Wiley CPA Excel Review

Wiley is a large global provider of professional development and educational materials in a variety of industries including the financial, medical, and other industries.

In 2012, Wiley acquired Efficient Learning Systems and its flagship CPA prep course product, CPAexcel. Wiley relaunched the full Efficient Learning Systems product line in late 2013 as a dedicated online platform utilizing the most advanced technology.

Wiley’s CPAexcel program offers a range of study material packages and products that appeal to self studying students as well as to students that prefer a more in depth and structured review course.

This article will take in depth review of Wiley’s full CPA prep course product line and evaluate each of the major product options.

Wiley’s CPA course comparison

Why Choose Wiley?

Wiley’s CPAexcel platform is known for its focus on technology combined with its efficiently designed study program. This means that its lectures are broken down into smaller bite sized lectures rather than long and extended monologues.

Other notable elements of Wiley CPAexcel include:

Large and in depth test bank.
Instructors with professional university teaching backgrounds.
Efficiently designed section lessons to maximize your learning.
Free access until you pass.
Advanced adaptive learning platform focused on identifying and improving your weaknesses.
Ability to select individual products or purchase multiple products in a bundle.

Wiley’s course options and features make it one of the most popular CPA exam review course options.

Product Bundles

For students that are looking for a more structured study schedule, you have the ability to choose from 3 product bundles that include video based lectures, study notes, and practice questions as a single product package.

Silver Course Bundle

The Silver course option is the lowest priced CPAexcel bundle option. This bundle includes the core study materials without any of the supplemental study products. This course bundle includes:

140 hours of video lectures.
Study notes with 2,000 pages of content.
Online test bank with over 6,000 questions.
Wiley mobile app.
Free access until you pass.

Gold Course Bundle

The gold course bundle is Wiley’s mid range bundle option. This bundle includes a combination of the core study material as well as additional online based tutoring with a Wiley professor.

All course study material included with the Silver Bundle.
Ability to utilize online mentoring and support from a Wiley subject matter professor.

Platinum Course Bundle

The platinum course option offers the most comprehensive product set and features for students looking for a complete study solution.

The Platinum course is available to purchase for individual exam sections or as a combined bundle for all 4 exam sections.

The full bundle includes the core study material as well as additional virtual classroom lectures, extra practice questions (12,000 in total), the Focus Notes, and printed flashcards. The major course features are highlighted below:

140 hours of video based lectures.
Over 2,000 pages of detailed study notes.
12,000 practice questions in the online database.
Bite sized lectures with advanced diagnostics and performance metrics.
Mobile app with full access to all study materials.
Online mentoring from professors.
Focus Notes and printed Flashcards.
Free real-time course updates.
Full course access until you pass.

Wiley Course Options

One of the nice things about Wiley’s CPA prep line is the ability to mix and match products based on your personal needs.

You have the ability to select a tailored product bundle or you can purchase CPA prep products individually. The ability to purchase individual products is ideal for students interested in supplemental practice questions or additional content related to a particular exam section.

We’ll take a look at the individual product options and features.

Compare Wiley’s supplemental course options.

Wiley CPA Study Guide

Wiley’s study notes are a core aspect of the CPA prep curriculum. The study notes are organized into smaller bite sized lectures and cover every aspect of the AICPA blueprint.

The study notes include 4 volumes organized by exam section and cover over 2,000 pages of text. Each section of the material conforms to Wiley’s review course format and structure.

The study notes include:

All material updated twice per year to conform with the most current exam changes.
Includes 2,000 multiple choice questions (approx. 500 per exam section).
Ability to purchase a single exam section or all 4 sections.

Test Bank

Similar to the study notes, you have the ability to purchase the Wiley practice question test bank for a single section of the exam or you can purchase test bank access to all 4 sections of the exam.

If you choose to purchase a single section, your online access is available for 1 year from the date of purchase. If you purchase all 4 sections, you have 2 full years of access to the test bank.

Wiley’s test bank database covers 6,000 multiple choice questions, 200 task based simulation questions, and 3 written communication questions. The test bank includes extensive diagnostics that track your progress by section.

You have the ability to practice by question types and specific content sections or take full length practice tests that simulate real exam conditions. Notable features include:

Ability to access the question bank on your home computer or on your mobile phone or tablet.
Access for up to 2 years if you purchase the combined 4 section bundle.
In depth explanations for every practice question.
Detailed analytics to track your overall progress as well as your progress within individual topic areas.
Extensive database with over 6,000 multiple choice, 200 task based simulations, and 3 written communication questions.

Virtual Classroom Series

Wiley’s virtual classroom series is a comprehensive video based lecture series covering each subject in the CPA exam. The course includes a mix of on demand and live classroom based programs.

One of the most popular features of this option is the ability to watch live lectures and participate in real time in the discussions.

The Virtual classroom series is included with the Wiley Platinum course or as an optional add on to the Gold or Silver courses.
Access the live courses from a home computer or through a tablet or mobile phone.
Ability to connect with other students participating in the same lecture series.

Focus Notes

The final month of your CPA studying is probably the most important. It’s also the most likely point in time where you can suffer burn out and fatigue. This is where Wiley’s focus notes are intended to help.

The Focus Notes offer a highly condensed and efficient method to cover the most important concepts and formulas you will come across on the CPA exam. The notes are designed with an easy to access spiral bound and color coded print hard bound book.

The notes cover important exam tips, formulas ratios, and help you remember using mnemonics and other study tips.

Ideal resource for the final few weeks of your exam prep.
4 books for each section of the exam.
Focuses on strategies and the retention of the most important formulas and concepts.

Flashcards

Flashcards are an incredibly effective way to memorize challenging concepts, ratios, and formulas. Some students find it beneficial to create their own flashcards while other students prefer to use a pre-made format to save time.

Wiley’s flashcards have the benefit of covering the most important topics and sections for all 4 sections of the exam, so you don’t have to spend time guessing what to include in your own flashcards.

Wiley’s flashcards are inexpensive and can be purchased for individual exam sections or as a single bundle of all 4 sections. The flashcards include the following:

1,000 total flashcards (250 for each section)
Ability to purchase all 4 sections at once or individual sections as needed.
Saves you extra time by not having to write out individual flashcards and guess about what topics to include on your flashcards.

Wiley CPAexcel Mobile App

We really like the ability to access your study material remotely through a dedicated app on your phone.

Accessing your study material much easier through a native app rather than trying to access the internet on a smaller sized phone screen.

Wiley’s app is available for both Apple and Android platforms and includes the following features:

Companion app that is linked with Wiley’s primary CPA course bundles.
Access over 140 video based lectures from the app.
Includes over 10,000 practice questions and answer explanations.
All practice questions sync with Wiley’s online course diagnostics.

You can also use all features from the mobile app on a free trial basis to test out the features.

Try out the Free Mobile App