Core Study Materials

CPAexcel’s unique Exam Planner is a quick and simple way to plan all the actions you need to take and pass the CPA Exam. Using actual study hours completed by successful CPAexcel candidates, Exam Planner creates your Personalized Exam Plan and schedule. The CPAexcel Exam Planner provides you with detailed dates and assignments to ensure that you stay on track and are completely prepared for exam day.

Create a Personalized Study Schedule simply by entering your preferred testing date for each exam section. A customized timeline will illustrate the exam events that will require your action (e.g. apply to sit) along with the study assignments you need to complete to be ready to pass each exam. Additionally, your personalized Exam Plan will also monitor and alert you of important exam event milestones like submitting applications and upcoming exam dates.

Manage your progress against milestones in your Exam Plan:

• Track your completion of your assignments
• Display the title of your next assignment
• Provide alerts and reminders to keep you on track

The unique CPAexcel self-study course format combined with this Personalized Exam Planner allows you to create the perfect schedule for your needs and goals. Take your time, or pass the exam in a hurry.

Quickly discover your strengths and weaknesses in every subject area before you begin to study. Each of CPAexcel's Bite-Sized Lessons℠ includes a Diagnostic Exam which indicates your current knowledge level in that area. Using the Diagnostic Exams, you can determine which subjects you have already mastered, and where you need to focus your study time for the greatest score improvement.

Since the CPA Exam covers a massive amount of material and your study time is precious, CPAexcel helps you select a Study Strategy that best suits your current knowledge level and available time.

• The Study Course strategy lets you move through the course materials from A to Z, ensuring a complete review of the entire course.
• The Diagnostic Exams strategy provides an initial assessment of your knowledge by pulling a random sampling of past exam questions.
• The Exam Tutor strategy allows you to build a custom exam by choosing how many questions you wish to see, what subjects they cover and whether you have seen them before.

Performance Metrics are summarized visually and color-coded to help you focus your study time and identify your current level of proficiency. View results for every lesson, including correct and incorrect answers and rationales. Track your progress to see how well you are progressing and how consistently you perform.

CPAexcel's Efficient Learning System (ELS) enables students to learn more per study hour. By learning more per study hour, students answer more exam questions correctly and pass the CPA Exam at higher rates.

The Efficient Learning System makes learning easier and more effective in these ways:

• Easy Access to a Powerful Combination of Learning Tools - Fully integrates multiple learning resources, including Diagnostic Exams, Study Text, Proficiency Questions, Past Exam Questions, Simulations, Digital CPA Flash Cards, Exam Tutor, Discussion Groups and Professor Mentoring into Bite-Sized Lesson(sm), efficient lessons. Access to any course component is just a click or two away. This complete integration of components saves time, which can then be used to learn more material and answer more exam questions correctly. Students who learn best by watching and listening can add CPAexcel's Video Lectures, which are also integrated into the course's Bite-Sized Lessons.
• Bite-Sized Learning Optimizes Study Time - Each lesson covers everything you need to know about a specific exam topic in about 30 minutes. Not only do these mini-lessons give you the ongoing feeling of accomplishment, they are also the most effective way to absorb and remember vast amounts of information.
• Learn from Top Exam Professors - CPAexcel's courses are authored and led by university professors and CPA Exam experts at the nation's top accounting schools. Our authors present the material at the exact level of detail you'll find on the CPA Exam. Professor Mentoring gives students unlimited access to CPAexcel's professors, to get answers to their questions.
• Create a Personalized Exam Plan – Using actual average study hours taken by successful CPAexcel students, and based on your desired exam dates or available study hours, CPAexcel’s Exam Planner instantly generates a Personalized Exam Plan showing the sequence and timing of (a) exam events requiring timely action by you (e.g. request approval to take the exam) and (b) study assignments you need to complete to be ready to pass, that lead to your desired exam date(s). You may, of course, revise your plan at any time.
• Exam-Identical Software Functions and Formats - Study in the same way you'll be taking the CPA Exam with CPAexcel's exam-identical multiple choice questions and simulations.
• Simulated CPA Exams - Practice taking the CPA Exam ahead of time. CPAexcel's Simulated CPA Exams mirror the actual experience down to the number, type and mix of questions, user-interface, time limits and break policies.
• Targeted Progress and Performance Reports - Your scores are recorded for each bite-sized lesson, enabling you to track your progress and view which lessons you've mastered and which you need to review further. Built-in score cards and CPAexcel's unique color-coded Table of Contents show you where additional study hours will deliver the highest pay-off throughout the course.
• Complementary Study Strategies - CPAexcel offers three unique study strategies to match your learning needs, time-constraints and existing knowledge. The "Diagnostic Strategy" pinpoints your strengths and weaknesses, so you know from the start where to focus your study time. The "Study Course Strategy" builds mastery throughout the course, from A to Z. The "Exam Tutor Strategy" lets you drill from 5,100 past CPA Exam questions to uncover weak areas and make rapid improvements.
• Personalized Updates - You'll never answer exam questions incorrectly due to learning outdated material, or waste time searching through update supplements to check for changes. With CPAexcel your content is updated online automatically, integrated throughout the course, and color-coded to highlight previously viewed lessons that have been changed.

Over 2,800 pages of Electronic Study Text are written by professors from the top accounting schools in the country (UT Austin, Northern Illinois, CSU Sacramento and more). Search though every page instantly for keywords using our library feature. Every page of electronic text is print friendly so that you can print the sections you need, take them with you or mark them up as you study.

CPAexcel contains over 5,000 AICPA Past Exam Questions with full answer rationales explaining precisely why each choice is either wrong or right.

Additionally, more than 6,200 Proficiency Questions are designed to test your reading comprehension and basic subject knowledge. Set yourself up for success by assessing your basic knowledge before diving into a section or tackling exam questions. How you perform on these questions will then influence what materials you spend the most time studying.

More than 4,100 Digital Flashcards cover crucial testing points in each exam section. Created by former CPAexcel student Christine Howard, the first person in history to get a perfect score on all four exam sections on the first try. We continue to update Christine's cards regularly for our students. Our flash cards are perfect for quickly reinforcing and testing your knowledge in all exam areas.

Open Student Discussion groups are integrated into the CPAexcel lesson overview for easy access to the topics you would like to discuss. Create your own Private Study Group(s) for your friends and colleagues to study together based on a common study and exam schedule. Add Private Discussions to ask questions and share answers and to discuss any aspect of the course just among your own group.

Over 250 Task-Based Simulations delivered through an exact replica of the user interface you will encounter on the CPA Exam. Simulated CPA Exams mirror the actual exam all the way down to the number, type and mix of questions, time-limits and break policies. Take it as often as you want. Each time you'll get new questions and a full report of your scores detailing your strengths and weakness in every topic.

Most CPA Exam candidates are nervous before the CPA Exam and it is easy to understand why: You don't know whether you'll answer all the questions in time, how many you'll answer correctly, which parts you should have studied more, and what the CPA Exam is really going to be like. Nervousness can degrade your performance.

CPAexcel's Simulated CPA Exams gives you crucial exam experience there is just no other way to get. You'll know exactly what the CPA Exam is like, how to manage your time to answer the maximum number of questions, and how to improve your performance. You'll also boost your comfort and confidence level by experiencing CPA Exam conditions before your official exam day. Our Simulated CPA Exams give you the same type, number and mix of multiple-choice and simulation problems. You use the same time limits, break policies, and the same rules for moving through the sequence of exam material. You'll also have the same on-screen clock ticking down your remaining minutes, and when you are finished each section is weighted and scored differently, corresponding with the actual exam.

You can take CPAexcel's Simulated CPA Exams as often as you want. Each time you're given a new random set of exam questions. And after each exam, you'll receive a highly detailed breakdown of your performance per lesson, per exam, and even per the AICPA Exam outline, helping to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

Much like a dress rehearsal before going on stage opening night, CPAexcel's Final Review fine tunes your exam performance, diminishes anxiety and boosts your competence and comfort level. The Final Review is included in every CPAexcel course and contains the following components:

• Exam Tutor - Drill from a library of more than 5,100 past exam questions, based on topic areas, level of detail, difficulty level, questions frequently missed by other students, and new or previously viewed questions. Includes full explanations of right and wrong answers.
• Simulated CPA Exams - Mirror the actual exam experience down to the number, type, and mix of questions, time limits and break policies. Take the Simulated CPA Exams as many times as you want. Each time you'll get new questions and a full report of your results, highlighting your specific strengths and weaknesses.

Here's how it works:

1. After completing the CPAexcel coursework material, review your personal color-coded performance indicators in the course's Table of Contents. Once you see all green performance indicators showing you've achieved a proficiency level of 90% or above, you are ready to use the Exam Tutor to drill on past exam questions.
2. Pick from 50 to 100 questions in the Exam Tutor covering the complete course outline. Take the test and examine your scores. Go back and review any lessons or topics where your scores are low. Use the Exam Tutor to further drill on specific past exam questions by lesson or topic. Once your Exam Tutor scores indicate you've reached proficiency, you are ready to take the Simulated CPA Exams.
3. Schedule a time and a place where you will not be interrupted and take the Simulated CPA Exam, following all exam rules. Review your results, paying close attention to any weak areas where you need further review. Take the Simulated CPA Exam as many times as you like to further perfect your exam performance. Once you've achieved a score of 90% or above—congratulations! You are very likely to pass the actual CPA Exam for that exam review section.

The Final Review is essential to complete your CPA Exam preparation. In fact, it can make all the difference in your final score. Most courses do not include a thorough Final Review - or, if they do, they charge you a lot extra. With CPAexcel, it is included for free with every review course.