Kaplan CPA Review's new technology-based program will include live, Internet-delivered video classes with interactive Q&A, practice simulations, unique software providing unprecedented flexibility to customize preparation, and an online bank of 3,000-plus questions.
 
The new program also includes functionality that enables students to simulate on-the-job experiences, such as operating spreadsheets and extracting specific facts, regulations and accounting principles. On-demand lecture and problem-solving videos are delivered in 20-30 minute segments, offering candidates flexibility with their study schedules.
 
Related, Kaplan also announced that it has acquired HoyleCPA Success, a Richmond, Virginia-based leader in CPA exam review founded by Joe Hoyle, an award-winning educator, author and associate professor of accounting at the University of Richmond's Robins School of Business. Hoyle will provide leadership and expertise to Kaplan CPA Review.

"The combination of Hoyle's outstanding technical expertise and teaching skills coupled with Kaplan's technology and extensive experience in computer-based test prep will provide candidates with an excellent program specifically developed for the new computerized CPA exam," said Eric Cantor, president of Kaplan Professional, a division of Kaplan. "Joe Hoyle has 25 years of experience and depth of knowledge in CPA training, so this was a tremendous opportunity to enhance our existing CPA portfolio with rich resources and market-leading instruction."
  
As part of the new CPA program, students receive unlimited online access to Kaplan CPA's simulations and testlets, a comprehensive research library covering all content covered in the new computerized CPA Exam, and an extensive customizable database of exam-like questions that enables test takers to identify and focus on weak areas. Online live Q&A sessions and weekly email lessons provide direct interaction with instructors, while a problems and solutions book and a lesson book provide supplementary study material.
 
More than 58,500 individuals took all or part of the four-part CPA Exam, administered by the Board of Examiners of the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), in 2002. Roughly 17 percent of those who sit for the exam pass all four parts of the notoriously difficult, content-heavy exam the first time -- and most take sections of the exam multiple times before they pass.

Studies have shown that students who take CPA review courses increase their odds of passing by 77 percent.(1)