Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

THE SEMINARS AND SELF STUDY BOOKS

THE CPA EXAM

ACCOUNTING INSTITUTE SEMINARS (AIS)

You can reach Accounting Institute Seminars® toll free at (800) 635-9442 Monday through Friday from 9 to 5 Mountain time. The regular phone number is (208) 233-3222 and the fax number is (208) 234-2154. The mailing address is: Accounting Institute Seminars®, P.O. Box 4520, Pocatello, Idaho 83205-4520.

Why do you schedule so many classes in Dallas instead of coming to my city with your seminar?

We find that hotel rates and the cost of airline tickets influence where people are willing to travel for the seminar. In most cities we haven't found any hotels with quiet meeting rooms, with reasonable sleeping room rates, that are in nice neighborhoods with plenty of restaurants nearby, and are near a convenient low cost airport.

The Dallas hotel is between the two major airports in Dallas, DFW and Love Field. It is very easy to fly to and many airlines compete strongly with low fares to Dallas. People from other parts of the country prefer the lower costs of Dallas to higher costs in other cities. It isn't our preference that determines where we schedule classes - it is the locations people request, and the requests are for Dallas. You can REQUEST A COURSE. Just E-MAIL your preferred city, dates. and sections to

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I'm uncomfortable in big classes. How many people are in your seminars?

We try to keep our classes small by offering more courses nearby if needed. Every course we've offered so far for the computerized exam has had fewer than 25 students in the classroom.

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Why are most of your courses offered over a weekend?

Most of the people who take our seminars work during the week. We search out hotels with quiet, comfortable meeting rooms. Those hotels often offer lower weekend sleeping room rates to fill empty rooms. People who fly to the course usually find fares are lower if they stay over a Saturday night. Those who wish to rent a car find weekend rates are lower than during the week. The combination of these factors lowers the cost to those attending the course significantly.

I have taken another CPA review several times and just cannot seem to get those extra few points I need to pass. I have put a lot of time into working problems that do not appear on the exam. It seems like your course provides less problem solving and better results. Please give me your philosphy on how this course works for someone in my situation.

The AIS difference is simple. We feel that the author of the course, in person, can do a better job helping you understand the material tested on the CPA exam than a hired hand or a video.

Many other courses try and teach you everything that has ever appeared on the exam, no matter how unlikely it is to appear again. We try to focus our course on understanding the rules behind the items most likely to appear on this exam, without memorizing the answers to thousands of old questions they won't ask again.

The exam has changed since it became secured. They use computer technology to keep track of how many people miss questions, so they know which questions are out there in the study materials. They don't ask questions everyone has memorized.

I believe you got right to the point of our course "less problem solving and better results." We do use some questions in our course and give you some for homework. But most are questions we've made up ourselves to illustrate how we think the current rules will be tested, and to improve your understanding of the rules. Once you have that understanding in your mind, it doesn't matter what tack they take in asking about the rule. You can reason out the answer on the exam.

When you compare CPA review courses, ask yourself who will be teaching the class, the author of the course, or a hired presenter? The author of the course will be with AIS.

Ask yourself who will be at the course to answer your questions. The author of the course will be with AIS.

Ask yourself who will answer e-mail questions you send while studying outside of class. The author of the course will with AIS.

Remember if you decide the seminar isn't what you need, you can turn in your workbook during the first two hours and we will be happy to refund 100% of the course fee. Very few people take advantage of that. And typically, when they do, the reason is the illness of a child or parent - and that person is in the front row of the class a few weeks later.

Should I take the seminar early or right before I'm scheduled to sit for the exam?

The people who do the best study the workbook after the seminar and before the exam. An average of 2-3 hours per day of concentrated study in a quiet place works best. Those who do that identify their own important weaknesses in the course and have time to address those weaknesses. Working the homework and studying the summaries reinforces what people learned in the course so they find it easier to recall in the exam.

We ask people in our courses who have taken the exam previously for their scores before and after our course, and compare to find the increase in score. Consistently, when we've done a linear regression, people who sit for the exam one to two weeks after the seminar have the highest improvement over their previous exam scores.

On the other hand, we have had people in our seminar who had been studying hard on their own and who scheduled their exam the day after that section of the seminar. They told us the intense last-minute review worked very well for them.

Should I take the seminar or study the self study books?

The people who enroll in the seminar are usually very busy and short of time. They tell us the hours spent in the seminar are by far the most productive hours of their limited study program.

People who have plenty of time to study them carefully find our self study books can add more points to their score than just taking the seminar. That works best for people who are "self-starters" who can stick to a rigorous study schedule.

The seminar communicates test-taking strategy better since we can answer your questions and illustrate specific suggestions in person, things which are difficult to do in a book.

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When I call the AIS office, who will I talk to?

When you call AIS you will probably talk to Yvette or Jenn. They are very good at answering most non-technical questions and getting books to people by Federal Express anywhere in the world. They aren't accountants. If you call on weekends or after working hours you can leave your number on the voice mail and the office will call you back.

If you would like to ask Yvette questions via email you can reach her at

Please don't send credit card numbers in e-mail messages. Such messages are not secure from prying eyes in route.

When will the seminar workbooks be ready to ship?

The seminar workbooks are rewritten after each exam window for the next series of seminars. To be sure the workbook is as up to date as possible for the next exam, the workbook isn't finalized until the office starts shipping. The initial shipment of seminar workbooks for each two month exam window is scheduled for two weeks before that window.

How much out of course study time is required for the seminar?

It is helpful (but not required by any stretch of the imagination) to read the summaries before the course. People who are able to do so are better able to keep up with the fast pace of the course. To read the summaries takes 10 - 15 hours per section. Many people have taken the course right before the exam and gone on to pass without having time to do more than read the summaries before the exam. The instructors don't embarrass people by putting them on the spot during the course. The instructor is there to help them, not to make them feel uncomfortable.

Those who take the course the last week before their exam is scheduled sometimes find they don't have time to do all the reading and homework they would like unless they started early. It is in a person's best interest to sign up and receive their workbook well in advance.

Is it safe to register for the seminar on-line?

About 45% of seminar enrollments are on-line. None of the people who have registered on-line have reported any problem. Our course evaluation asks people how they were treated when they contacted our office, and most people who registered on-line said they had no reason to contact the office and liked the on-line registration experience.

Our on-line registration uses a secure server. You can tell if a server is encrypted to safeguard your credit card number. Look at the "Address" in your web browser. If it starts with "https://" the server is encrypted. The "s" means it is a secure, encrypted server.

If you are uncomfortable sending your credit card number over the Internet, you might prefer to print our registration form, then fax the completed form to the office. Like on-line registration, you can do that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere.

What are your in-house courses?

Our in-house courses are in the meeting rooms of firms, companies, and government agencies. When they have a number of people ready to sit for a particular exam section we will teach a class in their office. Those classes aren't open to the public since they are usually taught over a weekend in an office where security is a significant issue.

Our minimum number of students in a section is ten. Because the firm provides the meeting room and handles the registration we are able to offer the class at a cost of 80% the normal course fee. Some CPA firms have wanted the class even though they had fewer than ten people ready to take a section. They invited employees of clients who are sitting for the exam to take the class at no charge. The firm paid the minimum fee for ten people in any case, so there was no extra cost to the firm. The goodwill from those additional people was apparent throughout the class.

If you'd like a proposal for an in-house class at your firm call us at 800-635-9442 (weekdays 9 to 5 Mountain Time) or send an e-mail to YvetteH at with location, approximate dates, exam sections, and number of people.

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Is there a way to fly to the course without spending so much?

Southwest Airlines flies to airports near several seminar locations They generally charge less than the traditional air carriers by not serving meals, packing people in, laughing a lot, and keeping their jets extremely busy with lots of flights. They try to save the commission airlines pay travel agents by encouraging passengers to buy their tickets directly from the airline. They continue to expand.

I passed two exam sections, and scored 74 and 72 on the others. Your course sounds like just what I need, but we have a new baby and are buying a home - there just isn't enough money in our budget. I work for one of the big firms and they expect lots of overtime, so I don't have time for dedicated self study. What should I do?

Many firms are happy to pay the cost of the seminar if it keeps their bright stars concentrating on work instead of being distracted with study for the exam. If your firm won't pay it all maybe they will cover part of the cost. Your scores are very close to passing. If your firm won't help with the cost, you might consider taking just one section of the seminar. The strategy you learn for approaching the exam will apply to the other section as well.

Can I show up at the door and sign up for the course just before it starts?

Our first priority is to try and help those people pass the exam who sign up and start studying early. We can help them more than people who haven't done advance preparation. As a result, we don't reserve seats in advance for others.

If possible, please call our office weekdays between 9 and 5 Mountain Time at 800.635.9442 or e-mail Yvette at so your materials will be available.

I was planning on attending the review seminar but the schedules appear to conflict with my religious convictions. How can I make up for classes held between sundown Friday to sundown Saturday?

We've had people with similar restrictions who wanted to take the class before. Some chose not to take our seminar sections offered on their religious day. Instead, they used our self study books.

Others came to the course, and listened to the lectures, but didn't take notes or work questions. They did those later.

Where is AIS going to be offering seminars for the next exam window?

We would like to have seminars just down the block from everyone who sends in a request, but Ken Smith and Al Francisco (the course authors) teach all the classes in person. There just aren’t enough weeks in the year for us to teach an in-person course for everyone who requests a class. Because of this, almost everyone who takes our seminar has to travel. We hope you find it convenient to join the others flying in Thursday or Friday and back out Sunday evening! You can REQUEST A COURSE. Just E-MAIL your preferred city, dates and sections to
AIS seminar locations are those most requested by people who would like to take the seminar. Many people take the exam late in a testing window so they don't have to wait as long for scores. Because of that we generally offer courses on Friday/Saturday/Sunday during the first six weeks of each window.

Information about seminar locations for the next exam window appears on the web page at www.AIS-CPA.com as soon as locations have been selected. Recently Boise, Dallas, Nashville, and Houston have been most requested. People tell us they like these cities because:

• They are very easy and affordable to fly to – Southwest has a hub at each.
• There are many restaurants near the hotel.
• The sleeping room rates are quite reasonable compared to many other cities.

We also offer in-house CPA exam review courses for staff members of firms and corporations. Let us know with an e-mail to the address above with location, approximate dates, exam sections, and number of people if you'd like a proposal.

Since you schedule courses based on the number of e-mail requests you receive, couldn't I just request the same course in the same city with several of my various e-mail addresses?

You could, and people have done that, but you probably don't want to. A lady in Nashville used several e-mail addresses to request a section there, and we taught it. But we had recently taught the same section there, so few other people were interested. She was one of two people in the class and both of them found it difficult to ask questions and stay alert for the entire class. People get much more out of the class when it is the normal 10 or 15 people and they can learn from each other. They can also share the jobs of asking questions and interacting with the instructor.

How much is your discount for students and can I sign up for just part of a seminar section at a reduced price?

We offer a 15% discount for people who have taken a section of the seminar to repeat that section provided they register at least a week in advance to repeat. There is no other discount. The price is the same whether you attend part or all of a section because your seat is not available to other students during the time you are there. We do make paper and electronic (for download to your computer) self study books available for people who are unable to attend our in-person seminar. For details, see the self study books.

I'm having trouble reading your self study review e-books.

We did too! It quickly became evident we were using an out-of-date version of the free Acrobat reader. The updated version worked wonderfully. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Here is help in downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader, and reading the E-books.

You offer a 15% discount for people who have previously taken a section of your seminar to repeat that section, but only if they enroll at least a week in advance to repeat. Why can't I just show up at the seminar and still get the discount?

The purpose of the discount is to encourage people to enroll in advance so the office can prepare their workbook and ship it to them. The instructor at the course should be spending time answering your study questions and helping you learn the material, not enrolling other people in the class and preparing workbooks for them. The instructors at the seminar do not have access to the information necessary to grant a repeat discount. That information on prior courses is available only in the office.

Why do you stop taking seminar enrollments and turn people away when the meeting room fills instead of finding a larger meeting room that will accommodate the additional people?

The quality of the course is the reason. We estimate future seminar enrollments in various cities based on past enrollments, then we look for a meeting room that will hold that many people comfortably. The most important criteria is that the meeting room be quiet, so that everyone in the room can see the screen and can hear the instructor clearly. We also consider the ease with which people can drive and fly to that location. Very few hotels have a larger, quiet, comfortable, meeting room available at the last minute. Once we find enrollments are larger than we had anticipated, it isn't fair to ask all the people who have already made plans to attend the meeting at that hotel to change to another hotel for the convenience of a few people who decide to sign up at the last minute.

Have you thought about using one of the on-line meeting platforms to do an online interactive class for those cities where you don’t go but have requests?