Want to learn a smarter way to study and pass so you can avoid failing the CPA Exam?
Then you are in the right place.
After working with over 2000+ CPA candidates who have failed at least one section of the CPA exam, here’s what I recommend you do to increase your odds of passing the CPA exam on your first try.
Read on to learn 25 study tips to implement today to increase your confidence and understanding of what you study!
25 Proven CPA Exam Study Tips For You To Pass The CPA Exam
1. Start With Your Mental Mindset
You need a REASON (or many reasons) for why you must become a CPA.
If you aren’t attaching your success to at least one primary reason then it will be very difficult to keep going when the going gets tough.
CPA Exam burnout is real and when you have a higher purpose at the forefront it will help you avoid this.
Fun Fact: I created a free quiz to help you with this – www.FreeCPAquiz.com
2. Before You Start Studying, Find a CPA Exam Mentor
A CPA Exam Mentor is going to give you personalized advice that your CPA Review Course won’t give you.
Don’t try to recreate the wheel!
Find someone to coach you on how to pass based on your specific situation.
These can be people in your life, acquaintances or someone like me who works day in and day out with CPA candidates around the world!
Don’t have a mentor/coach? I’d love to work with you to get this exam passed – www.MyCPAmentor.com.
3. Find Accountability Partners to Keep You in Check.
Before you even start studying, you should find people in your social circles to get involved in your journey to passing.
These are going to be your friends/co-workers, significant other or other family members.
The reason this is crucial is because these are the people that are going to feel left out when you disappear for 10-20 hours per week.
When you get them involved in the process it keeps you sane and helps them understand what you are going through.
You can also use these partners as rewards for getting studying done (and they can “punish” you if you don’t.)
Have fun with it!
4. Don’t Sign Up for All Four Sections of the CPA Exam At Once.
Flexibility is the key to passing the CPA exam (and passing a retake if it happens to you).
You want to be able to move forward or backward quickly just in case.
If you lock yourself into sitting for all four sections in a row then you put yourself at risk of having to wait months before you are able to retake a section.
This is bad because your short term understanding of the material is fleeting and will double your time to re-learn.
5. Find the Right CPA Review Course for Your Learning Style.
An assumption CPA candidates make is that all CPA review courses are made equal.
OR, even worse, that the price of a CPA review course is an indication of quality.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
The key to finding the right CPA review course is to try them all and find the course that clicks with your learning strengths.
Here’s a link to compare the top courses
Here’s a link to compare the top study supplements
6. Don’t Just Watch Video Lectures.
When watching a video lecture you need to be proactive in making sure it’s a good use of your time.
Can you understand the lecture at 1.5x speed? Then speed up the video to save time.
Do you fall asleep while watching the video? Then skip the video and go to the text and questions and see if that helps your speed of learning.
Experimentation in learning is key.
7. Don’t Re-create Study Materials Obsessively.
If you find yourself outlining the textbook or creating millions of flashcards just to make flashcards you need to consider this.
Is this the most efficient way for you to learn.
Is there a better use of your time that helps you learn faster.
You have very limited time to cover the material and when I was studying I wasted hundreds of hours on busy work instead of effective studying.
8. Understand the WHY Of Each Question You Answer.
The key to passing the CPA exam is grasping the material.
Anytime you answer a practice question, even if you get the question right and especially if you get it wrong, make sure you take a minute to look at the big picture to determine WHY the question is right or wrong.
9. Create Your Own CPA Study Flashcards.
When you have an ah-ha moment when you grasp something for the first time, you want to retain that understanding.
Best way to do that is to use a study supplement like Kesler CPA Review that has a flashcard generator built into it.
This allows you to re-test your understand a week, a month or more later.
10. Learn How the AICPA/NASBA Words It’s Questions.
The AICPA test creators are notorious for crafting questions that are worded to make it appear there are multiple correct answers.
The key to mastering CPA practice questions is to understand what the questions is specifically asking you to answer.
Many times a correct option given will be factually correct but NOT the answer to what is being asked.
Be prepared.
Having a CPA exam mentor to teach you these tricks can be very handy (happy to teach all of them to you): www.MyCPAmentor.com.
11. Master Task-Based Simulations By Understanding The Material.
Task-based simulations (TBS) are only difficult if you don’t understand the material.
If you understand what is tested then it won’t matter what TBS they throw at you on the exam.
This is why it’s crucial to learn HOW to study, understand the WHY for each question and have a CPA support system in place to keep you focused on gaining this understanding.
12. Find a CPA Exam Tutor.
Time is your most finite resource while studying for the CPA exam.
If you are constantly spinning your wheels then you are in a losing battle with time and the CPA exam.
The solution is to outsource your research to a tutor.
Kesler CPA Review’s Tutor Boost service is a pay as you go study supplement that includes access to 1-on-1 tutoring if this is a need you have.
13. Implement CPA Exam Study Loops.
Study Loops are my world famous method for studying.
It’s a four step process that involved perfecting how you learn, periodically looping back and reviewing everything you have learn up to that point, digging into and recording your weakest areas and repeating over and over until you have covered everything tested.
Fun Fact, inside Kesler CPA Review + Ultimate CPA Exam Guide I teach you step-by-step how to implement this study method with all the major CPA Review Courses
14. Understand The Two Phases Of CPA Studying.
When you give yourself 6-12 weeks to study for the CPA exam…
The first phase of studying is going to be your learning phase (Study Looping phase).
It typically goes for 5-10 weeks.
The second phase is going to be your final review phase (Study Funnel Phase)
This is where you tie everything together just in time for your exam date.
15. Implement CPA Exam Study Funnels.
Study Funnels are the key to tying everything you have learned together.
I created this final review process when I was struggling to pass my first section and it was my key to passing.
After spending several weeks implementing study loops, I had a long list of weaknesses I needed to address.
I funneled out everything I understood so I could focus my final 10-14 days before my exam digging into those areas.
Fun Fact, inside Kesler CPA Review + Ultimate CPA Exam Guide I teach you step-by-step how to implement this study method with all the major CPA Review Courses
16. Don’t Skip Taking Mock Exams.
There is some bad advice out there on the web that says, “Friends don’t let friends take mock exams.”
This is the worst advice I’ve ever heard.
Passing the CPA exam is all about pacing.
If you don’t practice for the real thing then your pacing will be all screwed up and you risk failing.
Take mock exams with the sole focus of pacing and taking breaks to see how your focus reacts.
17. Never Assume You Failed.
The worst thing you can do is walk out of a CPA section and tell yourself you failed.
This is a defeatist attitude that will wreck your momentum.
Fun Fact: The way the CPA exam is graded you will truly not have any way of knowing if you passed or failed.
Try to erase the fact you just sat for a section and move onto your next step in the process.
Having a mentor to help you with this is going to be crucial.
18. Have a Prometric Center Plan.
First time CPA candidates typically freak themselves out on exam day.
Test anxiety is a real thing and it can sidetrack even the most prepared CPA candidates.
But when you practice for the real thing.
Take a test drive to the center before your first exam…
…and find a way to relax while waiting for your exam.
It goes a long way!
19. Don’t Take Much Time Off After You Sit For A Section.
When you sit for a section of the CPA exam you are typically in peak study momentum.
If you take any longer than 4-5 days off from studying after sitting for your first section then you will lose that momentum.
It’s MUCH harder to restart than to keep your study routines going.
20. Don’t Give Yourself More Than 12 Weeks To Study For Any Given Section.
More time is NOT better when studying for the CPA exam.
High intensity and strict deadlines are the key.
Too much time leads to lazy study routines and risk of burnout from spending TOO much time on any given section.
21. Don’t Be Afraid To Fail.
Failing the CPA exam is NORMAL.
In fact, it’s by design because the AICPA/NASBA wants to see how you will react.
If your first inclination after passing is to give up… well then you don’t deserve a CPA license.
Persist ALWAYS!
22. Find a CPA Exam Community.
Finding peers who are a few steps ahead of you in the CPA exam process is crucial to saving time and avoiding rookie mistakes.
But don’t just find any CPA exam community.
You want one that is moderated by CPAs and is full of positive people who understand how to pass the CPA exam.
Kesler CPA Review has one of the largest and most active private study groups available that has all of this.
23. Don’t Trust CPA Exam Pass Rates.
CPA Review Course companies LOVE boasting about their 832% pass rate that their students enjoy.
As a former auditor… unless that data is independently verified then don’t trust it.
It’s purely for marketing purposes.
Even worse. It gives you a false sense of complacency!
24. Don’t Get Lazy If You Pass A Section Of The CPA Exam.
Overconfidence is a CPA exam score killer.
Remember that the CPA exam isn’t a marathon.
It’s four 100 meter dashes back to back to back to back.
Treat each section as if it was a brand new exam and maintain your intensity.
REMINDER: This is why having a mentor + accountability partner + tutor is crucial to your success.
25. Use Kesler CPA Review + Ultimate CPA Exam Guide to Pass!
Thank you so much for reading my 25 study tips to passing the CPA exam.
My final tip is selfishly a invitation to work with me and my team.
We have the BEST CPA Exam Support System (our mentees words, not ours) in the world and you can get access to it today.
Here’s a special link to get started today (special pricing and $300 in VIP bonus tutoring credits)
Best of luck!
Cheers
Bryan Kesler, CPA