CPA Exam Review News
CPAexcel Celebrates
Its 10th Anniversary
Will Award 250 Free Courses to College
Students in a March 6, 2009 Drawing
T
he CPA Exam has really
changed in the last ten years.
Candidates used to take all
four parts of the exam at
once with paper and pencil – having
to master a huge volume of information. Review courses were held in
classrooms using textbooks, and only
10% to 12% passed.
In 1997, professors at the
University of Texas at Austin began
working with a software company to
pioneer the first computer-based CPA
review course. Their goal: to help students everywhere achieve much higher
pass rates. The team achieved its goal
and named the course CPAexcel.
In its first year, over 50% of
CPAexcel students passed the exam
– four times the national average.
The key to the course’s success was
structuring the content into easy to
digest bite-sized lessons and creating an “Efficient Learning System”,
enabling students to learn more per
study hour - so they could answer
more exam questions correctly.
In 2004 the exam became easier
because the AICPA began allowing
students to take one part at a time.
This is also when the computerbased exam began. Since then, the
national average pass rate has averaged 43%, while the average pass
rate of CPAexcel students increased
to 84%.
8 New Accountant
CPAexcel students pass at high
rates due to its exclusive features,
described below. Even though several computer-based review courses
are now on the market, CPAexcel’s
courses remain the most powerful and
convenient courses available.
CPAexcel’s Exclusive Features
Money-saving Guarantee:
CPAexcel courses never expire.
Updates and retakes are free until you
pass. Other courses charge extra for
retakes. Your first cost is your total
cost with CPAexcel.
Top CPA Review Professors:
CPAexcel’s materials and video
lectures are authored and presented by
leading professors from top accounting schools such as the University of
Texas at Austin and Northern Illinois
University. CPAexcel’s professors also
mentor students enrolled in CPAexcel’s
Guided Seminars.
Guided Seminars:
For students who prefer a structured course with assignments, grades
and prompt answers from subjectexpert professors, CPAexcel students
can choose from 15 to 60 day seminars to fit their schedules and learning needs. They can also switch to a
different schedule at any time.
Win A FREE Course!
Twice each year, CPAexcel holds
drawings to award FREE courses to
college students majoring in accounting. On March 6, 2009, to celebrate
its 10th anniversary, CPAexcel will
award 250 FREE CPAexcel Online
Video Self-Study Courses, regularly
priced at $1,335 each. There is no
cost or obligation to enter the drawing. The last date to enter is March
5th, 2009. Winners and their colleges will be listed on the CPAexcel
website on March 9. To enter or learn
more about the drawing go to the
website address below.
FREE Course Section!
Just for entering the drawing, you may
choose a FREE section of CPAexcel’s
Online Video Self-Study Course. Use it
until June 30, 2009 to get answers to
questions that might appear on your
college exams, and to take the mystery out of the CPA exam.
FREE Pop Quizzes!
Improve your college test scores and
test your knowledge with our weekly
emailed quizzes, featuring past exam
questions from all four exam parts.
Click to see the correct answers and
rationales.
For more information and to take
advantage of ALL or ANY of these
FREE offers, go to:
www.cpaexcel.com/signup
REG: Professor Marianne Jennings, J.D.
Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies, W.P.Carey
School of Business, Arizona State University
AUTHORS & VIDEO LECTURERS
AUD: Professor Donald E. Tidrick, Ph.D., CPA, CMA,
CIA
Deloitte Professor of Accountancy, Northern Illinois
University. Formerly the Assoc. Chair, Department of
Accounting and Director, CPA Review Course at the
University of Texas at Austin.
BEC & FAR: Professor Allen H. Bizzell, Ph.D., CPA
Professor of Accounting (Retired) and former Associate
Dean, College and Graduate School of Business,
University of Texas at Austin. Professor Bizzell is also a
CPAexcel Mentor for the FAR and BEC exam parts.
BEC: Professor B. Douglas Clinton, Ph.D., CPA,
CMA
Alta Vista Consulting Professor of Management
Accountancy, Department of Accountancy, Northern
Illinois University.
BEC: Professor. Donald R. Deis, Jr., Ph.D., CPA,
MBA
Ennis & Virginia Joslin Endowed Chair in Accounting,
College of Business, Texas A&M University - Corpus
Christi. Formerly Director of the School of Accounting,
University of Missouri – Columbia
BEC: Professor Dan Stone, Ph.D., CPA, MPA
Gatton Endowed Chair, U. of Kentucky, with a joint
appointment in the Von Allmen School of Accountancy
and the School of Management (Decision Science and
Information Systems.)
FAR: Professor Charles J. Davis, Ph.D., CPA
Professor of Accounting, Department of Accounting,
College of Business Administration, California State
University - Sacramento. Professor Davis is also a
CPAexcel Mentor for the FAR exam part.
FAR: Professor Pam Smith, Ph.D., CPA, MBA
KPMG Professor of Accountancy, Department of
Accountancy, Northern Illinois University.
REG: Professor Greg Carnes, Ph.D., CPA
Raburn Eminent Scholar of Accounting, University of
North Alabama. Former Dean, College of Business,
Lipscomb University. Former Chair, Department of
Accountancy, Northern Illinois University.
REG: Professor Gaylord A. Jentz, J.D., MBA
Herbert D. Kelleher Centennial Professor Emeritus
in Business Law, Information, Risk and Operations
Management Department, McCombs School of
Business, University of Texas at Austin.
REG, BEC: Professor Robert A. Prentice, J.D.
Ed and Molly Smith Centennial Professor in
Business Law and Distinguished Teaching
Professor, McCombs School of Business, University
of Texas at Austin.
GUIDED SEMINAR MENTORS
FAR: Professor Craig Bain, Ph.D., CPA
Professor of Accounting, Northern Arizona
University. Recipient of the Excellence in Teaching
Award from the Arizona CPA Foundation for
Education and Innovation in 2003.
FAR, BEC: Professor Janet Gillespie, Ph.D.
Associate Chair, Department of Accounting at the
University of Texas at Austin where she teaches
courses in accounting information systems, governmental accounting, and managerial accounting.
REG: Professor John E. Karayan, Ph.D., J.D.
Professor and Chair of the Department of
Accounting and IT at Woodbury University,
Burbank, California. Formerly a senior executive
with a NYSE-listed company, and tax attorney with
a leading CPA firm.
AUD: Professor Claire Latham, Ph.D., CPA
Associate Professor of Accounting at Washington
State University. Professor Latham was recently
awarded the College of Business and Economics
Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award.
BEC, REG: Professor Christopher Meakin, M.A.,
J.D., BBA
Assistant Dean and Lecturer, Department of
Management Science and Information Systems,
McCombs School of Business, University of Texas
at Austin.
AUD: Professor Jeanne Yamamura, Ph.D., CPA,
MIM
Professor of Accounting Emerita at the University
of Reno. Professor Yamamura is active in training
accountants in the Pacific Island nations and is a
contributing author for CPAexcel.
NewAccountantUSA.com 9
CPA Exam Review News
Bite-sized lessons:
Passing the exam requires learning about 2,400 pages of material.
CPAexcel divides this information into
530 lessons, averaging under five pages
each. Lesson quizzes reinforce learning
and retention, and color-coded scoring
tells you at a glance where to focus your
study time to raise your exam scores.
questions are also included, as in other
leading courses.)
Detailed Progress Scores:
Performance metrics pinpoint your
strengths and weaknesses across 9,000
questions and 530 topics to help you
quickly boost your scores.
Exam-identical formats:
Study using the same tools you’ll
use on the exam. Plus, CPAexcel’s
Simulated CPA Exams mirror the actual exam in content and time restrictions
and provide detailed results and new
questions each time you take one.
Efficient Learning System™:
Enables students to learn over 25%
more per study hour. One click provides
access to all learning tools in each lesson,
including video lectures, study text, proficiency and exam questions, electronic
flashcards and topical student discussions. The Efficient Learning System™
also features Simulations and an extensive Final Review with Simulated CPA
Exams and an Exam Tutor with over
4,500 past exam questions.
Personalized Updates:
Automatic quarterly updates are integrated throughout the electronic content.
In previously-studied lessons, updates are
marked in blue to pinpoint changes.
Proficiency Questions:
5,000 true/false questions reinforce knowledge and ensure a thorough
understanding of each lesson before
moving on to the next one. (Past exam
Maximum study convenience:
Study anywhere, anytime using
both online AND offline access, with
synchronized scores for easily tracking
your progress.
“Excellent customer
service. CPAexcel is
worth its weight in
gold!”
“The simulated test
environment replicated the real exam
so closely...”
Patrick Schafer
Sand Springs, OK
Charles Kulhanek
Meadows Place, TX
“The software was
awesome. I would
recommend it to a
friend.”
“CPAexcel gives you
just what you need
to make the test
seem easy.”
Jaclyn Jenson
Milwaukee, WI
Ruth Snell.
Atlanta, GA
“Does a great job at
breaking up all that
information into manageable chunks.”
“Helped me to pass
all four parts on the
first try...”
John Wood
South Pasadena, CA
Lucas Braun
Columbus, OH
10 New Accountant
Electronic Flashcards:
3,500 electronic flashcards across
530 lessons highlight essential points.
“The Best Value Out There!”
As the table on the next page shows,
CPAexcel offers the best prices, documented high pass rates, and the most
convenience and flexibility. As CPAexcel
student Paul Walker from Woods Cross,
Utah says, “I did a lot of research on different CPA Exam prep software, which
included asking several of my professors from school. It was unanimous,
CPAexcel is the best value out there!”
This article was written by Mike Duffy, Vice
President, Efficient Learning Systems, Inc.
Efficient Learning Systems, Inc. publishes
CPAexcel and is a private company located
in Sedona, AZ.
Mike Duffy, CPA. Vice
President, Efficient
Learning Systems.
Formerly Director of
Marketing, Becker
CPA Review
Earn a Free CPAexcel
Course and Extra Cash
CPAexcel Campus
Representatives receive a FREE
Video Gold Medal Course, plus
referral fees on orders attributed
to them.
Campus Reps help make fellow students aware of CPAexcel using posters and leaflets and word of mouth.
CPAexcel representatives should
be friendly and outgoing and like to
help others achieve their goals.
Get all the details and apply at
www.cpaexcel.com/reps
CPAexcel
Unconditional
Guarantee
CPAexcel prices cover unlimited use
of your course until you pass the
CPA Exam, including free electronic
updates and unlimited course retakes.
(Minimal shipping and handling charges apply)
Advantages to
Students
Complete schedule flexibility.
Start studying anytime.
Study for as many or as few months
as you need.
Adjust your study schedule at any
time.
Unlimited free Guided Seminar repeats.
KNOW your costs when you order.
Save a lot of money.
For more information and TO ORDER, visit www.cpaexcel.com/collegeoffer
NewAccountantUSA.com 11