The Yaeger CPA review course was not the first CPA review course I had used. After using another study course, I failed three out of four sections of the CPA exam. It was after that experience that I bought Yaeger’s Home Study Course, which ended up helping me to pass all three sections with impressive scores.

The Yaeger website claims that students who have studied from the Yaeger CPA review course materials have an 88% pass rate on the CPA exam. The founder, Dr. Phil Yaeger, has been preparing students for the exam since 1977. Dr. Yaeger and his team offers something that none of their competitors are currently offering: an “Instructors Hotline” (an 800 number) that students can call to ask questions regarding the course material or about the CPA exam in general. I myself have made numerous calls to this number and have spoken to very patient instructors (including Dr. Yaeger himself a couple of times) who would not finish the call until I had no further questions.

The lecture videos are fairly engaging and are taught by knowledgeable instructors. The instructor would first explain relevant concepts, and then take the student through multiple choice questions and simulations. One benefit of the Yaeger system is that more lecture time is devoted to materials that are more likely to appear on the exam. Similarly, they would only ask students to spend time on doing practice questions that have the highest chances of turning up in the actual exam.

Also worth mentioning are Yaeger’s cram DVDs which can add between 5 to 15 points to your CPA exam score. Every DVD teaches a condensed version of a single CPA section and lasts 7-16 hours. These cram DVDs are aimed at identifying the student’s weak areas and strengthening those areas right before the exam. Even students that are using another CPA review course can benefit from these cram DVDs by using them as supplementary, last-minute study materials.

All Yaeger CPA review course materials are updated annually, including lecture videos which are re-filmed every year. Thus, the student can be confident that they are studying from the most up-to-date information.

Surprisingly, in spite of their high quality, Yaeger CPA products are priced lower than many other CPA exam review courses. All in all, I am very happy with the Yaeger CPA review course and would recommend it highly to anyone trying to pass the CPA exam.

You can read a more detailed review of the Yaeger CPA review course here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.

Yaeger Cpa Review Course

The Audio Course is intensive, covering a variety of topics in interesting, well-explained lectures. The lectures are given by experienced professors who have been in the accounting field for a long time and know their stuff. They discuss and work out hundreds of questions to ensure that you get the workings behind each type of question. These audio CDs are portable as they can be listened to when driving, working out, walking or on the bus. They are a good way of ensuring that your time is well spent. Other advantages of Audio CDs are the tips given in the lectures, definitions and explanation of key concepts.

The Lambers Review DVD Course consist of videos that are captured in a class setting led by professional instructors. The lessons are separated into small, manageable sessions to enhance efficiency in studying. Plus, you get to control the pace of the lessons by watching the DVDs at your own pace. These DVDs can be used alongside the review textbooks. In fact, these DVDs come with printable files of the review textbooks so you do not have to buy the textbooks separately.

Some students find the Lambers flashcards a good addition to their CPA prep tools. The cards have questions on the front and answers on the back. There are more than 250 Lambers flashcards for each section of the exam, and because they are easy to carry around, they will help you to review your materials wherever you are, conveniently and effectively.

Lamber’s iPod courses are the favorites of many Lambers students. These videos can be loaded into an iPod and watched or listened to anytime, anywhere. Many students listen to these lectures over and over while they are doing housework, driving, or walking the dog. Also included with the iPod courses is the valuable “Ask the Expert” service, which allows the student to email questions to Lambers instructors and receive prompt answers. This service alone is worth the price of the DVD course.

In summary, Lambers CPA review course has been able to help many candidates to pass the CPA exam in the pass several decades. Find out more able this CPA review course to see if it is suitable for you.

You can read a more detailed review of the Lambers CPA review course here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.

Check Out the Roger CPA Review Course

Roger Phillips regularly gives live lectures in four different cities. These live lectures are recorded on videotapes which are then made available online as online classes, and are also copied to USBs and made available as USB courses. Students that receive Roger Phillips CPA review course materials via online classes or USBs can rest assured that they are getting up-to-date information, as online classes and USB contents are updated with every live lecture delivered.

A student enrolled in lives lectures can only attend each lecture once, and then must pay $10 per class to watch the videotaped class online. On the other hand, a student who is enrolled in online classes is allowed to access each online lecture for up to two times (additional payment is required thereafter). Comparatively, the USB course may be a better option in terms of value, as it allows the student to watch the lectures for as many times as is desired – that is, until the course expires twelve months after it is first installed on the student’s computer.

In addition to lectures delivered by Roger, the Roger Phillips CPA review course also comes with its own textbook (written specifically to support the lectures), the Wiley book (for multiple choice questions), and the Wiley’s CD (for simulations). Aside from the full course, students can purchase cram courses that condense each section into a few hours to provide a last minute review that can drastically increase the student’s odds of scoring a passing mark.

Check Out the Roger CPA Review Course

There are several benefits to the Roger CPA review course. First of all, unlike some of the other CPA exam review courses, Roger’s does not make the student spend the time to familiarize himself/herself with each and every topic covered by the CPA exam. Instead, the Roger curriculum places more emphases on material that has the highest chance of coming up in the exam. With this approach, students studying from Roger’s course have an 86% average pass rate, which is considerably higher than the average pass rate of all CPA exam participants.

Another benefit of this course is the decent level of after-sales support that it provides. Students can ask questions about course materials via message board, email, and chat room. The good news is that, for such a quality course with adequate student support, the Roger course costs less than some of the other popular CPA exam review courses in the same class, such as Becker’s CPA review course.

Check Out the Roger CPA Review Course

In summary, the Roger Phillips CPA review course is of high quality and is therefore highly recommended to any student trying to pass the CPA exam.

You can read a more detailed review of the Roger Phillips CPA review here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.

Check Out the Roger CPA Review Course

In the two-volume format, study outlines, strategies, guidelines and tips are gathered into the first volume while practice questions and answers make up the second volume. The two-volume course is published every June so you are sure to be getting updated questions, information and implementation of changes in the most recent edition.

The four-volume format takes the structure of the CPA exam. Each volume features one of the four sections, that is, FAR, AUD, BEC or REG. It allows you to choose only the sections for which you are sitting the exam. This format is quite convenient because you can go through one volume at a time as you are preparing for the exam for each particular section. The four-volume books are published every December, which ensures that you are always getting the most up-to-date information.

The Wiley CPA review course uses various materials to make your study more effective and to ensure that you maximize your chances in passing the CPA exam. There are the Focus Notes with hundreds of questions to drill you and sharpen your knowledge of each section. These can be purchased as a set or per section, depending on what you prefer. These notes are well researched and provide insightful answers to relevant questions on different accounting topics. They are portable and well packaged in a spiral bound, flash-card format.

Audio CDs are another form of study material that the Wiley system uses. It is available as a set or as separate products for each section. The lessons are given in a clear, concise and captivating manner. To hone your exam-writing skills, there is the How to Master Simulations series that focuses on simulation questions and how best to handle them. This comes in the form of a CD-ROM with 6 complete simulations.

There is also something to help you work on your research methods – the Mastering Accounting Research program. This program gives very practical ways of handling issues having to do with research and to ensure that you do not miss the mark. To make sure that you are ready for the exam, this program explains how the test is administered and how to maximize your chances of passing.

Judging by the reviews given by candidates who have used Wiley products, they seem to be popular and useful for CPA exam preparation. The 4-volume review guides and the software CDs are the most highly recommended by most users as the best Wiley products. The review books and software contain thousands of multiple choice questions and well-researched answers to guide candidates. The tips, guidelines and pointers given in each volume are presented in a straightforward, practical and logical way. So if you are considering purchasing a Wiley CPA review course, be sure to check out the 4-volume review guides as well as the software CDs, which combined will make the best combination of Wiley’s CPA study materials.

The best thing about Wiley CPA course materials is that they are the cheapest amongst all popular CPA exam review courses. If you would not mind spending a lot of study time, Wiley’s materials will give you value that cannot be beat.

You can read a more detailed review of the Wiley CPA review course here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.

Your first consideration should be whether or not your employer will be paying for your CPA review course. Many employers will only pay for courses that are endorsed by the Big 4 auditing firms (i.e. Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG), and Becker belongs in this category. If this describes your employer, then you have a good reason to consider purchasing the Becker course.

On the other hand, if your employer will not be paying for any course materials, or if you would rather invest your own money in getting the best CPA review course available, then you may wish to check out other review courses such as the Yaeger CPA review course or the Roger Philipp CPA review course, both of which cost less than the Becker course and are found by some students to be more efficient in preparing them for the CPA exam.

The Becker CPA review course is taught in three different formats. Live lectures are delivered internationally in over 200 locations. Online classes are held once a week, where students can re-watch lectures for as many times as they need to afterward. Then there is the self-study CD that contains all the lectures that the student can watch and learn from at his/her own pace. Though delivered in different formats, the course content and questions covered are the same across all media.

The Becker study materials tend to be overly comprehensive, in that they cover every topic and subject area that may possibly be tested on the exam. Becker students are required to do lots of questions, in application of the “practice makes perfect” theory. Although this approach can prepare the student for all and any questions that may appear on the exam, large amounts of study time is also required to go through all the materials and practice questions. This may be a pro or a con depending on the particular student’s study style, preference, and study time available.

The Becker CPA review course boasts a pass rate of double that of non-Becker students. While this is certainly impressive, it comes at the cost of longer study time and higher course fees than some of the other alternatives. If you can afford to spend the money (or if your employer is willing to pay for the course), and willing to put in long hours to exhaustively cover every area you may be tested on in the CPA exam, then Becker may be suitable for you. If, however, you wish to spend less money on course materials, and less study time by focusing only on areas that have the highest likelihood of appearing on the exam, then you are advised to consider courses like the Yaeger or Roger CPA review courses.

You can read a more detailed review of the Becker CPA review course here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.

Guided reviews are best for candidates who are seeking to gain valuable insight from top exam experts, including experienced instructors. Guided reviews are designed to ensure that candidates get simplified explanations of the different accounting topics as well as detailed explanations of answers to practice questions.

The Bisk guided reviews come in three formats. The first one is Bisk CPA Review Online which gives the candidate the benefit of enjoying a live review course with ample guidance. A combination of a diagnostic CPA exam, personal trainer, online classes, communication tools and CPA Exam Test Engine is used to help the student to master the necessary knowledge. The second is Bisk CPA Review Classic, which uses a well-structured CD-ROM approach to deliver lessons. It is a convenient way for the student to learn the material at anytime, anywhere. The third is Bisk CPA Review Live, which makes use of experienced instructors to give exam tips and guidance on achieving success during exams.

On the other hand, Bisk Self-directed Review is suitable for candidates who prefer to study on their own. To help in this, there are several study tools and products from which a candidate can choose. They include multimedia software that is properly developed to cover all areas of the exam, DVDs with viewer guides, audio CDs, and textbooks. For the DVDs and CDs, you can order only the ones that cover topics you have difficulty understanding.

Then there are Bisk textbooks that contain tips, techniques and strategies on how to prepare for the CPA exam, as well as thousands of practice questions accompanied by detailed explanations of correct and incorrect answers. A diagnostic exam is included to determine your strong and weak points and test your preparedness. Depending on how you score, pointers are given on how you can make appropriate changes to maximize your chances of success.

There are countless reviews from candidates who have used Bisk products to pass the cpa exam and they are quite inspiring. The Intensive DVDs are highly applauded as very valuable tools for those who need last-minute brush-up of the entire course. Another favorite of many Bisk students are the “hot spot” DVDs, each of which covers a particular accounting topic and can be purchased separately to strengthen an individual’s problem area. As well, some students find that the CDs make great studying material due to their thorough and concise nature, which ensures that much ground is covered in a short time.

You can read a more detailed review of the Bisk CPA review course here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.

The Gleim review books each covers one of the four sections of the exam. Each review book contains tips on how to prepare for the exam, followed by extensive outlines as well as multiple-choice questions with answers that are explained in detail. Then there are the audio CDs, each of which contains explanations of the core concepts associated with a particular section of the CPA exam. Audio CDs are great for studying while on the move, such as when you are driving or grocery shopping.

The Gleim Test Prep Software Downloads are the most popular amongst Gleim students, many of whom can vouch for their effectiveness in preparing them for the actual exam. Designed to test your knowledge in an interactive way, they can be bought separately by section or as a full set containing all four sections. These downloads come with over 1500 questions for each of the four exam sections for your to practice on, and the software will analyze your performance to identify your strong and weak areas so you can focus more on your weak spots. Many students that have used the Gleim test prep software are saying that the questions on the software are harder than those on the real CPA exam. In other words, if you are able to score high on the test prep software, chances are you will score just as well or better on the actual exam. You can download the demo before making your purchase decision.

Another product of the Gleim CPA review course is the CPA Simulation Wizard, a program that features 20 practice simulation questions for each of three CPA exam sections – AUD, FAR, and REG (BEC is not included). Also included with the simulation wizard are tips on how to pass the CPA exam. Another benefit of using the Gleim CPA review course is that it gives good value for your money relative to other CPA exam review courses, especially because you get discounts when you buy multiple products.

You can read a more detailed review of the Gleim CPA review course here. To find out more about David Bryant and his experiences with CPA exam preparation please visit his CPA exam blog.