CPA Study Materials | 10 Things To Know (Before Buying)
How to Choose the Best CPA Study Materials & Supplements
(Scroll down for your Free CPA Test Bank)
Table of Contents
Intro: 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.
(Don't have a course yet? Check out our Best CPA Review Courses page.)
Sure, you've already invested big money into a course, but let's face the facts:
CPA 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. Everyone Supplements Their CPA Study Materials
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.
Using Free Notes? Supplement.
Asking a question on CPA Reddit? Supplement.
Online Study Group? Supplement.
Reading CPA Study Tips on Another71? Supplement.
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.)
This is why it's pretty much impossible to know a CPA Review Course's pass rate.
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.
2. CPA Notes 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 strong advocates for passing, so pairing your course with the NINJA Notes is a smart move.
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.
Some people claim to have passed using only the NINJA Notes (although I do not recommend this approach).
The action-packed NINJA Notes are included in NINJA Monthly.
Download Them. Study Them. Rewrite Them.
3. CPA Review Audios – Ultimate Study Hack
A good CPA Review Audio allows you to study when you otherwise couldn't.
Want to study on the go and turn downtime into Study Time? Smart Move.
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.
(Be sure to still yell “good job! great hustle! way to be there!!”)
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.
In the decade or more 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 … so that it sinks in.
That said, 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 annoying voice pops into your head and you remember the answer because of something stupid I said in the audio.
I often 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 The Merrier
More CPA Test Banks Are More Better. 😀
Now that the CPA Exam no longer includes Written Communications, we no longer care about proper English.
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 its algorithm, you might be walking into an embarrassing ambush.
- Using two CPA test banks is an essential hedge against missing important points or concepts that one course emphasizes, but another lightly covers.
NINJA MCQ has 8,000+ AICPA-licensed questions and simulations, as well as unlimited mock exams.
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 old-fashioned 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 Cram Course – Kills 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?
Did you procrastinate entirely and are now looking for a silver bullet to rescue you from inevitable failure?
This is why we designed the NINJA CRAM, and included it with the NINJA Course subscription.
A good CPA Cram can save the day – and possibly, your CPA Exam life.
7. CPA Tutoring – A Friendly Face for the Battle Ahead
A CPA Tutor adds a friendly face to a very unfriendly Uniform CPA Examination.
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?
The problem?
CPA tutoring services charge hourly rates that would make a big-city attorney blush.
Our solution?
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? Probably.
(Actually, “hate” is a strong word … “annoyed” is probably better)
Have we “inspired” other companies in the industry? Most-Likely.
NINJA was the first mainstream CPA prep course to offer live tutoring.
(and they had decades to do it before us in 2021…)
NINJA Mike is one of the best instructors in CPA Review.
Coincidentally, he also scored in the top 10 in the world on the CMA Exam.
8. CPA Flashcards – Learn Through (Smart) Repetition
CPA Flashcards enable you to study concepts while being tested simultaneously.
Flashcards are a hybrid of Notes and multiple-choice questions (MCQs) – studying and testing simultaneously.
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 Planners – Saves You Weeks
A good CPA Study Plan is a MUST.
You have better things to do than endlessly study for the CPA Exam.
In fact, you can take Friday through Sunday off if you want.
(Granted, Monday-Thursday are intense.)
It's all up to you.
Study when it fits your lifestyle.
The NINJA Study Planner will help you to study 20 hours a week (without anyone noticing).
10. Start With The Essentials
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 Review has two study packages: Supplement or Course.
Only need supplements? You get the most popular study supplements: Notes, Audio, and a Test Bank.
Need the whole enchilada? Go with the NINJA Course.
Not sure which one is right for you?
Check out the NINJA Free Trial and decide for yourself.
To Your Success,
Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE
