Early reports indicate CPA Exam candidates taking the 2011 CPA Exam need to be prepared for delays with the loading of the new simulation format and not let it affect their exam performance.

“The ‘lag' time is more like the screen goes blank for 5-10 seconds between the tabs in the simulation. I wouldn't say it cost me any time but it was very irritating. I would say it panicked me more than anything because I thought the computer crashed. It also made me not want to switch back and forth between tabs because I almost thought it might crash the computer….I still switched between the tabs anyways. It did affect me mentally because it disrupted me taking the exam with smooth transitions between the questions.” – Candidate #1

“I think that it cost me about 2 or 3 minutes total. I had a lag of about 1 minute prior to the testlet loading and then about 30-45 seconds between each tab. However, once the tabs were loaded once, you could move between them freely without any lag time.

If I hadn't read about it before the exam, I would have been completely freaked out – that's how slow it was. It was more irritating than anything. I didn't look at the time and see whether or not that time was deducted, I would assume it was.” – Candidate #2

If this happens to you on exam day, don't freak out.