Essam Taha and im a cpa

just work backer 4 times and give proper time for the simulation and you not only pass but you will kick Ass

My advice:

1) Be honest with yourself. It’s easy to go through the practice/homework questions, memorize the exact answers without even reading the questions, see a big fat 95% and feel great. Be honest- if you get it wrong, admit it, figure out why, and get it right when it counts.
2) Let yourself have fun. Have fun in moderation, but don’t take advantage. You’ll go nuts if you deprive yourself from everything good. Treat yourself and enjoy little victories.
3) I realize that we’re accountants- not psychologists, but positive association works. Whatever it is- get your favorite color highlighter, use a nice pen, wear your favorite sweats and get a case of your favorite (non-alcoholic) beverages. The silly little things that make you happy go a long way. Dreading studying only makes it worse.
4) Turn the TV off!! I can’t stress enough. So many people convince themselves that they can study while the TV is on- but believe me, it does not work. You’ll realize that you’re 2 hours into your study time and you’ve highlighted nothing but the title of the chapter and your bedsheets. TiVo Real Housewives. They will be there when you’re done, I promise.
5) Get it done. The 18 month rule is nice- but it will come up faster than you’re ready. You’ll never be more prepared for studying than you are right after you pass an exam. Use the excitement of passing one to push your towards the next.
6) For simulations, reread your communications portion. Many have said that the communications part of the sims is the most important. Go back to sixth grade and read your essay like you’re reading it to a class. You’ll realize that you’re missing more important transition words and grammatical changes than you think. It’s easy to ramble and repeat when you’re nervous. Reread it after you complete another section of the sim if necessary. A fresh pair of eyes goes a long way.
7) Finally- be confident. It’s so easy to get into that exam center and second-guess yourself. If you study correctly, you know way more than you think.

I was fairly successful with my first employer. I spent almost 4 years in Corporate Accounting, preparing financials, including consoliations, preparing M-1 schedules for the tax returns and working with the auditors. I later went on to manage a spin-off of the same company, and spent some time in Operations, managing systems related to insurance premium accounting. I enjoyed it. I always wanted to obtain my license, and when CA changed the requirements to not require public accounting, I decided that “some day”, I'd try. Some day came last year when I applied for the exam after starting with a new employer.

I sat for AUD first and, while I was studying for REG, found out I earned a 93. I was certain I failed REG and cried for weeks as I was studing for BEC. I ended up with an 84 in REG and an 87 in BEC. I then began to tackle FAR. I had learned a lot in my new job, and worked under a very skilled (though unfamiliar with GAAP) Chartered Accountant from the UK. I killed myself on this section. I was not surprised by anything on the exam and was fortunate to end up with a pretty easy second simulation, and my first simulation was on a subject I knew well. A couple hours after I walked out of the exam, I remembered to pay attention to the dates . . . I didn't!! I hoped my mistake was not going to cost me a passing score. After waiting nearly two months for my score (I should have been a wave 1 but was bumped to wave 2), I received it . . . 96.

I can't say it was the best day of my life. My wedding day was better, and the birth of each of my two kids outweighed my wedding day, but this was definitely #4. I was so happy to have passed all the sections on my first try.

My secret? There is no secret (like Kung Fu Panda). It took hard work, sacrifice not only by me, but by those around me, and strong desire to get it done. Some weeks, I studied for only 10 hours, others more than 40. I studied until I got it. I set a schedule and stuck to it. When I fell behind, I took time to catch up, and when I got ahead of schdule, I tried to stay there. I didn't skip any subjects, I studied them all. I understood them all.

I used Becker 2008 for AUD, REG and BEC and Becker 2009 for FAR. I thought Becker covered all but REG VERY well. There were absolutely NO surprises on AUD (as I recall) or FAR. I don't think there were many on BEC. REG, however, was full of material I'd never seen before. My strategy to understand everything in the material well seems to have paid off.

I have spent about 5 years outside of college working in Financial Accounting, and the other 7 in claims and receivables accounting. I did not know most of this material when I began studying. This is possible, guys. I did it while simultaneously doing all the things I talked about above and while being a Girl Scout Leader and sitting on the Board of the PTA. It really, really, really can be done.

The secret? Time and studying. Study until you know it, whether that's an hour a day or 6 hours a day, it's what you have to do to pass. Many would say I overstudied. I'd rather have that problem than not studying enough. You will ultimately have to put in the time to be able to pass this thing. Put it in now and move on with your life . . . don't think you can wing it on even one chapter. It will haunt you.

I was fairly successful with my first employer. I spent almost 4 years in Corporate Accounting, preparing financials, including consoliations, preparing M-1 schedules for the tax returns and working with the auditors. I later went on to manage a spin-off of the same company, and spent some time in Operations, managing systems related to insurance premium accounting. I enjoyed it. I always wanted to obtain my license, and when CA changed the requirements to not require public accounting, I decided that “some day”, I'd try. Some day came last year when I applied for the exam after starting with a new employer.

I sat for AUD first and, while I was studying for REG, found out I earned a 93. I was certain I failed REG and cried for weeks as I was studing for BEC. I ended up with an 84 in REG and an 87 in BEC. I then began to tackle FAR. I had learned a lot in my new job, and worked under a very skilled (though unfamiliar with GAAP) Chartered Accountant from the UK. I killed myself on this section. I was not surprised by anything on the exam and was fortunate to end up with a pretty easy second simulation, and my first simulation was on a subject I knew well. A couple hours after I walked out of the exam, I remembered to pay attention to the dates . . . I didn't!! I hoped my mistake was not going to cost me a passing score. After waiting nearly two months for my score (I should have been a wave 1 but was bumped to wave 2), I received it . . . 96.

I can't say it was the best day of my life. My wedding day was better, and the birth of each of my two kids outweighed my wedding day, but this was definitely #4. I was so happy to have passed all the sections on my first try.

My secret? There is no secret (like Kung Fu Panda). It took hard work, sacrifice not only by me, but by those around me, and strong desire to get it done. Some weeks, I studied for only 10 hours, others more than 40. I studied until I got it. I set a schedule and stuck to it. When I fell behind, I took time to catch up, and when I got ahead of schdule, I tried to stay there. I didn't skip any subjects, I studied them all. I understood them all.

I used Becker 2008 for AUD, REG and BEC and Becker 2009 for FAR. I thought Becker covered all but REG VERY well. There were absolutely NO surprises on AUD (as I recall) or FAR. I don't think there were many on BEC. REG, however, was full of material I'd never seen before. My strategy to understand everything in the material well seems to have paid off.

I have spent about 5 years outside of college working in Financial Accounting, and the other 7 in claims and receivables accounting. I did not know most of this material when I began studying. This is possible, guys. I did it while simultaneously doing all the things I talked about above and while being a Girl Scout Leader and sitting on the Board of the PTA. It really, really, really can be done.

The secret? Time and studying. Study until you know it, whether that's an hour a day or 6 hours a day, it's what you have to do to pass. Many would say I overstudied. I'd rather have that problem than not studying enough. You will ultimately have to put in the time to be able to pass this thing. Put it in now and move on with your life . . . don't think you can wing it on even one chapter. It will haunt you.

If study schedule is done through consistently i do not see any reason one will fail it.

Best of luck!

Should I go ahead and sit for the exam on the scheduled date or deal with my marital crisis? Even if I tried to continue studying, how could I possibly focus? She took the kids also!

I did both. Somehow, someway…I spent the two days before the exam taking steps to put my marriage back together and at the same time studying in an empty house.

When I sat for REG two days after my wife left me, my marriage issues were still outstanding. So there I sat in the testing center in front of my computer monitor taking REG. About every 10 MCQs, my mind would wander…”What are my kids doing right now?”…”How am I going to salvage my marriage?”…”This sucks!”…amidst calculating the basis of a partner contributing land with a different FMV than book basis!

Two days after my exam, my wife and kids moved back. Things are much better. It’s a long story and very complicated, but we are on the mend.

Three weeks after the exam, I got my results. I scored an 80.