Accountant Careers

Do you believe that you need to have an Accounting degree in order to pass the CPA exam? You shouldn’t! In fact, having diverse experience and education are extremely important assets for a successful CPA to have! But if you are not careful, preparing for the CPA exam can easily cost thousands of unnecessary dollars.

Your State will issue you a Notice-to-Sit after you pass all of their prerequisites. Once that is accomplished, the applicant should investigate the details in each of the four sections that will be tested and determine which parts they are comfortable with. The four tests are Financial Accounting and Reporting, Auditing and Attestation, Regulation and Business Environment and Concepts. All four tests must be successfully completed with a score of 75% or greater within twelve months.

The Business Environment and Concepts exam is comprised of topics related to an overall understanding of corporate governance, risk management and information systems. Business cycles, inflation, deflation, and globalization will all be included in this section. Additionally, the importance of segregation of duties and internal controls will also be tested.

U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) will be two very hot topics in the Financial Accounting and Reporting exam. While IFRS will be fairly new to the exam, it will be tested as the United States is moving closer to implementation of these international standards. Account reconciliation is one of the more challenging topics, but there are several free online resources that can help the test-taker gain a mastery of this topic.

The Regulation exam deals with many topics, but one of the biggest ones is U.S. Federal Taxation. It would be a good idea to brush up on gifting, educational benefits and itemized deduction and medical cost rules before sitting for this exam. The roles of the State Boards of Accountancy and the AICPA’s Statements on Standards for Tax Services will also be discussed.

One of the most important jobs that a CPA is eligible for is to be a financial auditor. The Auditing and Attestation exam will ensure that the candidate has a mastery over topics such as the International Standard on Accounting, the U.S. Auditing Standards, and the various types of auditing and attestation services available. This is probably one of the most important roles of an accountant as shareholders rely on unbiased reports and assessments to make investment decisions.

The CPA exam is not graded on a straight line. In fact, not every test-taker will even take the same difficulty of tests. Don’t worry though! A poor scoring “hard” exam may end up giving you the same points as a good scoring “easy” exam. Very few people feel that they passed when they leave the testing center. That’s ok! You only need a 75 to pass. Don’t spend thousands of dollars on a CPA Exam Review before you thoroughly explore the following free CPA exam questions.

Find Free CPA Exam Questions to help you pass the exam. There are CPA Exam Sample Questions and Free Videos to prepare you today!