Alla Volodina York University — How to prepare CFE candidates for CPA and other accounting exams?

 We receive a lot of questions from CPA firms on how to best prepare CPA candidates for the exams. One of our regular contributors, Alla Volodina who teaches at York University, shares her thoughts on numerous myths surround the CPA exam preparation process.

Question: Would you agree that all candidates can pass the exam following the same level of guidance and type of advice?

Alla Volodina (York University): A successful UFE candidate must tap directly into his/her unique strengths, which will depend on his/her personality, work experience and academic experience. It’s best if a firm has a program tailored to suit each candidate, not forcing each candidate to tailor themselves to suit one advice. Smaller size classes and ultimately, one-on-one coaching sessions, work best for this purpose.

Question: Would you agree that it is unnecessary to teach candidates how to prepare for the exam’s technical elements?

AllaVolodina (York University): Most candidates are uncertain about how to study technical rules and often give up after a few attempts. Though effective memory techniques are not taught at most high schools and universities, they are essential tools that benefit any student studying detailed and voluminous technical rules.

Question: Would you agree that ultimately, candidates are responsible for monitoring their own progress and thus it is unnecessary to track candidates’ performances?

AllaVolodina (York University): Candidates often report having difficulties interpreting their results on a tracking sheet or identifying their weak areas. In fact, even a year after a failed exam attempt, many experienced writers remain confused about why they were unsuccessful. It is critical that a professional CPA coach tracks each candidate’s performance, to compare not only their results against his/her peer group, but also to identify areas for improvement and provide recommendations.

Question: Would you agree that having practice papers marked by the candidate’s peers is a substitute to professional marking.

AllaVolodina (York University): Candidates can receive great benefits from marking one another’s practice papers. By exchanging their work, candidates can learn while identifying strengths and weaknesses in their peers’ papers. On the other hand, we have observed that due to their own inexperience, candidates often overlook important issues when marking their peers’ work. Therefore, in order to ensure an accurate and reliable assessment of a candidate’s performance, experienced markers need to be involved.

AllaVolodina teaches Accounting and Assurance at York University including ADMS 3585, Intermediate Financial Accounting.

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