Customer Reviews

You Can Pass the CPA Exam: Get Motivated!

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

PROS:
-Provides key websites: cpa-exam.org, nasba.org, and prometric.com.
-Provides details of applying, paying for exam, receiving notice to schedule, and taking exam at the prometric site.
-Emphasizes importance of using a professional review course, working old exam problems, and making flashcards.
-Emphasizes high level of dedication needed to study for exam
-Emphasizes importance of Time Management while taking exam.
-Details the AICPA Content Specification Outlines (CSOs) provided for each section of the exam.

CONS:
-Provides very little information not already available on the internet in discussion forums and accounting society websites dedicated to the exam.
-The book is repetitive at times -- which I suppose is OK if the author is purposefully trying to drive home a point and not merely fill space.
-Skip the accompanying CD, in my opinion.

OVERALL:
It is a worthwhile read if you are new to the exam because it provides an overview of the exam process in a single volume of information. If you don't need the hand holding -- skip it.


Best Wishes

The first six weeks of studying for the CPA I felt burned out and unmotivated. When I logged on to Amazon I was hoping for a miracle. I was hoping to find something the will help me overcome the fatigue. I wanted to get the CPA out of the way on the first try, and to never have to look at the CPA books again. Between this book and the CD, I regained my motivation. I kept listening to the CD every time I was too tired to study. It made me get up few times at 1 am and read another chapter, and that's motivation! I have never done anything as demanding as a CPA exam, nor did I ever feel happier when I got my results. The book covers the benefits of the CPA, why you should study, how and when, as well as it tells you everything you need to know about the exam. It's right on the mark, trust me, I was there! Good Luck! And thank you Amazon, I would have never had time to go shopping!

WOW! I wasn't even planning on taking the CPA exam. I saw the book in a bookstore and started to read it. I ended up buying it and finished it the first day! It was so motivating and really made the CPA less intimidating. I am now planning to take the November 2001 exam and I'm hyped up! I'm reading it again for the second time and am recommending it to all my friends and co-workers planning to take the grueling two-day exam. Don't give up and you can pass!

If you are considering sitting for the CPA exam, I strongly encourage you to read this book. Debra Hopkins provides incredible insight and guidance to help you reach your goal of passing the CPA exam. She outlines exam strategies for preparing and sitting for each of the four sections. She also discusses the main reasons why the pass rate for a first time test taker is so low and how you can overcome the odds and pass the first time. This book helped me pass the November 2003 CPA exam.

Keep in mind that the November 2003 CPA exam was the last paper and pencil CPA exam. In the future, the exam will be computerized. Even though some of the information in this book (the 2000 edition) is no longer applicable because of the change, I still recommend this book.

This book is out dated. All the information contained within it, is based on the old paper exams and not the new computer version. If they revise the book I would strongly incourage it, but until then stay away.

I will be sitting for the November Exam, and I think that the practical advice Ms. Hopkins offers will definately help. I went from overwhelmed to feeling as if I can prepare to pass this exam. The CD that comes with it is definately worth listening to.

I am about 3 quarters through this book. I plan on sitting for my first section in July. The book was obviously written just as the computer based version began... The book eludes to some things that may have changed in 2005 with the exam. This book is not for someone who has already mapped out a plan for studying. Although some of it is redundant and obvious. I have found some information to be valuable. I think it was worth the price.

I haven;t read the book and am not reviewing its content. I typically dislike negative reviews based on aspects of an order that have nothing to do with the product itself. However, I'm doing so in this case to let others know about an error in the product description. Amazon includes Kindle in the list of available formats for the 3rd edition, but the book I received on my Kindle was the 2nd edition. The difference in editions for this book is important due to the significant changes made in the CPA exam over the last few years. It took 2 emails, but I didn't have a problem with Amazon crediting my account. In both emails, though, I told Amazon that they needed to remove the Kindle format as an option for the 3rd edition, but they haven't done so.

What a wonderful book. It seems to have been written for a junior or senior in college who is majoring in accounting. I'm sure it will be very helpful to people on their journey to successfully tackling the CPA exam and getting licensed as a CPA. I found the text to be very informative since I passed the exam back in 1984 (law and theory) and 1985 (practice and auditing) when it was administered a little differently. I must say, though, that the exam experience described in the book sounds like it is still pretty much the same deal I sat through 20+ years ago.

I found out I passed the practice and auditing sections of the exam just two weeks before starting my first law school education. And when I completed law school three years later I sat for the New Jersey and Pennsylvania bar exams together. Taking those two exams was a joy ride compared to taking the CPA exam. And I passed both on the first try with minimal study.

The author in this book doesn't say it, but the reason the pass rates for the CPA exam are so low compared to the pass rates of bar exams is that it's not all that difficult to qualify to sit for the CPA exam. One could be a high school dropout, sneak into community college, and then transfer into a 4-year college that will give them an accounting degree. And they can graduate from college with a C average and still be allowed to sign up for the CPA exam. Exam applicants like that are more likely than not to pull the pass rate down. It's tough to get into law school. The screening process in the accounting profession rests with the CPA exam. In the legal profession the screening process is in the law school admission system - not in the bar exam system.

I think a freshman in college will benefit from this book even more than a junior or senior. This book is not just about passing the CPA exam like the title suggests. It is really about getting the CPA license, and a college freshman that wants to be a CPA some day should be very interested in what he or she will have to do to get that license. This book will tell them.

I would have liked the book better if it had not tried to make the CPA license sound so impressive. Sure, I'm very proud that I passed the CPA exam, but being a CPA isn't anything special. The guys that make the money in the corporate world are the guys with a sales background or financial analysts that rise up through the mergers and acquisitions departments. CPAs rarely become CEOs. If they are lucky they might become a CFO. Furthermore, all the time and effort required to maintain a CPA license is not worth it. But if you major in accounting in college, then you owe it to yourself to at least put the icing on your college degree by passing the CPA exam. To not do so would be like going to law school, graduating, and not passing a bar exam. 5 stars!

I bought it for someone who read it and now is motivated once again to take the CPA. So I guess it worked.