[Anonymous]

So, I have not posted on here hardly at all for quite awhile now, intentionally. Probably because my mind has not been on the CPA exam at all.

REG is my last one to take – until I’ve taken them all. I started studying REG a week or two ago and I don’t quite know why, maybe because it’s tax season or whatever but I just can’t get into it. I have to re-take all three of the other ones. I was thinking of just starting over on FAR, which I have not even thought about in 14 months since I took it. I still have 4 months left on Roger, which I don’t think I will be using. I will probably do the new monthly Ninja deal.
I don’t know if there’s a “best one to start with if you have to re-take them all”?

[aaronmo]

I took FAR first and I'm glad that I did. I think it has the most cross-section application and it focuses on the basics. How the accounts flow to the reports, and how everything flows to the basic equation of accounting. For me…I don't understand something until I can fit it into the reports and the basic equation of accounting. FAR really hammers that home.

Other plus? It's probably the toughest one to prep…or was for me…and it was nice to slay the dragon and take the worst of it right from the front.

Negative? You're knee deep from jump. It's intimidating. It takes the most work to prepare…or did for me.

AUD - 96
BEC - 84
FAR - 89
REG - 86

Aaron and always remember, YMMV

I profit from your CPE frustration. You're welcome.

[Anonymous]

@aaronmo yes that all applies for the first round of test-taking. For re-takes, I was wondering if anyone found that there's an ideal first exam to do, if you're in the situation of basically starting over from square 1. I just now noticed that my signature line is not showing up for some reason. I got three 62's (“Another 62”?!!) on FAR, AUD, and BEC. However, my score report for BEC was basically the best of the three as far as what I did well on – I got some “Stronger”‘s on BEC. So, maybe I will re-take BEC first. Not sure yet, still tossing it around. The problem is that I've been tossing it around for quite awhile now, unsuccessfully.

I should add, I will likely call it quits if I don't get through this second round of testing. I have a decent job. I finished school ages ago and am not out to get the CPA for the same reasons that most 24 year olds are. I don't want to be one of those folks who just tests over and over again. I know some people get licensed who don't really know a lot…it's the same in many disciplines. There are lotsa dumb doctors out there – they flunked out of one med school and then went to the Caribbean to finish up and get their MD license. But – they suck at what they do and are masquerading as someone who really knows their line of work very well. If I can't get thru the CPA exams – although I really hope I do – after a reasonable number of tries – then it means I'm meant to just do what I do as an accountant currently. ‘Nuff said.

[aaronmo]

I hated BEC. I never had non-accounting business courses and found most of it to be meaningless, stupid, fluff. The fact that I didn't respect, or value it, made it harder to study and care about.

AUD - 96
BEC - 84
FAR - 89
REG - 86

Aaron and always remember, YMMV

I profit from your CPE frustration. You're welcome.

[Anonymous]

Agreed about BEC being sorta fluffy. There's some valuable stuff in there for sure, that should be learned. I'm a writer, so I appreciate the WC questions. The ones I got when I took it were all very easy, knocked all three out in 30-35 minutes. But, I found that there were a good number of FAR MCQ on my BEC exam. Wasn't quite expecting that. I didn't study as much for BEC. I worked no practice SIMs or WC's because I ran out of time. If I'd had another few weeks to do so, I'd have passed. “Next time.” Hopefully.

[Anonymous]

I still believe in the divide and conquer approach, i.e. easier sections first, but you should certainly leave room for error. I left FAR for last, and even though I did pass it, I ended up losing credit for BEC.

Good luck. I jumped from 60 to 78 on FAR after just minor adjustments, so I wouldn't over-emphasize test score(s). If you can score 60 then you can score 75.

[Recked]

Welcome back Leon, I remember all your posts from when I first started on the forum.
I'd suggest you change your methods or provider, or both.
I used Roger (Gleim TB on FAR and BEC in additional to all Roger's MCQs) and went 4 for 4 in 5.5 months, 535 hours.
Probably around 6200 MCQs in total. FAR 93(10wks), AUD 88(3 wks), REG 96(4-6 wks), BEC 91 (4wks)

If videos aren't your learning style, try a new/different approach. You can do this!!

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[Nate]

I know a lot of people disagree with my opinion, but I say pass BEC first, especially if it’s been at least a year since college. For me, I was unable to start after college so it took me a few years. If you’re in that boat, then like me you might find the CPA process to be so overly intimidating and daunting, that you just don’t want to do it. That’s why I started with BEC. While are some annoying and weird topics, like IT (ugh, worst part by far), it is the shortest material and overall the easiest exam (though it’s still difficult). For Roger, there’s like 8 sectiona of material I think and compare that to FAR, where there’s 31, that just seems so hard to even start. Plus, you’re a good writer, that helps a lot with BEC, I have always been good at short essays on exams, so I did good on that part.

But the biggest reason I say take BEC first, is because once you’ve passed one, your confidence completely changes. And while I say it’s the least hard, if you pass BEC, you truly can pass them all. For me, once I saw a passing score, everything changed, I no longer saw the CPA exams as an unnatainable process, but something I could do. Since getting a 90 on BEC, I decided to take AUD and I used that motivation to study hard and got an 83, and decided to ride on that and take FAR and I got an 88 on that. Now I only have REG left! And I know the confidence I got from passing BEC played a huge role in my motivation to study hard for AUD and FAR. So I say, go for BEC first, it sounds like the exam you’re best fitted for, study hard, pass it, and ride off of that momentum to continue. Good luck! You truly can do this, and don’t let that little voice inside your head say otherwise.

AUD: 54 (10/31/15); 83 (12/02/17)
BEC: 70 (01/31/16); 90 (07/02/17)
FAR: 73 (10/03/15); 88 (02/17/18)
REG: 83 (06/09/18)
AICPA Ethics: 91 (06/28/18)
Licensed: 08/16/18

[Anonymous]

@jmm4hd – no, I didn't pass any of them. So, nothing is really lost. But, certainly there are people who lose credit for multiple passed sections during the time when they're trying to pass their fourth one. I've done the whole thing of racking up debt, earlier in life. Not about to go through that again! I have a good job, I'm not going to quit it to study for the CPA exams.
If I'd done this many years ago when I was in my 20s then it would've made sense. Trust me though, you don't want to be 20K in debt. I've been there. It's horrible. Even if you get a high-paying position afterwards, you will pay that back with lots of interest tacked on unless you land a job paying you well into the 6 figures and 20K is just pocket change. The process doesn't have to be ugly or wreck a family or ruin relationships with coworkers. Not unless you let it happen. I've read on here about people who get on anti-depressants after failing a section twice in a row…it's just overkill. Who is stronger, you or the CPA exam? Why let it control your existence? Life is too short to be depressed. Everything happens/doesn't happen for a reason. If someone isn't passing, repeatedly, it means it's time to cut your losses and stop while you're behind (vs. “stop while you're ahead”!) and accept what is, and what isn't.

@Recked – thank you! I'm a disciplined person. I did well in school, had a 4.0 for my second BS degree. But for some reason, this whole process has totally brought me to my knees.
You're right, change of approach is needed. I'm gonna do the monthly Ninja plan, which I think is a great and affordable way to do it. I'm still not happy about plunking down $1,940 on Roger when it helped me fail. And I LOVE Roger Philipp! He's the man! His videos may not have taught me much and that does sadden me a bit, but I love the approach he takes.
I used Gleim for BEC and I liked it a lot. I wish I'd bought the whole Gleim package but I remember reading a few of the FAR chapters (I took that one first) and thinking that it was too stuffy. And, it seemed that everyone was buying Roger in those days and it *seemed* like a great program. Then not long after, I got onto this forum and saw how many were passing on Gleim – they said it was hard to get through but it was hard not to pass after doing Gleim's TBS and MCQ, which were harder than the actual exam.

@calvinus – That's why I haven't given up – for exactly what you mentioned – a 62 is not all that far from a pass, and despite the failures, I never have felt that this was something beyond my ability. So hopefully it will work out.

[jenpen]

I had Wiley and did not do that well with it, so I completely understand the struggle of not wanting to spend a ton of money on a new plan but needing to switch things up. I lost my one credit last February (REG), so I started at square one in July. I started with AUD since it was my weakest section (4 attempts with no pass), then FAR, REG, and BEC. I switched to Ninja, and went 3 for 4 by December. I took another shot at BEC in January since I didn't pass that in December, and managed to conquer it. I just hammered questions and would read up on areas that I could see were weak areas on my Ninja dashboard. That worked for my learning style and clearly helped me to finish these exams after 3 years and 13 total tests. If you keep at it, eventually you'll get it.

AUD - 85
BEC - 84
FAR - 82
REG - 78

Ethics - 95
Licensed in IL & MO

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Anonymous]

Frankly I'm not a fan of constantly changing study materials, or even updating them. I suspect this may actually be contributing to the problem for some people. I just passed REG using Wiley 2012 (sorry, I'm going to keep repeating this chestnut until I die). It was just a matter of using what was already there. Again, IMHO and YMMV.

[loveandbeloved]

Hi @crazyleon – I use Gleim, and the statements you've made are absolutely correct. lol. The good news is though, that each year the books get more and more condensed (slim). I purchased Gleim right out of college in 2013, but didn't start studying til 2016. The 2018 books are each less than an inch thick, where as in prior years, especially pre-2016, they were like 2-3 inches thick. SMH. Gleim offers each section individually for $239 (traditional – 18 month access) or $289 (premium – access-til-you-pass). My BEC score just expired, so I had to purchase the traditional since my “access-til-you-pass” is no longer valid once you pass a section. Perhaps this might be an option for you if you didn't want to buy the full course and wanted Gleim for a section or two??? Maybe the CPA Exam Blueprints could help with deciding which section to sit for first??? No changes are effective for BEC as of Jan 1, 2018. But after July 1, 2018 there will be changes. All other sections have content changes.
https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam/examinationcontent.html

I took BEC first and I literally had the same logic as @NAte above. It took me three times to pass though cause I completely ignored the WC. Back when the WC were 15% of your score I thought I could pass by focusing on the MCQs alone. HAAAA! Who was I kidding?! After I passed BEC, I moved onto AUD and passed on the first attempt. I took a break from studying for 6-8 months or so cause work was just consuming me. Now my BEC expired and I still have REG and FAR to pass. So I'm at 1 of 4. After taking BEC and AUD I wish I had taken FAR first because 1) I had been out of school for a few years, 2) I didn't have much accounting experience with mediocre accounting jobs, and 3) Both BEC and AUD had FAR-related topics on them wished really annoyed me. Now having sat for all sections at least once, my ideal order would have been FAR, REG, AUD, BEC. AUD was my favorite section to study for, and REG is my second favorite. (Yes, I'm using the words favorite cause I thoroughly enjoyed studying for them. lol.). I HAAAATED studying for BEC – such random stupid topics! So I would have definitely left that for last, not first since it didn't really help me with any other section. And even though I hate FAR as well, it crosses every section, so I would have preferred to sit for it first.

Everyone's logic and reasoning is different though, innately cause we all have different personalities. Where we as humans “mess up” is when we start comparing ourselves and our ways of doing things to others. “Oh, well my way is better than your way.” – Says who??? Not saying it's wrong to take advice, but as Proverbs 22:17 says, “Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach.” Words of wisdom don't always apply to all of us in the same way, or at all. You can ask 20 people who have passed the CPA exam and I guarantee you each will have a different study approach and exam order they “prefer or suggest”. Now, does that make one way better than the other? No, cause at the end of the day, they all passed. Also, you have to take into consideration their lifestyle (job, family, kids, etc) and personality (ways of thinking and doing things). I say this to say, take the advice on this forum lightly and whatever you feel is the best approach for you, do it. I believe God put this desire in your heart to take and pass this exam cause “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” (Philippians 1:6) “Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?” (Isaiah 66:9) “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29)

Sorry, I don't mean to preach, but these verses, and many more have gotten me through this exam. I have to keep believing I can pass and put in the work required. I can do it! We both can! Anyone reading this can! I truly hope you find what works for you! You can pass! You will pass! Don't give up! God will make a way! You don't have to quit your job! There are people out there who can juggle a spouse, kids, a job, and many more and have passed! It's not impossible to do, and God takes everything in our lives into consideration and equips us and gives us the strength we need to accomplish what He intended for us to accomplish!

@jmm4hd – I quit my job as of the new year cause I'm tired of having these low paying bookkeeping jobs. I don't want to go back to work either til I pass these exams. Luckily I'm blessed to be able to live with my family until the summer. And I'll be getting a 0% interest-free credit card from Citibank soon. I live very frugally, and I'm single, no kids, so paying that small balance off once I get a job in the summer/fall will not take me long at all. I agree with you that trying to do too much at once just prolongs the studying for years and years. The sooner you pass the sooner you'll be able to start living. I've had to sacrifice my social life and dating until I pass this exam. It sucks, but it will all be worth it. The reason so many people never accomplish their goals is because they have like 15-20 things they want to accomplish in a given time (say a year), and try to do a little bit of each one, as opposed to having only 5-7 goals in a given time (say a year), and focusing on 1-2 at a time before moving on to the next goal. Quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily goals are also necessary – not just yearly goals.

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - NINJA in Training
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

 

 

[Anonymous]

@jmm4hd – I wrote a reply to your thoughtful post but technical error prevented it from being posted. Nutshelled: yes I remember those days of jobs that paid in peanuts (or walnuts?)
My first job out of school, circa Y2K, was but $23,000. With that amount, net of tax, I had JUST enough to pay all the bills every month, and nothing more. How I survived on that for my first year at that job, I've no idea. Anyway yes, having debt sucks, I absolutely hate it and will never do it again. I have some student loan debt too that I pay on monthly – way more than your $3,000 but the good thing is that the payments are within my budget. If we're meant to be CPAs, it will happen. Personally I just don't want to go around and around with it. I'm too old for it.
If I was still 24 it would be a different story.

@Jennifer – congrats on finishing. You found a way to make it work! I think most people don't hammer them 4 in a row, it takes some effort to get thru them unless you're a great test taker and/or very intelligent.

@calvinus – yes, it's a drag, switching around with review courses. There are folks on here who have dropped more than 10K on review courses and exam fees. I'm not gonna do that, I think that's kinda going against Mother Nature…it does pay off if you get your CPA license but at the same time, as I said earlier, it's not really the right thing to do for some of us.

[Anonymous]

@loveandbeloved – thank you for your lengthy post! I'm glad you're on Gleim and hope it works for you. I am sure it will. I am not spiritual but do believe in some kind of higher order. It does get frustrating to put in effort and not have it pay off, although it's such a common thing with board exams such as these…some people just don't pass quickly for a zillion possible reasons.
I like Gleim's outline format. Roger should have that. His textbooks are a mess. I'm still kicking my own butt for not buying Gleim. It just seemed kind of antiquated and actually the main reason I didn't purchase was because it didn't look like they'd updated their books for many years. Come to find out, Gleim is very cutting edge. I even talked to 2 of their sales reps by phone last year about discounts (since I'd already bought one bad review course.) They were nice, but weren't able to offer much of a discount. Although I do have all 4 of their 2016 textbooks, given to me by an accounting instructor I had for a class 5-6 years ago. Yeah, bookkeeping jobs are boring. I had them too, a few long-term ones that lasted 6-9 months in the days when I worked thru temp agencies. One of them was in a big law firm, the AP coordinator was out on medical leave and it was kinda cool being at the helm of all the firm's payables. But…I was glad when it ended. I knew I did not want to crunch invoices for the rest of my life. Now I am doing *real* accounting, which is what I set out to do in my career when I went back to school years ago.

I don't recommend anyone quit their jobs for the CPA exams. But, people do. Racking up debt is never good unless you're 100% sure you can pay it off in a short amount of time. If you have family to support you while you do it and/or you live at home, I guess it's a different situation. Once you get to be my age, you gotta put your own food on the table.

@Nate – yes, some people say do BEC first and get the easiest one out of the way. Most people say “Do it last'. I wish I'd done it first. I did FAR first and took way too long to prepare for it and burned out and kept postponing my exam. I probably got a harder version of the exam than I would've if I'd just taken it right away instead of pushing the date out.
I've had a long journey with the CPA exams. I actually studied on my own for a year with no review course, after talking with another guy who did that and managed to get a 74, and then a 75, on FAR with **no review course**. I can't remember if he eventually got onto one, I think he did, but only for 2 out of the 4 exams. So you don't like IT huh?! I do think the IT questions they ask are rather useless. IT changes every single day. And, accountants have almost nothing to do with it. I've never heard any who did. The accountants at my workplace certainly don't. Any time we can't get something to work, an application or whatever, we email the helpdesk!!

[loveandbeloved]

@crazyleon – Jeff offers a discount for Gleim. It might be cheaper just going through Gleim directly. https://www.another71.com/gleim-cpa-review/ I have the 2017 and 2018 books for Gleim.

Yeah, I do understand the age thing. I lived on my own for a few years working and all that after college, but once I took on these exams, working just frustrated me, especially since I hated bookkeeping, A/P, and all the random accounting jobs I had. I wanted to do “REAL” accounting. I'm 29 now and living with family is somewhat a pain as I miss my independence, but it's only temporary. And given I don't have to work, I definitely need to take advantage of this opportunity before I turn 30.

Yeah, I can't stand IT either. Like you said, that's what emailing the helpdesk is for! HELLO! LOL!

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - NINJA in Training
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

 

 

[Anonymous]

@loveandbeloved – thanks, I will email you!

[Author]

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