CPA Study Materials & 9 Things To Know
(Scroll down for Free CPA Notes)
Table of Contents
Introduction to CPA Study Materials & Supplements
If you already have a CPA Review Course and want an extra edge on Exam Day, you're in the right place.
Sure, you've already invested big money into a course, but let's face the facts:
CPA Exam Pass Rates are terrible.
This is primarily due to two reasons:
- CPA Candidates don't know how to study.
- CPA Candidates don't have the right CPA Study Materials for their learning style.
Problem #1 is fixed with the NINJA Study Framework discussed below.
Problem #2 is study supplements, which we'll discuss here.
Most CPA candidates who supplement with NINJA go with the Notes, Audio, and MCQ to get them over that coveted 75 (or better).
Take a road trip with all of that study time you'll save. Send me a postcard. 😀
Here we go…
1. CPA Study Materials – Everyone Supplements
Before we get started, we need to acknowledge a universal CPA Review study truth:
Everyone supplements their CPA Review Course to one degree or another.
Everyone.
The degree of supplementing ranges from posting questions to a study group or message board, using free CPA study guides, or investing in supplemental materials like NINJA CPA Review.
Studying with one course is so … 1990s. (The best music [and movies] decade ever btw.)
The most popular types of supplemental CPA Study Materials are:
- CPA Study Guide
- CPA Review Audio
- CPA Test Bank
- CPA Exam Cram Course
- CPA Book
- CPA Tutoring
Let's look at how these types of cpa study materials can make your life easier while balancing work, family & friends, and the CPA Exam.
See Also: Free CPA Study Materials (Dropbox)
2. CPA Notes – A Good Set Will Save You
A good set of CPA Notes will save you on Exam Day.
The most popular CPA Exam Study Guide of all time (for the last decade, anyway) is the NINJA Notes.
No other supplemental CPA Study Materials come close.
Sure, you can write your own CPA Exam Notes, and it's part of the NINJA Study Framework, so we are big believers in the power of taking your notes.
We are also big believers in passing, so pairing your course with the NINJA Notes is smart.
The NINJA Notes have been used by 100,000+ CPA candidates to pass their exams since 2011.
What makes the NINJA Notes popular is their straight-to-the-point, all facts/no fluff attitude.
Weighing in at around 100 pages per section, they are short, sweet, and pack a punch.
Some people say they have passed using just the NINJA Notes (although I don't recommend this approach).
The action-packed NINJA Notes are included in NINJA Monthly.
Download Them. Study Them. Re-Write Them.
3. CPA Review Audios – The Ultimate Study Hack
Want to study on the go and turn downtime into Study Time? Smart Move.
A good CPA Audio allows you to study when you otherwise couldn't.
It's the Ultimate Study Weapon in your CPA Study Materials arsenal.
At the Gym? Study.
Driving? Study.
Doing Laundry? Study.
Watching your Kid's Game? Study.
Staring at a Spreadsheet and pretending to Work? Study.
Like the NINJA Notes, the NINJA Audio is the top CPA Audio in all of CPA Review.
(and unlike other audios, it's not a stripped-out audio file of a video lecture – we created this and recorded this specifically for auditory learning)
In the decade+ that I've been doing this, I've rarely seen other audio courses mentioned.
You will get annoyed when I repeat things over and over.
And one more time … just so it sinks in.
You will also silently thank me (and possibly later via email, as has happened) as you sit there in Prometric on Exam Day, drawing a blank until my voice popped into your head.
(Sorry about that … my voice goes away … eventually)
I always get emails from people thanking me for the NINJA Audio but also rejoicing that they never have to listen to it again. 😀
Turn Drive Time into Study Time.
4. CPA Test Banks – The More Questions & Simulations, The Better
The more CPA Test Banks, the merrier.
While all AICPA-Licensed CPA study materials get their questions from the AICPA, the differences among CPA Test Banks are notable.
Adding a second CPA Test Bank is a must. Here are three (quick) reasons why:
- You will start memorizing your course questions. A false sense of accomplishment could lead to disaster on Exam Day.
- If your Test Bank doesn't have a Trending Score as part of their algorithm, you're missing out on an invaluable study tool that lets you know if you're on track for exam day victory – or if you're walking into an embarrassing ambush.
- Using two CPA test banks is an important hedge against missing out on important points or concepts that one course emphasizes while the other course lightly covers (if you've ever had a “WHAT!?!?!” moment on the CPA Exam, you know what I'm talking about).
NINJA MCQ and its 8,000+ AICPA-licensed questions & simulations and unlimited Mock Exams are included with NINJA Monthly and work great with a course like Becker.
Get Your Free CPA Test Bank
FAR, AUD, REG, BAR, ISC, or TCP
No Credit Card Required – Only Your Best Email for Your Login
Full CPA Practice Test + Simulations Included
5. CPA Review Books – Not All Are Big & Bloated
A CPA Review Book is the perfect self-study option in CPA study materials. Some CPA candidates prefer to ditch videos in the CPA study materials and go the self-study route with a good ol' fashion CPA Exam book.
When we designed the NINJA Book, we sat down and said, “You know what the world really needs? Another big, bloated CPA Exam textbook full of word-for-word FASBs, IRS regs, and auditing standards that no one can stomach reading, so a $2,000 video course is required.”
(My tendency toward sarcastic humor is shining through here. My wife has softened it a lot over the past 20 years, trust me. 😀 )
Our goal with the NINJA Book was simple: Make it not as boring as the other books. In other words, All Killer, No Filler.
Not a high bar, I get it … I mean, it is accounting, so there are only so many ways to spice it up.
Perhaps a Jason Bourne-style thriller involving the protagonist solving a Dollar-Value LIFO problem to save the world from impending doom is in our future.
Olga Timirgalieva (Roger + NINJA)
Elijah Watt Sells Award Winner
“NINJA MCQ – A must! With the NINJA Notes, I printed out the notes and used as a knowledge check closer to the exam. NINJA Audio is nice to use during the commute or if you are an auditory learner.”
Brian Wright (Becker + NINJA)
Elijah Watt Sells Award Winner
“The questions and practice tests were extremely useful, they helped me find some weak spots I didn’t even know I had and gave me the extra practice I needed to get my best score of any of the exams.”
6. CPA Exam Cram Course – Your Silver Bullet vs. the Procrastination Monster
A CPA Cram Course is the perfect final review before your upcoming high-stakes battle with FAR, AUD, REG, BAR, ISC, or TCP.
Complete your CPA study materials course and need a good last-minute review?
Up against losing an exam credit and/or an expiring NTS?
Completely procrastinate and now looking for a silver bullet to rescue you from certain failure?
A good CPA Exam Cram can save the day – and possibly, your CPA Exam life.
This is why we designed the NINJA CRAM, and included it with the $67 NINJA Monthly subscription.
7. CPA Tutor – Adds a Friendly Face to an Unfriendly CPA Exam
You have a CPA Review book. You have lecture videos. The problem?
You can certainly talk to them, but it's a one-way conversation.
What if you actually want to speak to a live human and get a CPA Exam question answered?
A CPA Tutor adds a friendly face to a very unfriendly Uniform CPA Examination.
The problem?
CPA tutoring services charge hourly rates that would make a big-city attorney blush.
Our solution?
NINJA Sparring: Live CPA Exam tutoring.
We've included NINJA Sparring with NINJA Monthly, so you don't have to worry about crazy hourly rates.
Do the other CPA tutoring companies hate us? Yes. 🙂
Yes, Mike has a thick accent (he's from India), but most people can get past that and love his teaching, based on the emails I get.
NINJA Mike is one of the best instructors in CPA Review.
Coincidentally, he also scored top-5 in the world on the CMA Exam.
(Not his real name – it's a pseudonym to keep a much larger competitor from stealing him 😀 )
8. CPA Flashcards – Learning Through Repetition
CPA Flashcards allow you to study the concepts while being tested at the same time.
Flashcards are like a hybrid of Notes and MCQ – studying and testing all at once.
The NINJA Flashcards feature spaced repetition with adaptive learning that helps you to zero in on your weak spots (so they don't zero in on you on exam day).
9. CPA Study Planner – Saves You Weeks of Misery
You have better things to do than study for the CPA Exam.
The NINJA CPA Study Planner will help you to study 20 hours a week (without anyone noticing).
Study when you need to.
Study the amount that you need to.
Study what you need to.
Get Your LIFE Back.
10. Keep It Simple – Pick 3
Getting overwhelmed with too many study options regarding CPA Review materials can be easy.
In this post alone, I threw seven different types at you:
Study Guides, Audios, Test Banks, Crams, Tutoring, Books, Flashcards …. AHHHHH!!!!
Too many CPA study materials can cause a CPA Candidate to fall into a pit of analysis paralysis.
This is why NINJA CPA provides you with all of the materials and lets you decide which ones you want – all in a month-to-month subscription.
If you dismiss CPA Study Supplements, you're missing out on a potentially game-changing study boost.
The sweet spot: Pick 3.
Most people who join NINJA CPA Review primarily use three Study Weapons: NINJA MCQ, NINJA Notes, and NINJA Audio.
Not ready to commit? No worries – check out the NINJA CPA Free Trial.
To Your Success,
Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
