Leave of Absense for the CPA Exam?
Angie is a weekly Club 75 Blogger as she documents her journey through the CPA Exam. She has been a member of Another71.com’s Club 75 since June 2009.
Well I knew this last week would be difficult to squeeze in study time. I had to work overtime to get end of the month stuff done, so that I could take the 29th and 30th off for my brother in law’s wedding, which was in Austin. We live in Houston, so we just drove there. On the way up I read for a couple of hours, but that was about it until we got home on Sunday. I did study a good 8 hours on Sunday. It feels good when you’re able to get some good studying in.
As I looked at my schedule, I had an increasing sense of anxiety; it just didn’t seem possible to prepare for two exams this month. As a manager (even though it’s a small firm) I do have a lot of responsibilities that translate into long days at the office and neglecting my studies. I don’t want to or couldn’t afford to quit my job, but I considered taking a leave of absence or working part-time. I was very nervous, but I decided to discuss this with my boss. He’s always been very supportive, and despite my numerous failing scores, believes that I can and will eventually pass all 4 sections. So he said, if I felt that would increase my chances for passing, then he was all for it. That was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I am looking at studying for the rest of the month, just as I would work during tax season- giving it my all!
Right now I’m focused solely on REG, I am using Jeff’s approach and watching all the videos first and will then go back to work on the MCQs. Yes, I know I’m behind, but I have only two sections of video left. The videos seem to go by very fast, because of the breakdown I do not have to pause and take as many notes as I have with other courses.
Roger CPA Review’s REG book is very succinct and much easier to read. Most of the notes I take are directly in the book’s margins. I did go back and spend some time reading and taking notes on the Securities Act of 1933 & Securities Exchange Act of 1934. I think I’ll do that with topics, I need extra reinforcement on. I’m definitely in my comfort zone with taxation. Although I no longer prepare returns, I review every tax return prepared by our staff, so I’m pretty well versed in these topics.
I don’t want to take anything for granted, so despite the fact that I passed REG once before and I’m pretty comfortable with tax, I’m studying just as I would for any other exam. I definitely realize that being familiar with a topic is simply not enough. So next week, I hope to have lots of progress to report, and I decided to share a picture from the wedding.
Happy Studying!
~Angie
