Tax, Finance, CE, CPE, EA, CPA, CFP Blog: Budgeting Time for ...

The first step in deciding how to study for CPA exam success is reflecting upon the amount of time to schedule for preparation. The number of weeks spent studying for each exam section and the number of months required to complete all four sections depends upon your other personal commitments. A principal obstruction to a study plan is working at a full-time job. Of course, starting work in the accounting field is common when embarking upon CPA exam courses. Learning about the culture within your employer firm provides you with an idea about your obligations at work. This helps you coordinate study around your job. Family responsibilities also require consideration. Remarkably, many newlyweds find time to prepare for the CPA exam. Their spouses clearly understand the dedication of study time demanded from CPA candidates. The general guideline for each exam section is about 150 hours of study. Most individuals spend around 100 hours each on AUD and BEC when studying for the CPA exam. You should plan to study about 200 hours for the FAR exam section. About 150 hours on REG is sufficient, but some students take a little more time to fully understand the federal tax rules on this test. Considering these assumptions, you can set an exam date at the start of your review course based upon how many hours per week you can study. A good strategy is leaving one week to ten days after the end of a course. Use this time to drill with extra practice questions and revisit your weakest areas. Also, if your studying was stretched over many weeks, you should test your knowledge of the material you studied at the beginning. This assures retention of the oldest information. Taking about one year to finish all of the exam sections is normal. This presumes you have only a few hours per day plus weekends for study time. In addition, you might need a week or so for rest after each testing section. The most important consideration about the timing of CPA exam preparation is how you have successfully learned in the past. Completing all the exam sections in one 3-month testing window is possible, but highly challenging. The individuals who accomplish this mission have a history of absorbing information quickly. Also, it is beneficial to have some experience with audit and tax. Moreover, this path requires a clear schedule with no other commitments than studying. CPA candidates with extreme self-discipline and time availability have completed all four exams before starting jobs after college graduation. More common study plans are completion of one exam section before beginning work in September following a spring graduation. A little study in the fall is typically all you can accommodate while becoming acclimated to a new job. Then, the busy season in public accounting lasts from January to May. After this period, the subsequent step is finishing the remaining exam sections within the next six months. One helpful step in the planning process is determining how your employer can support your exam study program. Studying at the office for an hour or so before and after working hours is often valuable. It eliminates some commuting time from your routine by avoiding rush hours. You simply need permission to use the company’s computers for an online CPA review course. IRS Circular 230 Disclosure Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.

Source: http://fastforwardacademy.blogspot.com/2012/11/budgeting-time-for-cpa-exam-courses.html

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