Today I summoned every ounce of personal drive and motivation and cracked open my Ethics CD-ROM from the AICPA and I immediately hit a roadblock.

How exactly does one get the stupid course code to work?

The paper answer sheet that comes with it gives the url to register and get your answer sheet online. Easy enough. The paper also says “You will be asked to provide the unique serial number printed on page 1 of your answer sheet.” OK. Looking…looking. There isn’t a course code on the paper. I could confidently sign off on that fact.

As it turns out, the course code is on the back of the CD case. Who knew? Certainly not the paper or the website that kept showing red error letters as I tried in vain to enter anything even resembling a course code on my sheet.

I finally successfully entered my course code – a feat possibly greater than passing the CPA Exam itself – and I was on my way.

You don’t really hear too much about the ethics exam when you’re studying. It’s this dark mystery that only reveals itself after you’ve gone through the pledging phase of the AICPA Fraternity and the Ethics Exam is the final ceremony where people dressed in robes chant unintelligibly and if you score a 90 or better, a big bright door opens to a land flowing with membership dues and CPE requirements.

Here is what I can tell you about the ethics exam so far fifteen questions into it:

-It’s 75 MCQs with options A-D, with a 5th option of “E” that is blank. E has been tempting more than once.

-The questions will seem like a regurgitation of stuff you studied for REG

-The program is viewed through a flash application and you have to wade through the index and table of contents to find what you need to answer the question. Occasionally, you can open a .PDF and Control-F to find your search terms and find your answer

-The questions skip around by topic, so there’s a lot of back and forth between areas as you try to hunt for answers

-It’s slightly more entertaining than getting a tooth drilled

Thanks for reading.

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1. Freedom, the Apple Store, and a 100 on the AICPA Ethics Exam
2. Score Release Wait, Ethics Exam, and … Freedom?
3. #47: AICPA Ethics Exam CD or Book Version – Which is Better?

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