering this subject in detail until now.


The following list of review courses is by no means comprehensive and we do not endorse any of these courses (unless, of course, they would like to get in touch with our advertising folks and set up a sweet deal to be pimped out). CPA exam candidates are highly encouraged to do their own research by checking blogs and forums. Coworkers can also be a good source of info but keep in mind colleagues are less likely than strangers on the Internet to be honest about their own performance so take any information you glean from them with a grain of salt.

Many have asked if additional supplemental products are necessary when dropping a big chunk of cash on CPA review. I generally tell candidates to save their pennies, get a $2 pack of index cards and make their own flash cards. Not only do you save money, by writing them out yourself you’ll actually see that you’re understanding the concepts better simply due to the mechanical motion of putting pen to paper.

We’ve included links to CPAnet where appropriate so you can check out actual candidate feedback (the positive and negative) which former students of each of these courses have posted on the forums there.

• Becker: Retail Price: $3,065 (all four parts)
Per part if ordered individually: $990 (CPAnet)

• CPAexcel: Retail price (Gold Medal option): $1690 (four parts) Per part if ordered individually: $580 (CPAnet)

• Kaplan, Gleim and Bisk: Considered self-study or supplemental, check CPAnet for feedback on these courses.

• Roger: Retail Price: $2095 – $1695 (all four parts) Per part if ordered individually: $595 – $695 (CPAnet)

• Wiley: Price varies based on options. (CPAnet)

• Yaeger: Retail price: $1787 (four parts) Per part if ordered individually: $545 (CPAnet)

This is where our lovely GC readers come in. We know you all are really proud of how you’ve kicked the CPA exam’s ass, so please let us know in the comments what worked for you. If you all can get extra excited about this, we can put together a GC reader CPA review deathmatch based on your input.

Note: prices current as of 3/29/11 based on available information. If you have a correction, please get in touch.