Carolyn’s Dilemma

Carolyn Jones was a recent accounting graduate who wanted to take the Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam. Like many others who studied for the CPA exam, Carolyn looked for resources to help her prepare. She soon discovered companies that provided review programs and materials charged hefty prices for their services. She knew that she was not the only one who had faced this issue, so she asked some of her classmates how they dealt with it. A few said that they had purchased resources together and shared them. Another said she had bought resources provided by Becker Professional Education—one of the leading companies for these resources—from a third party she found online for less than a quarter of what Becker charged. These both seemed like possible solutions to Carolyn’s problem, but she had concerns about them, especially purchasing the resources from another source. Would they be accurate? Would they be up to date? Would it be ethical? Could there be other consequences associated with purchasing these materials from a third party? These were all issues Carolyn needed to consider as she decided what she should do.