[Anonymous]

Seriously, Is it just me or is this whole exam process utterly ridiculous? I took my first ever exam section of FAR a couple days ago and after the experience I am thinking to myself just how stupid this is. I’m not saying I’m quitting or anything like that, but these accounting boards want us to sit in a chair for 4 hours and try to answer 97 total questions that take me almost 4 hours just to read and understand the question & figure out how to solve it let alone begin actually calculating the question to get the answer. On top of that, they word the questions so poorly that it just adds to the confusion. On top of that, the answer choices are all trying to trick you because they’re all the calculations someone would make if they solved the question the simplest way possible. Why can’t they just reduce the amount of questions or split the test up into more sizable chunks so I can actually understand the ins and outs of the accounting concepts NASBA is testing us on? No, instead I have to make up all of these stupid little mnemonics and abbreviations in my head just in case I have 1 or 2 questions on it during the real exam. About 75% of the formulas and concepts I memorized weren’t even tested. I instead was tested on a lot of questions that weren’t familiar to me and didn’t have time to truly write out and attempt to make t-accounts for anyway. I only have like 2-3 minutes max to solve the hard MCQ’s anyways. I’ll I’m saying is if NASBA is going to test us on stuff that takes more than 2-3 minutes to solve then don’t give us so many questions in the first place because maybe then I would feel good about myself. Is it really that hard to make it a 75 question test and make it 5 Sims instead? What’s the point of so many questions, when no one has enough time to truly understand and figure out the answer without having to guess so much?

Do you want to take a break during your 4 hour exam the screen asks me? Of course I want to take a break, but if I do then any chance I did have to score a 75 is even more unlikely to happen. It’s like someone dangling a nice hot fresh piece of pizza in front of me and asking me if I want to have a snack. If I did have any urge to use the washroom during those 4 hours I was just going to do it right there at my desk. I have way too much time, money, and energy invested in this to take any chances. This is how ridiculous this whole CPA exam experience is.

[Tootsie]

I think the CPA exam is a scam – meaning that the AICPA makes a hell of a lot of money off of it. The exam writers do not know how to write these exams. I realize they want the questions to be challenging, but when you give questions that are poorly worded/ambigous, that's just wrong. In my opinion, the exam does not test your knowledge. If that were the case, we'd all be passing first time around. I think you have to get good at taking the exam (looking at how they test, what the questions are like, etc.). I am getting better at taking the exam and I know I will pass eventually. Just have to keep throwing my money at them though, which really pisses me off. Glad I get reimbursed one round of exams.

FAR - 76
AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
BEC - 76
REG - 77

never, never, never give up

[mla1169]

I am laughing hysterically at “vets with moderate self esteem problems”. I needed a giggle today.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[katiekanton]

@mla

NOT YOU!!!!! 🙂 You're supportive.

@cpaman

They're checking for electronic devices. Think about how to circumvent the exam. You could wear glasses with a tiny embedded camera in them to relay to someone in a van nearby who has a ton of cpa materials and access to the internet who can look up each question. With earplugs with a transmitter inside, they could tell you which answer to pick (which is why you have to smash your earplugs and prove there's nothing in them). You wouldn't even need earplugs. You could wear a wire around your thigh under your pants that pulses according to what the person on the van signals to it. One pulse for A, two for B, etc.

Also, think about being a review material provider. If I were Roger or Becker, I might be tempted to pay people to just carry a micro camera with them on their person so I could see what actual questions are being asked now so I could update my materials quicker than my competition. I'm sure this is the reasoning behind “no large pendants or earrings”.

All the electronic crap we have to go through is to eliminate all that as a possibility. Incidentally, this is also the purpose of the non-disclosure agreement–to prevent the actual live questions and their answers being passed to others.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[Anonymous]

@ anythingoes – I couldn't tell at all if my testlets got harder. They all seemed the same to me which is the first reason I thought I hadn't passed. I had to outright guess on 2 or 3 MCQ's on each section (as in had no clue and couldn't even make an educated guess). There were about 4 MCQ's which I just picked an answer b/c I was spending too much time calculating them. Then when I looked up some answers to conceptual questions in the car right after my exam, I knew I had gotten 4-5 of those wrong.

Moving onto the SIMS, I at least knew what they were asking for in each question and I know I nailed the research. But I ran out of time and left quite a few calculations blank. I was able to at least partially answer each, but I only totally completed 2 of the 6 (and of course the research).

To say I was shocked with my score would be an understatement. These tests have to have a huge curve. Not trying to be negative here, but if I managed to pull an 84 with all of the above things working against me, I can only imagine how much a person with a 75 must have missed. I think my situation proves that they do give scores in comparison to how others did. I studied A LOT (4 months to be exact) so I should have passed (and with how much I studied, probably should have gotten a higher score – lol).

Good luck and try not to think about your score. You might be very surprised on score release day 🙂

[katiekanton]

@apbandj

When did you sit?

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[Anonymous]

@ katie – 11/28/11

[Anonymous]

The CPA exam is not a scam. They just want to make sure that you have the proper knowledge that's safe enough for the protection of the public. Really, the AICPA is only looking out for the public.

Well, that is what the AICPA claims. Whether you think it's true or not is totally up to you….

[katiekanton]

@apbandj

OK. I just took it and it sounded like it was an easier test for me. Was wondering if I could gauge my score from your story. Guess not. Congratulations, by the way. Good to get one down. I had roughly the same experience you had on my AUD section. Studied for 4 months, felt like I got maybe 60% right, and then was shocked when I saw my score. So weird.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[Anonymous]

@katiekanton- Wow, who would go through all that trouble just to cheat? In fact, I think that's more trouble than actually studying, lol.

[Tootsie]

@CPAMan, I understand what you're saying. I think it's a scam because of the ridiculous fees that I have to pay over and over again if I fail. I realize this is a good investment but having rules like I have to test by my NTS date, I can't test within the same window, … is just plain insane. Even if I had the money to pay the fees, I'd still be pissed off. It's just not right.

FAR - 76
AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
BEC - 76
REG - 77

never, never, never give up

[katiekanton]

@CPAMan

I know! 🙂

Although I had a CPA boss once whose spoiled brat son couldn't pass the exam, and I believe they would have tried it if they could.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[mcwingnutz]

I agree that the CPA in general is somewhat of a joke. First off, I am in a state that requires 150 credit hours to sit for the exam. I graduated with 139, and took summer classes after graduation to obtained the remaining 11. The three courses I took were Baseball statistics, health 101, and US history 101. Good thing I took those, because I wouldn't know anything about accounting without them.

Secondly, The CPA exam does not necessarily test you on your knowledge of accounting. It is basically a test of your general ability to retain a lot of information in short amounts of time. When you study for these exams, you are studying simply to pass a test as opposed to learning a subject that will remain with you for a lifetime and translate into your actual job. It's why they call the CPA the “Can't Pass Again” test. I don't think there is a Partner in my firm that could go sit for the CPA right now and pass it. The Becker Lectures even point to the fact that they are training you to pass a test and not necessarily trying to train you to be a good accountant.

And to your question of why some people think Audit is harder than FAR, it is because it is based on concepts. For a lot of the questons that are asked, there aren't right or wrong answers. There are right and “more right” answers. FAR is a lot of information, but a lot of it is math based. There is only one right answer, and if you know the formulas, you know the right answer. Unfortunately, I don't know the formulas and have my FAR test in 2 days.

AUD - 71,81
BEC - 78
REG - 81
FAR - 69, 76 and Done!

[Tootsie]

@mcwingnutz, regarding your second paragraph..totally agree with you!!

FAR - 76
AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
BEC - 76
REG - 77

never, never, never give up

[katiekanton]

@Tootsie

I think CPAman was being sarcastic (I hope so, anyway). Also, what is your picture of? That skyline looks vaguely familiar. The dog is adorable.

AUD - 88
FAR - 90
REG - 85
BEC - 88

[Anonymous]

[Author]

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