| Website
of the Month: Kaplan CPA Review
By
Susan B. Anders
JULY 2005 - The
Kaplan CPA Review website (www.kaplancpareview.com)
is a marketing tool of a for-profit organization and is
designed for the user to purchase Kaplan’s products
and services. The site, however, does offer some interesting
free material.
The
website is organized utilizing two comprehensive approaches:
a familiar format for a product or service provider, and
a format based on the four segments of the CPA exam. Every
page on this website minimizes extensive searching. The
website also features video content.
The
homepage packs in a lot of information and quickly guides
users to their desired resources. The homepage and the main
pages present a consistent banner design at the top, followed
by a horizontal menu bar to navigate the site. A second
horizontal menu bar that appears only on the homepage features
the four parts of the CPA exam. Hyperlinks that appear at
the bottom of pages replicate the items in both horizontal
menu bars. Each main subsidiary page presents a left-side
vertical index of the main features for that section. Free
resources include “navigate the CPA exam,” “video
tips,” “practice questions,” and “accounting
links,” which are accessible to all visitors. A 40-question
testlet and e-mail lessons are available to registered users.
Creating an account is the least user-friendly activity,
as there is no obvious hyperlink or menu button to follow.
This reviewer found that the easiest approach was to log
in and receive an error message, which then directs the
user to the necessary instructions on how to create an account.
Navigate
the CPA Exam
The
“navigate the CPA exam” feature presents a map
of the United States from which the user can select a jurisdiction
for its specific rules, in a PDF file. The summary, which
is handy and time-saving, addresses applying to take the
examination, state fees and educational requirements, “testing
windows” when the exam is offered, and locations and
contact information for the Thomson Prometric testing centers
in each state.
Sample
Exam Questions
The
website offers free sample questions under two different
resources. Practice questions are available via the “free
resources” menu button. There are five to eight multiple-choice
questions for each section of the exam. These questions
are not interactive, but the user can see the answers and
an explanation.
The
40-question testlet, which includes 10 interactive multiple-choice
questions for each section of the exam, can be accessed
from a hyperlink on the homepage, and also under “free
resources” on the main menu. Users must register and
log in to access the testlets, which will then appear as
hyperlinks on the homepage. The questions appear one at
a time, and each question must be answered before proceeding
to the next. A time clock is at the top of the screen, and
users can mark questions to return to at the end of the
exam. After completing the 10 questions, the user can view
and print explanations of the correct answers. There is
also a 45-minute video for each testlet, in which Joe Hoyle
addresses each question and explains the answer.
Other
Free Resources
The
“video tips” section provides short videos on
specific topics that fall under each exam section. These
can be accessed via a hyperlink on the homepage. A useful
collection of links to other websites, including the official
CPA exam website, can be found under the “free resources”
menu button. The “CPA info” menu button contains
basic information about the CPA exam, including the test
sections, scoring, dates, and registration information.
Susan
B. Anders, PhD, CPA, is an associate professor of
accounting at St. Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure,
N.Y. |