UNH Professional Development & Training will launch a Certified Public Accountant Exam Prep course this April, designed specifically to support accountants and finance professionals looking to take the next step forward in their careers. This highly sought-after CPA credential, which grants the ability to legally sign tax returns, represent clients alone, and creates opportunities for job promotion and advancement. It is notoriously hard to achieve – the four-part examination historically has passing rates as low as 40%.
“The CPA exam is an extremely complex test that covers vast amounts of material,” says UNH’s lead instructor for the Exam Prep, Anna Howard. “In general, it's recommended that CPA candidates study for 300-400 hours for the CPA exam in total in order to ensure they pass. This equates to about 80-100 hours for each exam section.”
Howard, a CPA by trade, has previous been a faculty member at Nichols College and Merrimack College. She is the lead instructor for the programs, which offers a blend of traditional classroom instruction as well as free access to online training tools. The multi-medium format allows students flexibility to their preferred learning style, but Howard stresses the value of face-to-face classroom time.
“There are many online courses available for CPA exam preparation, but most only include pre-recorded lectures and self-study materials. A live instructor-led course not only provides a structure of weekly lessons, but it gives students an opportunity to ask questions, to request clarification and to discuss individualized study plans with the instructor who is a CPA and a subject matter expert,” added Howard.
The first course of the program launches on April 21 with Auditing & Attestation (AUD) followed by Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR), Regulation (REG), and Business Environment and Concepts (BEC). Students can pick and choose to enroll in just the sections in which they need support, or in all four courses in succession with the goal being to complete the whole program – and pass the CPA exam – within the span of 13 months.
Each of the four courses in the program meet once a week at UNH at Manchester for either six or eight weeks. Enrolled students will also receive three months of access to Wiley CPAexcal CPA Gold Review Course 2020 software.
