Universities’ and academic qualifications have become detached from reality, (specifically in the Arab World), such qualifications do not provide the needed practical experience. Therefore, there is an increasing and continuous need for obtaining international professional certificates. The educational programs focus on theoretical and academic aspects, however, the reality and knowledge change rapidly forcing professionals to keep pace with that dynamic landscape that continuously changes due to fierce competition, the increase in the numbers of graduates, and the decrease in the available opportunities in the labor market. Obtaining an international professional certificate enhances self-confidence and aligns those who hold it with experts and professionals, given that these certificates fuel the skills and personal traits, and ultimately enable the certified individuals of working in the fields they prefer.
During my career as a trainer for many international professional certificates’ courses in accounting and auditing: both internal and external, on top of which the Certified Management Accountant (CMA), the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), the Certified Public Accountant (CPA), the trainees and colleagues have asked me the following question: What is the best study materials for studying?
Unfortunately, most of the comparisons that I read or hear about on the internet are subjective and built on personal experiences in studying only one or at most two study materials.
Out of my experience in teaching more than one study materials for the same professional certificate, I found that each of them has its pros and cons regarding how the contents are presented.
Generally, the study materials that are available in the market are of two types. The type may be detected from the title written on the cover page:
- Preparatory Course: provides an elaborated explanation for the contents. Preparatory courses are built on the assumption that the certification candidate has no prior knowledge of the subject matter; it is suitable for certification candidates with little academic or practical experience, or for those who studied and worked in other fields.
- Review Course: provides a useful brief explanation of the different contents. Review courses are built on the assumption that the certification candidate has prior knowledge of the subject matter, it is suitable for certification candidates who possess an average, or above average, academic or practical experience, or for those who studied and worked in similar fields. Of course, the brief explanation will not fit all sizes, and some will believe that it fails to deliver the subject properly.
In my opinion, selecting the right study materials depends on the following:
- Recentness of the study materials, given that the study materials and subjects on which the exams’ questions focus are dynamic.
- The amount of questions appended to the study materials and their relevance to the contents.
- The depth and diversity of the questions along with the explanations of the model answers and the accuracy of providing reasons for rejecting other unsuitable choices in Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs).
- How do the questions address all the certification contents that could be included in the exam.
- The level of interactive services and technical solutions provided by the study materials developers. Some developers support their study materials with audios/videos, others monitor and provide support to answer the questions, while others administer the questions through interactive training applications that support using cloud solutions and smartphones.
In my opinion, the most essential factor, in order to pass the exams of any professional certificate, is addressing as many questions as possible, regardless of their source, since there is an enormous amount of important information contained in the explanations of the answers to questions. Regarding MCQs, it is necessary to comprehend the reasons behind the answer, why is this particular choice “correct” and why the other choices are “not correct” because each choice (normally four choices) represent a topic or a part of a topic in the subjects of the course. Solving as many questions as you can help you a lot in remembering and affirming the various subjects required for an exam, and will also help you distinguish the nuances among similar subjects, just as the saying goes: if you want to remember, remember to repeat.