Jason overcame failure and discouragement. Today he is a CPA.

After taking a tax job in public accounting, I knew my career would be greatly enhanced by taking the CPA Exam and obtaining my CPA license. I bought a CPA Review course and went to work on Regulation in the fall of 2007.

My friends, family, and co-workers all thought that since I was “smart”, I would easily pass the CPA Exam.

This was not the case. Studying for the four or five precious hours after work for a month was brutal, and my study program and I were not getting along.

I kept my outward confidence high by telling everyone I was doing well in studying, but internally, I had serious doubts about my possible success.

I felt like an island.

My wife understood my frustrations, but I could not adequately explain to her the complexity and depth of this exam. After a month of studying, and feeling semi-prepared, I took Regulation. A month later I received a failing score of 66. Discouraged, I went back to studying with even less motivation than before.

I felt like a prisoner being sentenced to my guest bedroom to study each night after work. After another month of studying, I sat for REG again.

I then began to study for BEC. Two weeks into my study regimen for BEC, I received my Regulation score.

68. It was time to quit studying and regroup.

Failing Regulation twice, wasting more than two months of study time, two sets of exam fees, and getting nowhere fast.

I took the remainder of winter 2008 off from studying to work 60+ hours a week in public accounting. I took the summer off as well to recover from tax season.

Then fall came, and I signed up for a different study course which better suited my study methods. I started taking another CPA Review course with my older brother who had recently begun taking the exam.

It was here I had my turning point. I had someone who understood what I was going through (my brother), a quality CPA review program which suited me, and great motivation to conqueror this exam.

I believe that there are three things you must have to pass this exam.

You must have: 1. A good CPA Review course, 2. Someone who knows what you’re going through and can relate to your experience, and 3. Most importantly, an uncompromising desire to succeed and motivation to do what it takes to achieve four passing grades.

I studied during the holiday season of 2008. I was discouraged at times because I always had the CPA Exam on my mind.

Overall, I had a positive attitude, but I questioned whether I could actually do it.

I attacked my first section, Auditing and Attestation, in January 2009. Then, it was time for my nemesis, Regulation.

I scored an 81 on both sections!

I next found another71.com while I was studying for BEC, which gave me even more positive reinforcement.

I immediately took advantage of the CPA Exam Forum and read topics like “need motivation”, and “failed multiple times, help!” saying aloud, “That’s exactly how I feel!”

Until I read another71.com, I thought I was the only one who struggled with failing multiple sections and it took the edge off of studying.

I then took BEC with a confidence not felt since beginning the exam process. My efforts paid off in early August 2009 with a 78. With only Financial Accounting and Reporting to go, I was on my way to a CPA.

FAR is the head of the beast, with a recommended 150+ hours of study time, it’s a brutal exam. However, I was determined to pass it.

Every day, I would come home from work and study from 5:30pm until 10pm, and repeat this process for the next day/week/month.

No longer was I prisoner sentenced to study in my guest bedroom. I felt a sense of empowerment and control over my circumstances and I knew that I was going to PASS FAR.

October 27th came and I took my exam. I left the testing center feeling defeated.

I actually told the test administrator I’d see him again in January. I almost began studying again for my anticipated re-take in Jan. 2010. I checked the message boards on Another71.com daily. Jeff said a technical problem had been fixed and audit scores were being posted on NASBA’s website. On a lark, I checked to see if FAR scores had also been posted. I already had the website up from earlier in the day so I hit F5 to refresh.

An 85 came on my screen.

Shocked, I jumped out of my chair and broke the silence of my workplace yelling, “I did it!”

Everyone congratulated me, and I smiled for days. I’m done with the CPA exam; I’ll receive my certification in a few weeks. As I look back on the nearly two year odyssey of this process, I find that I could not have done it without my wife, brother, family, and friends who understood that, in essence, my second job was this exam.

My wife was especially encouraging, knowing that the CPA exam is very stressful and time consuming. She helped me find my motivation, and once I had my motivation, I never lost it.

Anyone can pass this exam. Just have someone you can relate to (fellow CPA Exam candidates at another71.com), a CPA Review course you believe in, and an uncompromising attitude to set yourself up to succeed.

Good luck to you,

Jason – Tennessee
“MacPass” on the CPA Exam Forum

If you have a CPA Exam success story you would like to share, please e-mail it to jeff@another71.com.

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I am definitely not your traditional student. After getting pregnant at 19 and married at 21, I never completed college. (To be honest, I never really started. I finished about 18 credits at the local community college.) Life continued. 4 more babies came along. I worked odd jobs, but never felt satisfied. Then a life changing event happened. We had relocated from NY to Pennsylvania for my husband’s job. We bought our first house, and then, my husband was let go with no warning. There we were, in Pittsburgh, with 5 kids, a mortgage and no source of income.

I was able to get a full-time job in mortgage collections for the medical benefits, but it bothered me that I was unable to make enough money to support my family when I needed to. At that moment I decided that was never going to happen to us again. I was going to go to college, and get my CPA by the time I was 40.

We moved back to New York and I attended the local community college and then a local private university. I graduated in May 2008. I got a terrific job as a Special Auditor/Investigator investigating Medicaid Fraud. That gave me just over 2 years to complete my mission of becoming a CPA by 40. I decided failure was not an option for me. I was not paying for any section more than once, and I never wanted to say the words “I failed” out loud.

I followed my review course for my first section, AUD. I watched the lectures, did every multiple choice question, the final exams and all the simulations. (It is very important that I note that I could not have done any of this without my husband. From the moment I started studying for this exam, he picked up all the slack. I would study at the clubhouse and he would bring me lunch and snacks. He did the grocery shopping, ran the kids around and cooked dinner. He went to family functions with the kids. He was amazing and supportive and I know I couldn’t have done it without him!!)

When I sat for the first part of the exam on Feb. 13, 2009, I was a wreck. I vomited in the parking lot just before my exam, and when I left, I cried in the car. I felt like a complete failure. I prepared myself for the worst, but hoped for the best.

Thankfully, I had found another71 just when I started the process. I knew how the score release worked and when the AICPA released the AUD scores, I could barely function. In March, NASBA was still posting in the early AM. My husband got up for work at 4:45 am, checked my score and then came up and rubbed my back. The way he rubbed, I thought I failed. He didn’t say, “Honey, you passed!!” Instead, he said “Honey, your score is posted.” I ran down, hit F5 and there it was: 81!!! I couldn’t believe it. I passed!!!!!! It was an amazing feeling and it definitely gave me the boost I needed to continue my studying.

I studied the same way for REG. I took the exam April 3, 2009. I wasn’t as nervous that time, and there was no vomiting in the parking lot. I didn’t feel like I nailed the REG exam, but I didn’t feel as bad as I did for AUD. I thought to myself that if I felt that awful for AUD and passed, I must have passed. It was hard waiting for the score, especially since I scheduled BEC for May 15, and couldn’t focus on studying. When the grades were posted, I got an 82! Two down, two to go. The pressure on me started to increase. My coworkers knew I passed the first two, first try and while they were happy for me, I felt there was a part of them that wanted me to fail.

I thought BEC was the least difficult of the exams. I love math and word problems and BEC was all those type of questions. When I took BEC, I knew I passed. I was actually surprised that I only got an 83.

Lastly, I had FAR. My brother was getting married, the kids were out of school and it was very distracting. I fell into the trap that I had avoided up to now: I allowed too much time from beginning to test date. After starting to study June 1st, I scheduled my exam for August 3, 2009. But I wasn’t ready. I hate Financial Accounting and journal entries. I hadn’t finished studying the way that had worked for me the other three times.

I postponed to the 5th, but I still wasn’t ready. I couldn’t focus, couldn’t study. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken FAR first. The class I signed up for was ARBF, and that is what I did. I was just drained and tired of studying. I postponed until October 10 (NTS expiring) and decided to take the month of August off and start fresh in September. But that isn’t really who I am and it bothered me that I had given up.

We had a family BBQ scheduled for the last weekend in August, but then it looked like we were going to get hit by Hurricane Danny. I canceled the BBQ and decided if I checked Prometric and there was an appointment available for the 31st, I was going to take off from work, study for the next 5 days and get this freaking test over with. I checked, there was a 4 pm appointment and I signed up. I studied 12 hours a day for the next 5 days, but went to the exam feeling I wasn’t prepared.

I felt good on the MCQ, but bombed the sims. For one of the communications, I was asked to explain something to my boss. I drew a complete blank and thought to myself, what would I do in real life??? So I wrote that unfortunately I didn’t know the answer to his question, but I would get back to him tomorrow. As I wrote that, I knew I failed. After passing the first three parts, I was going to have to say I failed a part. It was horrible, but at least the wait for scores wasn’t too long. On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, I came home at 8:40 pm, walked up to my computer, pressed F5 and waited for my failing score to appear. Instead, I saw an 81. I though great, I put in my AUD launch code, but no, it was my FAR score: 81!!! I was done.

I have had a grin on my face for the last three days. I can’t believe I finished the exam. I will have my two years experience on July 11, 2010. I turn 40 on 9/11/2010. My goal to be a CPA by forty will be reality. I will never again have to wonder if I am able to support my family.

-Phyllis from New York

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The first two days at NASBA’s National CPE Expo have been outstanding. The event itself is first-rate all the way around and you can tell that hundreds of hours went into preparing for the inaugural CPE Expo.

Facilities:
The Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center is located right on the San Antonio Riverwalk. So, when your CPE session has a break and you step outside, you’re right by the water. This isn’t your typical stuffy convention center.

Food:
Conference attendees get breakfast and lunch served to them and I thought the food was quite good. It’s not your typical bagel and cereal continental breakfast…it’s an actual hot meal with fruit and whatever else you would typically want. The lunches are on the lighter side with a salad and sandwich or wrap.

Exhibits:
The exhibit hall was well attended by the typical names that you could think of in the CPE business and there were a lot of accounting product-related exhibits as well. On Monday, NASBA hosted a happy hour when the exhibit hall was first opened to attendees. I had an opportunity to meet a lot of people around the industry.

Sessions:
The selection of CPE courses was broad and I was able to pick some that are relevant to my career, which is somewhat hard to do since I really don’t work in accounting anymore.

My two favorite sessions were the Federal Tax Update and the class on the major differences between IFRS and GAAP. I liked the Federal Tax Update class because the instructor was engaging and walked around the room and interacted with the class. He didn’t stand a lectern and go through power point slides. He didn’t even use a power point presentation. The class was given a binder with the outline of his lecture and he walked us through today’s current events and how they affect taxpayers.

The class on IFRS vs GAAP was educational and head-spinning all at once. The instructor has consulted businesses on IFRS in over 30 countries and she definitely seemed to be the right person for the course. IFRS is principles-based and GAAP is rules-based. The US has a big learning curve ahead of it if IFRS is adopted.

I am taking a CPE class on IFRS implementation next.

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I am in San Antonio, Texas attending the NASBA National CPE Expo. The event takes place Monday, September 21 – Wednesday, September 23 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center near the San Antonio Riverwalk.

Since I passed the CPA Exam in October 2008, I need 50 prorated hours of Accounting CPE by next June.

The conference starts Monday morning and the two Monday sessions I plan on attending are:

“Federal Tax Update Part 1 (Individuals)” and “Overview of Most Common Taxpayer and Tax Preparer Penalties“.

I am will be covering the event via Twitter as well. You can read more about that by visiting NASBA’s press release here.

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I will be attending NASBA’s National CPE Expo in San Antonio, TX from September 21 – 23. After passing the CPA Exam in 2008, I have until June 2010 to fulfill my prorated accounting continuing education requirements to keep my CPA license current. The three-day event will net me 22 hours of CPE.

There are some very interesting courses offered at the Expo, but in particular I’m looking forward to the 8 hour session that breaks down the comparison between IFRS and GAAP.

I assume that most of another71.com readers are CPA candidates and don’t yet have to worry about CPE, but if anyone is attending the Expo, e-mail me at jeff@another71.com and we can meet for a cold beverage.

Read more about NASBA’s National CPE Expo.

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The CPA exam has been the bane of my existence for the past 7 years. I am wondering if I am the only person who took the exam under the ‘old’ method. However, if I can pass it, you can too. If you are one of those amazing students who passed the exam on the first try right out of college, then you probably don’t want to hear what I have to say. Regardless, here is my ‘success’ story:

I graduated from college in Illinois in May 2002 with my 150 credit hours. Ten of those credit hours were for a CPA review course that I took my last semester. Unfortunately, I was too busy having fun with my friends, anticipating graduation, and moving to Chicago to start a job in September to do any actual studying. Back then, the exam was still under the old format where you tested for two days straight in a huge room with proctors walking around. I took the exam the week before graduation, and needless to say, I bombed. I am looking at my exam score history right now, and they don’t even show scores back that far.

I started the new job in Chicago, and didn’t even consider taking the exam again. Boyfriends, going out with friends, the gym, or work always came first. In 2003, I moved to Baltimore, MD for a new start and to be closer to my family. Again, taking the exam was not a priority.

I started noticing my coworkers taking the exam, so I took REG in the fall of 2004. I bought Bisk software and I got a 62. I think I barely cracked a book. Luckily, my company did not pressure me to take the exam. I was still progressing in the firm, and learning a lot of new skills. Getting practical real-world experience definitely helped me eventually pass.

Even though I knew I wasn’t taking the exam in the next couple years, I was still feeling pressure from myself to do so. I didn’t know why I couldn’t just get serious and get it over with and why other people around me seemed to pass it with ease.

In early 2007, I ordered some updated Bisk books and took AUD (67). In August 2007, I sat for BEC and scored a 63. Again, studying was usually the last thing on my list, and at this point I was just going through the motions of taking the test and not taking it seriously at all.

Around Thanksgiving 2007, I got lucky. I took AUD and got an 82. I was ecstatic! I told myself that this would give me the momentum to pass the other parts and that I had proven to myself that it could be done. Never mind that auditing is 75% of my job and this definitely helped me pass with just a little cramming.

In early 2008, tax season had arrived so there was no way that I was studying for the next four months. After tax season I wanted my free time back, which meant – again, no studying. Besides, I had passed my first section! I had 18 months to worry about the last three.

In May 2008, I took BEC for the second time and scored a 67. I took BEC again in July 2008 and got a 72. I was not studying nearly enough, and I still never turned down an opportunity to hang out with friends or do something fun. In addition, my boyfriend and I were doing a complete renovation of our house, which I always used as an excuse.

I decided that I needed a break from BEC, so I took REG in August 2008. I had already planned a weeklong vacation with friends at a lake house in Michigan, but I still scheduled the exam for right after the vacation. I figured I would be able to study at a relaxed pace while we were at the lake. What a joke! I studied maybe an hour the whole time, even though I brought all my books and study materials. I scored a 50, my new all-time low.

In October 2008, I decided to attempt BEC again since I was 3 points away last time. I ended up scoring a 71. I questioned if I really wanted to pass the CPA Exam and was thinking that maybe public accounting wasn’t for me. Just the mention of ‘CPA’ would put my stomach in knots. My parents even told me if I passed they would give me a nice ‘bonus’. It sounded like a sweet deal, but it would be irrelevant until I put my mind to it and got really serious about passing.

At this point I realized that I could potentially lose credit for AUD, so I had to come up with a plan. It was November 2008 and tax season was quickly approaching. Plus, my credit for AUD expired at the end of May 2009.

Most of my coworkers were using Becker software with success, so I borrowed the final review for REG from somebody. Using just the final review, and doing a good amount of cramming, I managed to pass REG with an 84 in November 2008.

Celebrating ensued, the holidays were here. Now that I had two sections under my belt it meant that the promotion they had promised me at work was attainable.

I did have enough foresight to realize that I would have to study during tax season if I wanted to pass the last two sections without losing my credit. Renovations at our house were complete, and I had a nice desk and study area set up and ready to go. About this time is when I discovered Another 71. I read Jeff’s story and finally felt like I had someone I could relate to.

I called Yaeger that day and ordered the cram for BEC and the Home Study for FAR. I scheduled BEC for the Friday after April 15 (our office is always closed that Friday), and I had a plan. I started cramming in mid-March for BEC, and it was the hardest month of my life.

Working 60 hour weeks and then trying to find 15 hours or so per week to study was not easy. I was not confident when I left the exam, but I had to step right into FAR, as I was taking that on 5/23/09 – 3 days before my credit for AUD was due to expire, and 1 day before my boyfriend and I would leave for vacation for two weeks in Turkey. After all, I needed a reward for all the studying I was doing, and something to look forward to!

I didn’t plan on checking my BEC score before taking FAR or leaving for vacation. If I failed, I just didn’t want to know and I would deal with it when I got back home. I had so much anxiety about checking the scores online, that I had my boyfriend change my password so I wouldn’t have to worry about it and wouldn’t get distracted from studying for FAR. Neurotic much?

He logged onto my account to change the password, and called me at work. He said “I don’t need to change it, because you passed!” I can’t describe the euphoria! I got a 75, and now the end was actually in sight. If I could just pass FAR I had a chance at actually being done with the CPA Exam forever.
I planned out each day of studying and how many hours I would need to get in based on what Yaeger recommends for FAR, which is around 100 hours.

I scheduled out enough hours to allow myself approximately 75, but I ended up studying only 50 hours or so. I would usually do a couple hours of studying after work, and then 5-8 hours each day on the weekends – more than I had ever studied before.

I tried not to make plans with friends and basically shut myself off from the world for those few weeks. I figured it was a long shot that I would pass both sections before the 5/26/09 deadline, but it was now or never and the ball was in my court. After leaving the testing center on May 23, I did not feel confident because I finished FAR 15 minutes early. However, it was an immense relief to go away on vacation and not have to worry about the test until I got back.

Fast forward to last week: I knew from Jeff’s predictions that the FAR results would be coming out soon. My boyfriend ended up changing the password for me. Am I the only one who feels like I will have a heart attack waiting for the web page to load with my score? I just couldn’t do it. Well, I ended up with an 80! It still doesn’t seem real – that I FINALLY passed the exam after 7 ridiculously drawn out years.

For what it’s worth, I do have some tips that helped me finally pass:
1. Do not underestimate BEC. Everyone I know has scored the lowest on it, even though at first glance it looks to be one of the easier sections since there is no simulation. I am ashamed to admit it took me 5 times to finally pass it, and I only got a 75. I kept taking it thinking it was the ‘easy’ section.

2. You can pick “A”, but only if you’re sure. I never knew this little secret until picking up Yaeger. “A” is the most frequently chosen wrong answer on the exam.

3. Don’t take the exam until you are absolutely ready to devote your free time and commit to a study plan. It’s a waste of time otherwise. I wasted money and time taking sections of the exam when I had not studied adequately, and I was just going through the motions.

4. Don’t compare yourself to the people around you. I felt so much shame that all these new college graduates were passing the exam on their first try. Everyone is different, and works at their own pace.

5. Develop a study plan and stick to it. I made an excel spreadsheet with my study hours on it to keep track. It felt good to know that I was staying on track, or that I could get my 2 hours in at night and then have a little relaxation after that. If I hadn’t done that, I would have felt overwhelmed and would be thinking that I needed to study every waking hour (which would not have happened).

6. Note cards are helpful, but I also made a “cheat sheet” for the last day or two of cramming before the test. If you don’t have a photographic memory (I don’t), I found this to be very useful. I would get into the exam and scribble down formulas I had memorized from my cheat sheet, and this definitely helped me during the test.

7. Celebrate with your family and friends when you pass, you earned it. We went through two bottles of champagne the night I found out! The best thing about passing is that you never have to take it again!

-Leigh

Have you passed the CPA Exam and would like to share your experience? If so, e-mail it to another71cpa@gmail.com. Please include a picture if at all possible.

See also:

• Karen from Tennessee
• Todd from Missouri
• Daniel from New Jersey

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This post is from a series called “My CPA Exam Story” and is a chance for candidates to pass on their experience to others in hope of encouraging them and to share insights learned along the way. If you have a story to share, e-mail it to jeff@another71.com. Submissions with pictures will get posted first. Don’t forget to tell me what state you’re from. I will only post your first name.

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I am amazed and humbled that there are people who pass this exam the first time and study less than 100 hours a section. My experience was not so pleasant. However, I believe it’s just as important to share the struggles and the horror stories as it is to share the heroic success stories. When people ask me for advice I reply that I can tell them all about what not to do when it comes to the CPA exam.

I passed my first section (BEC) in May of 2007. I spent the rest of the summer studying for FAR whenever I had free time at work. But every night when I got home, there were friends at my house and I didn’t have the discipline to go to the library and study. Almost every weekend I was at the lake wakeboarding instead of locked in my room with the books.

My FAR date went from July 7th to August 7th to October 17th before I finally got tired of procrastinating and decided to go ahead and take it. 67. It was the first of three failing FAR scores. At this point I had already put in at least 100 hours of studying,b ut it wasn’t focused, productive studying. By the time I reached chapter 3 I had forgotten chapter 1.

Oh well, FAR was behind me for the time being. I decided to squeeze Audit in by November 30th because I’m an auditor and thought it would be easy. Three weeks of studying for 4 or 5 hours a day. Fail. I received my 64 on Christmas Eve. Not happy.

Before I knew it, busy season is in full swing and I’m in California for a 6 week audit. Sure I could have studied in the hotel on the weekends but how many times is a TN girl in CA, right? When I returned from Cali in April I decided to get serious. I gave up TV for five weeks (except for The Office) and studied during every spare second I had.

I took the exam on May 22nd… 72. Ok, this sucks but I’m not ready to give up yet. Study all June and all July. FAR take 3 on August 5th. I walk into the room, sit down at the computer and start scribbling down some mnemonics and formulas before I press go. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of entering my launch code in the midst of my scribbling. I’m about to press begin when a box comes up saying my session has been terminated.

There is nothing the Prometric people can do to get it started again. A $130 seat fee and 3 weeks later my launch code is reopened and I can schedule a new testing day. The only day available is August 21st, three days from now. I take the next 3 days off work and studied about 15 hours a day.

Sometime in mid-September I received my score- 69. I was at work and I couldn’t fight back the tears. It was awful. For those of you keeping track, it is now September of 2008. I have one section passed and my 18 months expire November 30th. I was so close to giving up. I thought, this is not meant to be, I need to consider a new career path, I’m not smart enough…

I decided to give everything I had for the next 3 months. Until this point I had been using a combination of Becker and Gleim. Having been out of school for 5 years, I was having trouble understanding the concepts and hoping that I could get by on just memorizing lists.

Thanks to Jeff I had heard wonderful things about Yaeger and thought I might as well try it. I bought the Cram DVD for REG, FAR and Audit and took REG October 10, Audit November 7th and FAR November 26th. I studied harder than ever and prayed more than ever. Right before Christmas of 2008 I received the best present of my life. I passed all three.

The CPA is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It took me almost two years and over 1000 hours of studying. This is my advice:

1. Do not give up! If I can do it, anyone can. No matter how many tries it takes, do not quit.

2. You have to make sacrifices. Be prepared for friends to be mad at you. The worst part isn’t the studying, it’s knowing your life is going on all around you and you’re not a part of it. If you make the commitment and sacrifice at the beginning then the period of having no life will not last as long.

3. Don’t be in a rush. If you’re not ready it’s so much better to pay the $35 and give yourself a few more weeks than to pay $190 and have to wait 2 or 3 months.

4. Make your own flashcards. Determine what you need to have memorized cold and put it on a notecard. This is the best way to be sure you have something memorized.

5. When you read the text or your notes ask yourself what the examiners could ask you about this topic. When you answer a multiple choice question, think about how the question could be turned around to try and trick you. The examiners know what Becker has told you to know cold. They don’t want to know that you can regurgitate, they want to know that you understand the concepts. Which means they will ask you in a way that tries to trick you and makes you think outside the box.

6. Do not use outdated material. I was using a 2006 FAR book in 2008. It does make a difference.

7. Take the exam as soon after graduating as you can. It is so much harder if you wait because you have to re-teach yourself the concepts instead of just memorizing them.

8. Seek support from others who know what you’re going through (like Jeff) and offer support to others when you can.

Don’t get frustrated. Almost everyone finds it to be harder than they had expected. Be confident and positive. Good luck!

-Karen from TN

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This post is from a series called “My CPA Exam Story” and is a chance for candidates to pass on their experience to others in hope of encouraging them and to share insights learned along the way. If you have a story to share, e-mail it to another71cpa@gmail.com. Submissions with pictures will get posted first. Don’t forget to tell me what state you’re from. I will only post your first name.

***

When I began college, I wasn’t an accounting major; I was pre-med and business. After my freshman year, I decided that the only reason I wanted to be a doctor was the money and I changed my major to accounting. I proceeded to get a master’s degree in accounting as well, which I finished in spring of 2008, and then embarked on a journey over that summer to try and get as much of the CPA Exam out of the way as possible before I started working.

After 2-3 weeks of studying, the test date came up and it was go time. I had the 4th of July weekend to look forward to, and it’s always been my attitude that it’s better when a test is over with, so I went in and took BEC. I usually get nervous the night before a test, thinking I’m going to forget it all and so on, and this was no different. On the other side of that coin, I’m a pretty good test-taker, in addition to usually being pretty fast (which isn’t always a good thing). I came out of the exam feeling like I was prepared and had the info nailed down.

FAR is the hardest section, and I decided that I would take it second. The FAR book is ridiculously long. Thankfully, I gave myself plenty of time in-between tests to do just a chapter a day of either reading or multiple choice, while also leaving lots of time for procrastination, which is my real job I think. I kind of refined my approach with each test, or at least made my studying rut deeper to the point that I had it down by the end. The last week of my test review process always found me taking the practice tests every day, or finishing up the chapter questions and then reviewing. I followed that up with flash cards the last day or two before the exam.

The night before FAR, I realized I haven’t done any simulations. I downloaded some trial software just to look at one and get an idea what they might be like. That turned out to be the only simulation I looked at for any section, which may be normal, I don’t know. Again, I was nervous before the test, but I went in and I took it. FAR was the only test that I came close to running out of time on, and in fact, I was down to the last minute or two when I finished it up. Talk about arduous, that was one long S.O.B., but I felt ok about it.

Shortly thereafter, I found out that I scored an 86 on BEC and was quite excited. I then found out about my 79 on FAR in late August, which was again, pretty awesome. I sat for REG and received my score (85) in mid-September 2008. I had three exams down and one to go.

I took AUD October 3 and started work three days later. This was also where I discovered another71.com and would read it often over the first couple months of work. It happened that another girl in my class had also stumbled upon the site separately, as she referenced a post about scores that I recognized. After that, several others from our class starting looking to the site for updates on score postings. We also took to calling our state coordinators after reading about the “little birdies” at NASBA and wanting to try and get inside, early scoops of our own.

After a couple nerve-wracking days thinking I would be in the second wave and not get my passing bonus ’til the new year (bad for tax purposes of course), I finally got in touch with my coordinator and asked her if I did well on the test. She told me that I had done really well!!! My score still hadn’t gotten loaded at the time, so the next day I woke up and checked my score…78.

In my opinion, 78 isn’t super awesome except for the fact that it’s a passing grade, which is the only thing that matters. That’s 4 for 4 if you’re keeping track like me, and I was and am incredibly grateful that I was able to do that.

If you’ve managed to read my entire story, congratulations and thanks, I’m sure it wasn’t particularly exciting to anyone but me. It is good to get it down on paper and just rehash what a journey it was, if only for my own benefit. I had set out to take all four sections and (hopefully) pass some or all, and I had succeeded, which was definitely a blessing. I guess I managed to actually learn some stuff in college, as the test was infinitely more possible (or passable) than I had thought back when I was a sophomore in college.

My “studying” was around two hours a day, rarely more than that, but enough to at least get through one chapter. I left myself almost a month for each test, which I would recommend, because there were plenty of days where I didn’t accomplish much in addition to the breaks I took after each test.

I think the most important thing is to have a plan and stick to it. It’s extremely easy to put off studying for any section unless it’s “real” to a person. For me, that happened once I had a date on the calendar, but it might be different for other people. It went well for me, and I’m thankful for that. I would never say that it was easy, because I know it isn’t, but it is doable if you take it seriously and prepare for it. Good luck to everyone that is still in the process of taking the test, and congratulations to all those who have gotten through it and survived. Also, a big thanks to another71.com for providing all the info that helps keep us sane waiting the next day at 4 a.m.

- Todd from Missouri

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This post is from a series called “My CPA Exam Story” and is a chance for candidates to pass on their experience to others in hope of encouraging them and to share insights learned along the way. If you have a story to share, e-mail it to another71cpa@gmail.com. Submissions with pictures will get posted first. Don’t forget to tell me what state you’re from. I will only post your first name.

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“I think it is very important to share my experience with this exam. I have just completed it, luckily all in one attempt, and looking back at the last seven months bring a lot of emotions. Never have I been on such an emotional roller coaster.

At the end of the journey I realized one thing: it doesn’t matter what this ends up doing for my career, the fact that I put in my entire heart, soul, and sanity into this and coming out successful means the world to me.

It doesn’t matter what age you are, we all have different commitments that make getting this exam done difficult. But if you want the secret to passing the exam it is very very simple: you have to make sacrifices. There are people who take the exam 10 times because they don’t have the discipline to say ‘no I won’t go to the club tonight or movies with my friends, or the next sporting event.’ It isn’t the fact that you can’t pass the exam, everyone has the capability.

For some it will be a little easier and for some it will be harder. I would say I probably studied between 50-75 hours per section. One of the biggest problems I see from the forums is studying improperly. I never studied one word that wasn’t highlighted in Becker. I never read one homework reading. I didn’t do one supplemental question or simulation. It is all about studying smart.

People obsess over every word in every CPA book. That is the problem. This is not a test to determine if you could stuff a 900 page book into your brain. If you take everyone from my level – an entry level auditor, the people who passed dedicated themselves to the exam completely. The ones who were out on the weekends absolutely did not pass. I know most of you are like me, checking scores 100 times a day when you know they are only released at certain times, obsessing over your grade every second, and thinking about every question you got wrong on the exam for the whole time before you get your score back.

If you are new to starting this journey, I hope you take away that this exam is completely achievable. Do it ‘piecemeal’. Take each section as its own independent entity. Don’t worry about what is next. Don’t fall behind in your study schedule. Treat yourself to some relaxing time away from studying, but not too much. Most importantly though is have pride and confidence in yourself because you are doing something that most people don’t have the capability or dedication to accomplish. To those who have gone through the process and struggled, don’t give up.

Jeff, who is a huge inspiration, didn’t give in because he knew that he was capable of it. Don’t let the exam demoralize you. It is just as impressive to take the exam 15 times and pass as someone who took it four times… As someone who thought he failed every time he walked out of and exam and never scored less than an 87, don’t obsess every minute once you leave the exam. If you prepared properly you should be more than fine.

Another major aspect of this exam to realize is the impact it has on the people close to you. You are going to be married to your books for awhile. You will deal with family members who don’t believe you need to study that much and friends who will pressure you and say you “don’t need” to study all the time. But you are doing this exam for yourself – no one else. Anyone who doesn’t appreciate that probably is a person I don’t want around me. In the end I am going to give you some tips that I have picked up through the exam experience.

Tips:
-On test day, never let a question trip you up. If you don’t know the answer – move on.
-Dedicate 6 months now so that this exam doesn’t haunt you for years (Limited enjoyment time)
-Study for the multiple choice, if you know them, you are as ready as you ever will be for the Simulations.
-Don’t ask others what is on the exam, it will NOT help you.
-Be positive, if you beat yourself up mentally, you are at a disadvantage on test day.
-Study in places where no distractions are present. You will find excuses not to study.
-Every minute counts. Even if you can’t study 4 straight hours, ever 15 minutes counts.
-Don’t compare yourself to others, only worry about what you can accomplish.

My Study Plan (Becker, No supplements)
I believe if you follow this study plan you will be 100% ready:
Monday: Watch a lecture in full
Tuesday: Go through the book and read it while making your own note cards. I used to make a note card for almost all the highlighted material.
Wednesday: This step I believe is key: I wrote all of the highlighted material into note form in a notebook. Once this step was completed, I never opened the Becker book again. I studied from those notes to avoid “over studying” After this I completed the homework.
Thus-Sat I did the same for another chapter.
Sunday- Reviewed anything I had a major issue with.

I studied two chapters a week until the book was completed. Than I would take a 2 week final review to read my notes, note cards, and do additional homework.

*I never bought a note card, worked a supplemental, practice simulation, or Becker final exam.

Do the basics I laid out and you will be F I N E!! Be efficient…trust me, I am no genius.

Good luck and remember you aren’t the only one going through this We all HAVE all the support in the world for you because we all know the struggle. I will always be around to help anyone who needs advice.”

-Daniel from NJ

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I am starting a new series within this site called My CPA Exam Story. People who read this site know what I went through…the ups and downs of the CPA Exam and trying to balance work and family life and trying to maintain some semblance of adequate mental health.

I know that there are people out there who are either where I was a year ago (2 exams passed and on the verge of losing one of them and struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel), or are where I am right now having passed the exam and with hindsight being 20/20, have a perspective or experience that others could benefit from.

So ~ I’ll extend the invitation to anyone wanting to share their story. Write it up via Word Document (or just e-mail it)…submit a picture (if you want…if not, that’s ok too…pictures help to visualize the person…) and I’ll proof-read it and post it as a regular post on the blog.

Do you have a CPA Exam story to tell that would benefit others? Did you breeze through it and have some tips? Did you struggle (or are struggling), but made progress? Are you finished with the exam and want to tell others that it’s worth it? Or – are you a spouse who stood by your loved one throughout the process and want to give hope to other spouses who are sacrificing just as much as the one taking the exam?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve finished the exam, or are still neck-deep in it, whatever your story is, e-mail it to me at another71cpa@gmail.com

Depending on how many submissions I get, I’ll post them once or twice a week.

As always thanks for reading.

Update: read all of the My CPA Exam Story submissions here

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I got a nice little packet in the mail last Saturday containing my four passing scores and their respective dates along with info about getting certified/licensed etc. The packet was from my state board of accountancy, but the scoring letter was from NASBA. NASBA apparently sends your state BOA the letter with your scores and then your state BOA sends it onto you in their “welcome to the club – sort of” packet.

After I got my passing score online for FAR, I bought the ethics course from the AICPA, passed it, and submitted my paperwork to my state BOA before ever receiving any *official* confirmation from my state BOA. My state BOA had my certificate paperwork ($25 check for the certificate + a signed oath that I believe in the US Constitution and witnessed by another CPA who has to write down their certificate # along with their signature) before they had received anything official from NASBA.

It only took a day or so to process and I got a letter on Monday this week congratulating me and recognizing me as a CPA – sort of. I am officially a Certified Public Accountant in my state and have my certificate number (the board needs to convene and sign the actual certificate before they mail it to me). However, for the purposes of putting it on a business card or signing a tax return as Jeff, CPA – I must get licensed. I have the work requirement fulfilled – which is to work as an accountant in some capacity (tax, compilations, audit, etc) for one year and have a CPA sign off that I have done this. I’m not going to use my old boss…I’ve moved since then. I’ll use an internal auditor that I used to work with at a different job.

I took the plunge yesterday and added “, CPA” to my work e-mail signature line. This was a weird moment. First of all – it felt surreal. I stared at it. ‘Can this be right?’ I pondered. After deciding that since my state BOA declared me a CPA (with the caveat that I can’t use it in public yet) – then I *am* a CPA and could represent myself as such internally at work. My work e-mails rarely leave the building, so no worries there.

In honor of adding CPA to my e-mail signature at work, I thought of a reason to e-mail the VP of my division That felt good.

If you’re still going through the exam process – you’ll be there soon enough.

Thanks for reading.

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Note – if you work in public accounting or plan on holding yourself out to the public as a CPA, then this information doesn’t apply to you – you need to meet your state’s CPA Exam requirements. This post will benefit those who are short on the 150 hour rule, but are only going to use the CPA designation as a “credential” within the private sector. Make sure you have full understanding on your respective state’s rules on holding yourself out as a Certified Public Accountant.

I have a friend who resides and works in a state that requires candidates to meet the 150 hour rule before they can even sit for the CPA Exam. He’s 24 and works in SEC Reporting for a Fortune 500 company. After graduation, he sat for and passed the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Exam. He didn’t have 150 hours and his current work load prohibited him from starting on an MBA or other graduate program which would give him his 150 hours, so he sat for and passed the Certified Management Accountant Exam (CMA).

Unbeknown to him previously (and me as well) – the State of Colorado allows out of state candidates who neither work in nor live in Colorado to be licensed as Colorado CPAs. My friend sent in his application, was approved…and is sitting for BEC this week. If he ever wants reciprocity, he will need the 150 hours, but his boss just wants him to pass the Exam – not be eligible to sign tax returns or audit reports.

Most people who work in the private sector let their licenses lapse anyway…the important thing is…did you pass the Exam? If the answer is yes – that’s all that they care about.

If you’re considering this, be sure to do your due diligence and find out if this is right for you.

The beautiful thing about Prometric offering a uniform exam is that someone in New York can theoretically sit for an exam in New York as a Colorado candidate.

Read more about Colorado’s CPA Exam requirements.

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I decided to jump back onto the ethics exam today. I did questions 15-75…submitted and got a big fat 89. 89? I thought the answers were all right the first time.

I went back through them and there was a section that I kind of guessed on and I found a few sleepers in there that got me…spent a few more hours on it…submit…92…I am now officially ethical.

Now all I need to do is submit some forms…cut a check…and I’ll be Jeff, CPA.

Thanks for reading.

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Today I summoned every ounce of personal drive and motivation and cracked open my Ethics CD-ROM from the AICPA and I immediately hit a roadblock.

How exactly does one get the stupid course code to work?

The paper answer sheet that comes with it gives the url to register and get your answer sheet online. Easy enough. The paper also says “You will be asked to provide the unique serial number printed on page 1 of your answer sheet.” OK. Looking…looking. There isn’t a course code on the paper. I could confidently sign off on that fact.

As it turns out, the course code is on the back of the CD case. Who knew? Certainly not the paper or the website that kept showing red error letters as I tried in vain to enter anything even resembling a course code on my sheet.

I finally successfully entered my course code – a feat possibly greater than passing the CPA Exam itself – and I was on my way.

You don’t really hear too much about the ethics exam when you’re studying. It’s this dark mystery that only reveals itself after you’ve gone through the pledging phase of the AICPA Fraternity and the Ethics Exam is the final ceremony where people dressed in robes chant unintelligibly and if you score a 90 or better, a big bright door opens to a land flowing with membership dues and CPE requirements.

Here is what I can tell you about the ethics exam so far fifteen questions into it:

-It’s 75 MCQs with options A-D, with a 5th option of “E” that is blank. E has been tempting more than once.

-The questions will seem like a regurgitation of stuff you studied for REG

-The program is viewed through a flash application and you have to wade through the index and table of contents to find what you need to answer the question. Occasionally, you can open a .PDF and Control-F to find your search terms and find your answer

-The questions skip around by topic, so there’s a lot of back and forth between areas as you try to hunt for answers

-It’s slightly more entertaining than getting a tooth drilled

Thanks for reading.

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I didn’t have another NTS to purchase this month, so I celebrated by spending $131 on “Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course” to fulfill my state’s ethics requirement so that I can get my certificate and license.

As far as I know the only place to purchase the course is through CPA2biz.com – a site the AICPA owns.

I chose the CD-ROM version (Product# 738392HS) over the text (Product# 732311).

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Many candidates like myself who have spent hundreds of hours studying over the course of several months (or years) and finally passing don’t really know what to do with themselves or their newly found free time. Here are five suggestions to help pass the time:

5. Peruse the internet and treat yourself to an item costing around $350…which is the cost of the new NTS you’re used to paying for plus two rescheduling fees. Your bank account is used to not having it anyway.

4. Now that you have time do to such things, pour a cup of coffee and reflect upon the irony of the AICPA testing the concepts of timeliness and real time data processing.

3. While you don’t really want to do so, grab your Regulation book and spend a few hours reviewing it so that you can answer your relatives’ tax questions over Christmas. The prospect of free CPA advice will be enticing to them and this will be the last Christmas you remember anything about taxes.

2. Put off applying for your license until after you file your tax return. This is the last tax year that you can be liberal with your tax deductions without the professional consequences of doing so.

note – criminal charges may still apply. Consult your local CPA.

(…this is tongue-in-cheek for everyone out there with the IRS Tipline on speed dial…)

1. You’re going to need a new excuse for skipping family reunions and other gatherings you would rather miss. “Sorry, I have my exam in two weeks and I need to study” will not cut it anymore. It’s time to think of a new one.

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NASBA issued a draft in June titled “Education and Licensure Requirements for Certified Public Accountants: A Discussion Regarding Degreed Candidates Sitting for the Uniform CPA Examination with a Minimum of 120 Credit Hours (120-Hour Candidate) and Becoming Eligible for Licensure with a Minimum of 150 Credit Hours (150-Hour Candidate)”.

They stress that the discussion isn’t about whether the 150 hour rule for licensing should stick, but rather is the 150 hour rule for sitting for the CPA Exam still relevant?

According to the draft, the answer is NO.

In the summary, it states:

“We have found no evidence of detriment to the public interest in those states allowing candidates to sit for the CPA examination at less than 150 hours of education and later fulfilling the 150 hours.”

So…let me get this straight:

A candidate meets the “minimum requirements for serving the public interest” after 1. passing the Uniform CPA Exam and 2. passing the ethics exam. The draft is saying that if you have 120 hours under your belt, you should be able to sit for the exam, pass it, pass the ethics exam, but only AFTER you take some classes to reach that arbitrary number of 150 hours (you take a business law class at a juco…grab a public speaking class or two, yada yada), THEN you are eligible for getting a license and are ready to go out in the world and protect the public interest?

It seems to me that if you meet the education requirements (120 hours in some states) to sit for the exam, have the wherewithal to PASS the exam, then forget the stupid classes where you’ll likely find yourself surrounded by undergrads chatting about “oh my gosh! I got so drunk last night!” and txtng their friends in some business law class (by the way – you already passed BEC and REG).

The 150 hour rule is pointless. Why not make it 200 hours? 250? Oh I know why – when it comes to protecting the public, according to NASBA the additional hours do not equip you to better serve the public interest. If NASBA is correct, then requiring the extra 30 hours when the public is not tangibly better off because they are required violates one of the tenets of the auditing and attestation profession: Cost vs. Benefit.

In a way, they are saying “passing the Uniform CPA Exam isn’t good enough to get a CPA license – it requires 30 additional hours of non-uniform, arbitrary college courses that you can take at a JUCO. Only THEN will you meet the minimum requirements to serve the public interest.”

Bottom line: If 120 hours is good enough to sit and pass the exam, then 120 hours is good enough to get a license and start serving the public interest.

Link: NASBA Draft

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If you have successfully passed a section of the CPA Exam or have passed all 4 sections and want to share how you did it, please post it in the comments section of this post. This blog is about persevering through the stress and failures that come with the CPA Exam.

Remember – only 15% of the people who take the CPA Exam pass the first time and in a given section, less than half of the people who take that section will pass.

If you have an encouraging story to share, the rest of us would appreciate reading it!

You can remain as anonymous as you want to be.

Guidelines:
1. This is only for posts relating to passing the exam or sections of the exam. Please don’t follow up people’s entries with questions. It creates clutter and I will have to delete them.

2. When sharing your success story, if you used a particular review package that worked, feel free to share that. If you used one that was terrible and you hated it, please refrain from sharing that. I don’t want to be contacted by anyone’s general council because I’m letting people disparage their client’s product on my site.

People need to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, so please tell your success story.

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