The CPA Exam

Reasons to get, and not to get, the CPA designation

Reasons to get the CPA designation

• May add credibility in the classroom (this is an empirical question :-)
• Some schools want you to have professional certifications (usually the more teaching oriented schools).
• May help to secure consulting opportunities in the profession
• Gives you credibility with practicioners
• If you ever decide to leave academia this is a helpful certification for employment
• Useful for expert witnessing or being on a corporate board

Reasons not to get the CPA designation

• Time may be better spent early in a career on conducting research or improving teaching effectiveness.
• It can be a hassle to keep up on CPE credit
• Some schools (most likely research intensive schools) may view it as a negative signal of where you are devoting your time (i.e., you are not a serious researcher)

FAQ

Should I get my CPA? If so, when?

This is probably more important for those with research and teaching interests in audit or tax. However, regardless of research interests, it can't hurt to get a CPA license. It's relatively cheap and you'll never be more prepared than you are when leaving BYU. It won't close any doors, but you never know what doors it may open.

What resources are available to help me review for the CPA exam?

Becker:

• This is generally considered to be the best CPA review course, however, it is also very expensive.

Wiley:

• Not quite as structured as Becker, perhaps, but much cheaper and it is sufficient. If you've done relatively well in your courses at BYU, this should be more than enough to help you pass the exam.

Where can I find information about the CPA exam requirements for each state?

• Try Becker CPA Review. Becker Professional Review is a company that helps individuals prepare for the CPA examination.
• Additionally, you could try the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy NASBA. While they possess all the information you would ever need, accessing the information is difficult. Each state has a NASBA representative assigned to it, and the helpfulness of the representatives varies wildly by state.

How can I be a CPA without any work experience?

Some states, such as Colorado, do not have experience requirements or you can substitute education for experience.

How can I study for the CPA without a firm to purchase study materials?

• There are many different ways to obtain study materials. For example, http://www.financialprep.com/ offers a free trial version of their practice test software, which contains 100 questions per section. 100 questions is very sufficient to give one a general sense of how the questions on the test are.

• If you are currently a doctoral student, you may approach one of the companies that provides CPA study material. They sometimes give free copies to future professors. Contact the representative who services your school to discuss this possibility.

• Becker has several ways in which to get free or discounted materials. If you work as the one campus representative for BYU, then you can get a Becker course for free. Dr. Black has something to do with the selection process for campus representatives. Further, you can help set up the classroom for the classroom reviews Becker does, and they will give you a $500 discount.

• You can purchase hugely discounted Becker (as well as other brands) materials off of Amazon.com or eBay.com. The ethicality of this is in question. While the 100 Hour Board at BYU claimed it was fine and legal, many (especially Becker themselves) would tell you it is not.

• Consider borrowing materials from someone who has already taken the test. However, the same ethical issue is involved as in purchasing it from Amazon or eBay.

• Some of the preparation courses are actually reasonably priced, between $300-400. Still a lot for a starving student, but a far cry from the $2700 Becker wants. One that has recently worked (passed all four sections first time) for a recent PhD prep student is the Wiley software and books.

• The Accounting lab at the Utah Valley University has a current and full set of the Gleim materials for use in the lab. You could go over there, or somehow petition Gleim to outfit our lab as they have the UVU lab.

• You might consider just taking a couple of the sections without studying, and see how it goes. BYU has a very good program and you might find that you pass without much, if any, preparation. Do this at your own risk, as it is somewhat expensive to retake exams. But you might save on prep materials and extra working hours.