New Jersey State Board of Accountancy

Things to know before taking the computerized CPA Examination

• Know how to use a mouse and keyboard, and common spreadsheet and word processing functions (this includes writing formulas for spreadsheets and typing short paragraphs).

• Know how to use an online four-function calculator or a spreadsheet to perform standard financial calculations.

• If you don't use a computer often, or only for short periods, practice using it for an hour or more at a time.

• Each exam is organized into testlets (groups of multiple-choice testlets, in the order given before you receive the simulations) which are given one at a time.

• While you can review questions at any time during a testlet or simulation, you cannot go back to review questions once you have exited that testlet or simulation.

• While each covers material from the content specification outlines (CSOs), the questions in each testlet are delivered randomly and do not follow the CSO order.

• Review the tutorial and sample tests that are available, without cost, at www.cpa-exam.org.

• The simulations use both a word processor and a spreadsheet application. They are NOT Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. Review the tutorial to understand how to use them.

• You can enter numbers on the online calculator by using the keyboard, or the keypad with the NumLock feature turned on.

Unique exam software features

• You can only copy and paste one paragraph at a time from the automatic literature. It is not possible to highlight specific lines or words; you can only highlight a block of text at a time.

• While the Search feature follows standard search engine functionality, you must scroll down to view all relevant topics returned by a search.

• You must correctly spell the words for which you are searching; you will not receive any search results for incorrectly spelled words.

• There is currently no Back button in the authoritative literature, but you can use the History button to find the last page visited. Click on History to produce a list of (up to) the last 20 page visits. The visits are listed in reverse order, so selecting the topmost entry is like clicking a Back Button.

• For more details, check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the CPA exam website.