Update 2010: I consider this one of the best posts I’ve ever written. Two years ago, it captured what I was feeling when I was neck-deep in the CPA Exam and wondering if I would pass. I was trying to balance family, work, the CPA Exam, and trying to maintain some semblance of a “life”.

“Failure is an event, not a person” as Zig Ziglar says. So true.

I spent the last week on vacation with my family in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. We only had one DVD with us (“Cars”) and my boys were sick of watching it at night, so we bought “Meet the Robinsons”. It’s a great movie as far as animated flicks go, but as I tuned in here and there, I came across a scene about failure and the theme of “Keep Moving Forward” that was derived out of a quote by Walt Disney long ago.

I immediately thought of the CPA exam, as I often do since it’s plagued my memory for the past 3 years and I found it very applicable to the process of studying for and taking the Exam. Then, I read about a CPA Exam candidate who had scored in the low 60′s and they were wondering if they should throw in the towel or if maybe there was still some hope for them.

My initial motivation for creating this site was because I was extremely frustrated with myself that I had failed BEC yet again and felt like venting. At the time, I felt like the dumbest person in the world. I was 30 and still hadn’t passed the stupid CPA Exam and I was wondering if I in fact was cut out for accounting.

I considered quitting the CPA Exam altogether. I was sick of the time. I was sick of sending NASBA money. I was sick of exam day anxiety. I was sick of the ridiculous 4 week minimum to get your results back. I was ready to move on. Surely I could get a job in…marketing?

Then, I thought about the future. I have 3 boys ages 5 and under. When times got tough for them…when life didn’t quite go their way, how could I look them in the eye and tell them not to quit and to get up and try again if I myself packed it up and quit the biggest challenge of my life? I don’t work in public accounting anymore and passing the CPA Exam is more of an aside on my resume because I don’t plan on using it in an official setting ever, so continuing with this exam is for 1. my pride 2. my boys and 3. my wife won’t think that all of those weekends where she kept the boys out of my hair so that Dad could study would be all for naught.

The purpose of this site quickly found an identity in that it exists to tell other candidates that hey – if you’re struggling with this exam, you’re not alone. The only stories you really ever hear are about your smart classmate or co-worker who aced the exam on their first try. You don’t really hear too many people admit that they didn’t pass the Exam the first…or second…or third try. I’ve been open about my failures on this exam so that maybe other people would be spurred on to keep fighting and would hopefully realize that they are not alone.

Which brings me back to struggling CPA Exam candidate…

If you have the intellectual wherewithal to qualify and meet the prerequisites to take the CPA Exam, then you can pass the CPA Exam. I believe that the Thomas Edison quote “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration” is very relevant to the CPA Exam taking process. I have never found myself being too-dumb to pass the Exam. I’ve always left the testing center kicking myself for not working harder.

If you’re a bad test-taker…work on being a better test taker.

If you have 3 kids and work full time and don’t have the time or energy to study…change your schedule…stay up later and get up earlier…that’s no excuse (I’m preaching to myself here).

If you’re working your tail off, but are getting bad results on practice tests…either get new material or figure out where you’re going wrong.

The bottom line is: everyone who is studying for this exam can pass it.

There is no score that can’t be overcome and there are no character weaknesses that can’t be beaten. The point is – STICK WITH IT.

Forget your co-worker who looks down his nose at you for not passing (no one likes him and he never gets invited for beers after work anyway). Forget your uncle who passed the exam back when they had to walk uphill both ways through the snow to take the old paper and pencil edition (this version of the exam is much broader and you have to know more information…thank you SOX and BEC).

Finally, forget the fact that you didn’t pass REG or FAR or whatever the last time you took it. Your performance last time has zero bearing on your success this time around.

Whether you scored a 60, 71, or a 74 – KEEP MOVING FORWARD. Keep fighting. Keep making progress.

Sometime in the future, you will have 3 letters by your name and these temporary setbacks will all be a distant memory.

(If not…there’s always marketing).

Related posts:

1. Keep Moving Forward
2. Moving Out, Cleaning Up, and Studying for Regulation
3. Allyson: Looking Back / Looking Forward

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Failing the CPA Exam is normal, but frustrating.

Your heart races with anxiety as the score page from NASBA loads.

Nothing.

Well, nothing except Error: Score not found. Please verify Section ID Number and Date of Birth format and re-submit, which is the same thing it has said the past five times you’ve checked in the last hour.

A few minutes of casual internet browsing pass and you come back to the score page to check “just one last time”.

Elliott, Jeffrey

71

Hours of preparation and sacrifice down the drain. Thoughts of vacation days wasted, and weekends absent from friends and family add insult to injury.

Here are some tips for dealing with failure on the CPA Exam:

1. Honest evaluation of yourself

It’s time to come clean – at least to yourself. Did you give 110% or was it more like a 65% effort? While you were “studying at the coffee shop” were you watching CPA review lectures or was it YouTube? The frantic typing on your laptop that could be heard from 2 tables away – were those CPA Exam notes or where you commenting on pictures of your friend’s weekend indiscretions that were posted on Facebook? While your spouse was watching the kids – did you turn up the heat and knock out a section of FAR or did you take a “much deserved mental break” and watch tv episodes on Hulu? Just asking.

If you started to feel a little guilty reading this…you already know what needs to be done.

2. Honest evaluation of your review materials

Are you trying to study Auditing with 2007 books that you purchased off of eBay? Are you crazy? – those were written in 2006 and you’re taking a 2009 exam. Did you go cheap when you bought your flatscreen tv? No – you just had to have a 52 inch 1080 instead of a 46 inch 720. Yet, for some reason you’re sitting there studying for this beast of an exam using 3 year old study material…ironically with your expensive flatscreen blaring in the background.

Throw that garbage away and get NEW CPA Exam review materials. You’re studying outdated information that could very well be the difference between passing and a 74. Go cheap on that engagement ring – NOT your CPA review materials. She’ll never know it’s a CZ anyway. Her friends won’t be able to get over how shiny and perfect it looks and you’ll be a hero…AND a genius because you passed the CPA Exam…which means you must be “really good at math”.

3. Honest evaluation of your schedule

So, you work 45 (or 65+ during busy season) hours a week and try to get in a little study time between going to the gym, the TV shows you recorded on your DVR, and seeing family and friends.

Great – at this pace you’ll be ready for FAR in 6 months. It’s time to get medieval on your study schedule.

If you’re not studying 20 hours a week…you’re not studying.

Wake up an hour and forty-five minutes earlier than normal…the first 30 minutes will be spent stumbling around, hating life, cursing the exam, and making coffee. The next 15 minutes will be spent checking e-mail and Twitter. You know you’re going to do it, so plan for it. This clears the way for a solid hour of studying.

1 extra hour a day Mon-Fri = 5 hours of studying a week

Bring your lunch to work…eat for 15 minutes…and study the next 45 minutes.

45 minutes at lunch Mon-Thurs (eat out with friends on Friday) = 3 hours of studying per week

Studying at Home:

If you’re single, your schedule is much more flexible and you could feasibly study 4 hours a night if you wanted to at home. If you have a significant other or a family – the following applies to you:

If you have kids – get them in bed by 8:30 (many times a laughable proposition with the repeated requests for drinks of water, needing one more hug, too hot/cold, and the sudden urge for them to declare their birthday wish list even though it’s still 10 months away – but still try for 8:30)…watch an hour of TV or whatever with your spouse…study from 9:30 to 11:00. This still puts you in a prime spot to get to sleep early enough that you can get up early as mentioned above.

1.5 hours studying Mon-Thurs (Friday is a night off of studying) = 6 hours of studying per week

Grand total for weekday studying: 14 hours

Saturday/Sunday:

You don’t have to kill your weekends in order to be a good CPA candidate. You also don’t have to be AWOL from your family and friends. Three hours a day each day on Saturday/Sunday is all you need to get 20 hours of CPA Exam study time per week.

If you have kids – spend time with them in the morning…study during nap time (if applicable) and you have the rest of the evening with them as well.

That’s 20 hours a week of studying for the CPA Exam and you barely had to alter your schedule or lose out on time with family and friends.

Following this study plan, you could conceivably be ready for:

FAR in 6-7 weeks

REG in 5-6 weeks

AUD in 3-4 weeks

BEC in 3-4 weeks

It sounds simple – and it is. It’s the schedule that I used to finally pass the CPA Exam and if you have failed a section and are looking for a new approach, I recommend that you give it a try.

Thanks for reading.

-Jeff

Related posts:

1. CPA Exam Help: Recovering from Failure
2. Overcoming Another CPA Exam Set Back
3. BEC Results: Finding Success in Failure

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