CPA Review | CPA Exam Review | Another71.com

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.