How To Pass The CPA Exam The IPassTheCPAExam.com Guide for International Candidates

The US CPA qualification exam is the most popular professional accounting qualification not just in the United States, but around the world as well. As international testing centers open across the globe, increasing numbers of non-American students are taking the exam, but lack a study resource written specifically for them. Author Stephanie Ng passed the exam in less than a year and operates a popular exam test-prep website at IPassTheCPAExam.com. In How to Pass the CPA Exam, Ng explains her techniques and study tactics specifically for students outside the United States.

• A comprehensive and practical study guide for CPA exam students outside the United States
• Written by the operator of a highly popular test-prep website for international students
• Includes practical and effective test-prep resources

Packed with smart advice presented from an international perspective, How to Pass the CPA Exam is a must for international students preparing for the test.

STEPHANIE NG is a CPA (not in public practice). She received a bachelor of arts in economics with a second concentration in public policy studies from the University of Chicago. She began her career as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley before joining her client to work in the Group Finance department, where she spent five years specializing in corporate finance, mergers and acquisition, and debt refinancing and obtained her CPA qualification. Stephanie launched a CPA exam preparation website, IPassTheCPAExam.com, in January 2010 to help accountants around the world obtain the U.S. CPA qualification, providing information on CPA exam requirements, review courses comparison, and exam taking strategies. She welcomes readers' questions through her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ipassthecpaexam.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Why CPA?

What is CPA?

5 Reasons to Become a CPA

5 More Reasons to Become a CPA for International Candidates

What Are You Waiting For?

Chapter 2: What is the CPA Exam?

Exam Coverage

Exam Schedule and Location

Exam Qualifications

Exam Taking Strategy

Exam Design and Navigation

After the Exam

Chapter 3: How to Get Qualified

An Overview

The Educational Requirements

The Experience Requirements

Citizenship and Residency Requirements

Taking Advantage of the Differences

Taking the Exam at International Sites: The Pros and Cons

CPA Exam Qualification Quiz

Final Thoughts

Chapter 4: Getting Ready

Budgeting

Submitting the Application

Scheduling the Exam

Travel and Accommodation

What to Bring on Exam Day

What To Expect at the Prometric Center

What to Expect After the Exam

Are You Ready?

Chapter 5: Creating A Study Plan

But I Can’t Afford to Plan. I Am So Busy!

Step 1: Aim To Complete The Exam Within One Year

Step 2: Settle On the Sequence

Step 3: Estimate the Time Required for the Study

Step 4: Plan to Complete Each Section in One Quarter

Step 5: Write It Down!

Chapter 6: How to Become More Efficient and Effective

Create 25 Hours a Day

Transform Your Stress into Strength

Let’s Move On!

Chapter 7: Study Tips and Exam Taking Strategies

Study Tips

Exam Taking Strategies

Chapter 8: How to Overcome the Fear of Task Based Simulations

Study Tips

Exam Taking Strategies

Chapter 9: How to Ace The Written Communication Tasks

What are the Examiners Looking For?

7 Tips for Writing Success

7 Steps On How To Create a Great Piece of Business Writing

Chapter 10: Audit & Attestation (AUD)

What Does AUD Cover?

Pass Rate History and Trend

Study Tips

Exam Taking Strategies

Outline

Module 1: Professional Responsibilities

Module 2: Engagement Planning and Assessing Risks

Module 3: Understanding Internal Control and Assessing Control Risk

Module 4: Responding To Risk Assessment

Module 5: Reporting

Module 6: Accounting and Review Services

Module 7: Audit Sampling

Module 8: Auditing With Technology

Reader’s Sharing

Chapter 11: Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

What Does FAR Cover?

Passing Rate History and Trend

Study and Exam Taking Tips

Outline

Module 9: Basic Theory and Financial Reporting

Module 10: Inventory

Module 11: Fixed Assets

Module 12: Monetary Current Assets and Current Liabilities

Module 13: Present Value

Module 14: Deferred Taxes

Module 15: Stockholders’ Equity

Module 16: Investments

Module 17: Statement of Cash Flows

Module 18: Business Combinations and Consolidations

Module 19: Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

Module 20: Miscellaneous

Module 21: Government (State and Local) Accounting

Module 22: Not-for-Profit Accounting

Reader’s Sharing

Chapter 12: Regulation (REG)

What Does REG Cover?

Passing Rate History and Trend

Study and Exam Taking Tips

Outline

Module 23: Professional and Legal Responsibilities

Module 24: Federal Securities Acts

Module 25: Business Structure

Module 26: Contracts

Module 27: Sales

Module 28: Commercial Paper

Module 29: Secured Transactions

Module 30: Bankruptcy

Module 31: Debtor-Creditor Relationships

Module 32: Agency

Module 33: Regulation of Business Employment, Environment, and Antitrust

Module 34: Property

Module 35: Individual Taxation

Module 36: Transactions in Property

Module 37: Partnership Taxation

Module 38: Corporate Taxation

Module 39: Other Taxation Topics

Reader’s Sharing

Chapter 13: Business Concepts and Environment (BEC)

Passing Rate History and Trend

Study and Exam Taking Tips

Outline

Module 40: Corporate Governance, Internal Control and Enterprise Risk Management

Module 41: Information Technology

Module 42: Economics, Strategy and Globalization

Module 43: Financial Risk Management and Capital Budgeting

Module 44: Financial Management

Module 45: Performance Measures

Module 46: Cost Measurement

Module 47: Planning, Control and Analysis

Reader’s Sharing

Chapter 14: What If I Fail?

Perform a Self Evaluation

Review the Diagnostic Report

Recharge and Get Back the Momentum

Chapter 15: Final Words

Appendix A: Countdown Plans

Appendix B: Packing for the Exam Trip

Glossary

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Index

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