Hi I have been approached on and off, by several CPA aspirants, with various questions on how to do CPA. I made a PPT and presented to large group of CPA Students in one of the Becker Batches in Hyderabad. I thought it would very useful many others if it is placed on the net. All the best! Regards Siva

1. Testimony
B Siva Kumar
Becker CPA Student
Hyderabad, Spring, July, 2008
Date of Presentation: 29th March 2009

2. Caveat
This presentation is a representation of the
experience of one individual in preparing and
writing the CPA Exams. This experience
may not be relevant to all the students.
Please make your best judgment in
understanding the relevance of this
presentation to your own preparation.

3. My academic and professional background
B. Com – April,1990
CA – November, 1993
ICWA-Inter, December, 1993
CPA - February, 2009
Post-CA experience about 16 years.
My current employer: Pragnya Trustee and
Investment Management Company Private
Limited

4. The Time Lines
Date of
Commencement of
classes: 20th July 2008
Date of Closing of
classes: 19th October
2008
Date of completion of
exams: 28th Feb. 09
Total time taken from
start to finish 223 days
or 7.43 months.
21-Mar-0928-Feb-09Finance
23-Mar-0923-Feb-09Auditing
26-Mar-0919-Feb-09Regulation
18-Mar-0914-Feb-09Business
Result DateExam DateSubject

5. The Results
85%Average
78Finance
93Auditing
77Regulation
89Business
ScoreSubject

6. Business Result

7. Regulation Result

8. Auditing Result

9. Finance Result

10. Primary Requirements
(All are equally important)
Dedication
Hard work
Time Management
Family Support and Understanding
Sacrifices
No Movies, TV, Long Drives, Avoidable Shopping
No pleasure trips

11. About my preparation
Material Studied – Only Becker Material
Tools used – Becker Software Tools
and CPA-Exam.org for Simulation
E-mail support received from Becker
Website
Very good guidance received from the
Becker Counselors and Faculty

12. Things to do during classes
Attend all the classes without fail
Redo any classes offline if required, in consultation with Counselors
Install the Becker Software immediately after the very fist class.
Finish the first time study of each module immediately during the week
following the class.
Finish all the questions in the Becker CPA PassMaster. While doing this
make sure you mark all the difficult and / or time consuming questions.
If have surplus time do a second review during the classes itself.
Within a week of the final class you must have completed the
PassMaster completely if you have been prompt in completing the
weekly work.
Note all important points in a separate document.
Record all your scores and time in PassMaster
Practice all Simulations available in Becker Software.
Pay the exam fee only after you have obtained 90% in the Final Exams
in Becker Software.

13. Things to do after the Classes but before
the Exams
Make sure you have reviewed the text
material at least three times.
Make sure you have worked out the
PassMaster at least three times.
Make sure you have completed both Final-1
and Final-2 Exams in each of the subjects
(total 4 * 2 = 8 Exams) with 90% score.
Practice Simulations available on cpa-
exam.org.

14. Things to do during the Exams
Space the Exams to suit your budget and level of preparation.
If possible rework all the difficult questions identified during your
earlier preparation.
If possible do a final review of the text books.
During the exam sessions, first finish all the questions with
answers that are theoretical and then answer the questions with
numbers as the answers.
During the exam sessions, balance a trade-off between the cost
and benefit of reviewing the answers.
While attempting the simulation first make an attempt without
referring to research material. Then refer to research material
only if you feel it is necessary. This may help you save a lot of
time.

15. Acknowledgements
The Almighty for the kindness and blessings.
Becker for the excellent software, text books, classes and the support.
George and Molly for the counseling and moral support.
Prem, Amit and Praveen the Becker Faculty for all the guidance and
encouragement.
My wife Suhasini and kids Saumya and Sindhuja for bearing with me
during the entire period of about 8 months.
Kalyan, my friend for all the support and encouragement given before,
after and during my stay in the US.
My friend, Paul Wiley, Manager, Untract Early, CPA Firm, USA for all
the encouragement.
Pragnya, my employer for giving me the necessary exam leave and not
burdening me with weekend work.
Fellow students for all the encouragement.

16. THANKS
&
ALL THE BEST FOR
YOUR PREPERATION
AND EXAMS