Wiley CPA Review Course

Due to the recent acquisition of Wiley CPA by UWorld and the potential discontinuation of the course, we cannot recommend them at this time. Instead, we encourage you to explore one of our other trusted partners for reliable CPA exam preparation.

Are you preparing for a career in public accounting? If so, you should take the CPA exam very seriously. No matter how prepared you think you are, there’s a good chance your professional knowledge of accounting concepts will be challenged in a way that it’s never been before. That’s why nearly half of all CPA exam takers end up failing one or more sections of this notoriously difficult test.

If you want to avoid being caught off guard, the best way to pass the exam on your first try is to sign up for a CPA review course.

When I was first preparing for the CPA exam, I used Wiley CPA and passed on my first attempt. Since that time, Wiley has made several changes to their user experience and curriculum in order to compete with other online CPA review courses. But is it enough to set them apart from big names like Surgent and Becker?

Check out my full review below to find out for yourself whether or not Wiley CPA Review can help you pass the exam!

About Wiley

It’s important to note that Wiley exam prep has been bought out by UWorld, potentially impacting the future availability of its standalone test prep services including the CPA review programs.

Wiley Efficient Learning has been around for a lot longer than you might expect— they’ve actually been in business for over 200 years, starting as an academic publishing company in 1807. Over the next two centuries, this company has evolved into a modern educational powerhouse that offers a wide range of instructional content for several high-skill trades, such as management accounting, financial analysis, and investment banking.

Wiley CPA Course Snapshot

• Unlimited access and free updates until you pass
• Over 17,000 practice questions on desktop and mobile
• FocusMeTechnology adaptive learning integration
• More than 140 hours of video lectures
• 600+ task-based simulations and unlimited practice exams
• Virtual Classroom with online instructor support
• 4,000+ digital flashcards and 1,000 physical flashcards

Wiley CPA Course Updates

The accounting industry is constantly changing, so the AICPA constantly updates the CPA exam to reflect these new industry developments. Wiley Efficient Learning makes updates to their own courses in accordance with these updates, so you’ll always have the most relevant materials when studying with one of their prep courses.

Their most recent update included changes to all four exam sections. Some of these changes were minor, like updating FAR’s use of terminology and adding content to REG that mentions the CARES Act. Others are more substantial, like the addition of new videos and study text in AUD or the increased emphasis on Microsoft Excel proficiency in BEC. In any case, you can rest assured that the information you are accessing is relevant and recent!

Wiley CPA Review Course Features

Check out some of these specific features you get with Wiley CPA:

Practice Materials

Like most CPA review courses, Wiley provides students a library of multiple-choice practice questions, task-based simulations (TBS), and flashcards. These are some of the most effective methods of teaching new concepts and reinforcing them in your memory, so it makes sense that Wiley places a lot of emphasis on these materials.

However, it’s worth noting that this is one of the largest libraries of these materials you can find in an online CPA prep course: over 17,000 multiple choice questions, 5,000 True/False questions, 600 TBS, and 4,000-plus digital flashcards is way more content than the average online class.

Informative Materials

Aside from their practice questions and quizzes, Wiley includes video lectures and textbooks to teach you the different concepts covered on each part of the CPA exam. This includes over 2,200 pages of online text passages and more than 140 hours of video lectures. The instructors who write the study pages and host each lecture are accomplished professionals and expert educators— with 11 of them having a Ph.D.

Cutting-Edge Learning Technology

Although this company may be older than dirt, the tech Wiley uses to reinforce their educational curriculum is extremely impressive. Adaptive learning technology can be used to generate custom study schedules for each student, which is what Wiley’s FocusMeTechnology provides. 

Both downloadable and online features of this program allow it to analyze your proficiency with specific CPA exam concepts as you progress through the material, which is then used to change your schedule on the fly to meet your specific needs as a student. It’s not too different from what the other prep companies offer, but it gets the job done!

Instructor Support

During the numerous live classroom sessions hosted by Wiley, you’ll have the ability to communicate with the lecturer in real-time— just like a traditional classroom setting. But if you’re looking for more hands-on instruction, we recommend checking out their Ultimate Mentorship Bundle which includes personalized review sessions and email support.

Speaking of email, you’ll have ways to contact other members of Wiley’s support team if you encounter any technical or billing issues. It can sometimes take a day or two to hear a response, so you can always check the private student discussion boards to see if someone already asked the same question as you.

Wiley CPA Pricing

You have two different options when signing up for Wiley CPA:

• First is the Pro CPA Review Course, which has a base price of $2,199. This contains everything you need for a full study schedule, including the 5,000-plus practice questions, 2,200-plus pages of online study text, digital/physical flashcards, and unlimited practice CPA exams. This is the most affordable way to start studying with Wiley, and it frequently goes on sale for hundreds of dollars off base price.
• The next step up is Wiley’s Platinum CPA Review Course, which is their most popular online CPA prep course that costs $2,999. However, it has been on sale for $1,799 for a while, so you may be able to catch it on sale. In addition to everything included in the Pro Course, this package includes exclusive access to Wiley’s expert mentors, additional support for international students, and an extra Final Review Course for some last-minute cramming.

No matter which package you choose, Wiley will regularly offer steep discounts to make it easier for your wallet. Another nice feature that makes paying for these courses much less stressful is flexible financing; if you qualify, Wiley will allow you to spread out payments over 12 months with no interest.

Pros and Cons

Still unsure if Wiley CPA Review is a good choice for your study needs? Consider these positives and negatives before making a decision:

• Ample Study Content: The last thing you’ll have to worry about when studying is running out of practice questions or flashcards. Wiley made sure to pack in thousands of these, in addition to a great deal of textbook pages, alternative question types, and hundreds of hours worth of video content. It’s not the largest library of CPA content (that honor belongs to Gleim), but it’s more than enough to help you prepare for your exam over the course of a year at least.
• Extra Help: One of the reasons why students might be hesitant to trust an online course is a perceived lack of accountability. Some online classes in college are notorious for having unclear or confusing instructions and a professor that’s impossible to reach for extra help. Fortunately, Wiley avoids all of these issues by having easy access to their expert instructors for all Platinum and Ultimate students.

• Guarantee: With all the content and technology provided by Wiley, there’s one feature that’s conspicuously missing from their catalog. Despite claiming that 9 out of 10 students who use their course will pass the CPA exam, they don’t offer any kind of refund if you fail on your first try. Instead, you’ll just have access until you eventually earn a passing grade.
• Lack of Important Coverage: A significant drawback of Wiley CPA is its coverage of some crucial subject areas. Users have pointed out that the platform occasionally overlooks or under-emphasizes important topics, leaving students potentially underprepared for specific segments of the CPA exam. For a study tool that is supposed to be comprehensive, missing the mark on key subjects can be a detriment to those relying solely on it for their preparations.
• Students have to Supplement: Wiley CPA’s content sometimes falls short in its depth and clarity, leading students to seek supplements like notes from peers and additional audio resources. It’s a hassle for learners to have to juggle multiple sources to fill in the gaps. A study platform should ideally be a one-stop-shop, but with Wiley, students often find themselves on the hunt for external resources to ensure they’re fully equipped for the exam.

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Final Recommendations

Wiley CPA has been a go-to for many studying for the CPA exam. Their materials are thorough, and they’ve got a pretty solid track record of getting folks across the finish line. But, not everything was sunshine and rainbows; some folks found their platform a tad clunky and wished their customer support was a bit snappier.

Now, here’s the kicker: Wiley CPA recently got scooped up by UWorld. This move shakes things up a bit, and there’s chatter about what’s going to happen to the Wiley CPA course. Because of this uncertainty, it feels a bit risky to recommend them right now. So, while we’ve got love for what Wiley CPA used to be, we suggest you check out some of our other top picks to make sure you’re on solid ground for your CPA prep.

Comparison of Wiley CPA Review Courses

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CPA Course Format

The course format of Wiley CPA is as follows:

Study Text

This is your reading assignment, usually around 2 to 5 or 6 pages long.

Proficiency Questions

This is a basic quiz-like format that tests your comprehension of the subject matter you’ve just read. In contrast to the practice questions, these are mostly in a True/False format.

Practice Questions/Exam Simulations

This is where you get your money’s worth.

Wiley CPA’s substantial 12,000 multiple-choice questions are gleaned from previous exams. Additionally, the exam question format for their online test bank is the exact same as what the AICPA exam uses, providing a helpful simulation of the real thing. Each test is timed, and you will have to keep the average pace of answering an exam question every 2 minutes. Afterward, you can review your mistakes and identify the correct answers; for further clarification, this section also includes explanations as to why that answer should have been chosen.

Digital CPA Flashcards

Helpful digital flashcards are included that show key topics and the most important definitions. There are 4,200 in total, and they’re accessible on both desktop and mobile devices. However, mobile functionality is often limited due to issues with Wiley’s app— see additional details below.

Task-Based Simulations

Wiley’s Platinum course boasts 600 task-based simulations. However, the actual number may be different, as the review course has the same questions scattered around the program. This means that some practice questions might be lumped in with TBS and vice versa.

Each section has a different amount of multiple choice questions and true/false questions depending on the length of the online course, with the smallest numbering around 5 and the largest in the 30’s. Furthermore, each topic also features a Diagnostic Exam to test your comprehension of the given course materials. The main subjects are included, and it highlights a couple of the most important focus points you need to know for each sub-section.

Complete all the coursework, and you’ll be treated to a Simulated CPA Exam, modeled after the real deal. The entire simulation is divided into 3 multiple-choice parts, and the prerequisite task-based simulation, which is timed the same way as the real CPA exams are. Wiley CPA will check your responses after the test and provide you with a result-based breakdown of where you did well and which parts you need to focus on for improvement.

This online course guides you on which particular mistakes were made, and it also gives a helpful response on how the right answer is calculated. Hence, you can take advantage of the simulation through repetition and trial-and-error: take the exam and see where you got the answers wrong, then take the CPA simulation again until you get a consistent score of 90%. Wiley CPA provides new questions each time you take the test to give you the practice and repetition you need to pass.

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Wiley CPA Review Breakdown

The Good	The Bad
Final Review included at no additional cost	No audio CPA review course is available
More than 10,000 practice questions	Video lectures are dry
Unlimited course access, it never expires	Mobile app is unreliable
	More questions than necessary
	Not as rigorous as actual exam
	Might need to supplement with other courses

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