[Anonymous]

What kind of background in accounting do you have? Do you have family in the accounting/business field? Does the material simply come easy to you? Do you particularly have an excellent memory and have always been a good test taker?

Curious what kind of people score in the 90s on these exams and what would you attribute your high scores to other than “putting in the time” to study? Many people put in the time to study but still do not pass, so interested in your opinions about yourselves 🙂

[Track55]

No accounting experience and no one in family either. The tests didnt come easy. I just did Ninja till I threw up… then I did more.

There is no magic bullet.

AUD - 99
BEC - 83
FAR - 86
REG - 92

California - Internal Audit

CPA since December 2016.

(took seven tries, 1 year 10 months).

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[wombataholic]

>>What kind of background in accounting do you have?

I worked in tv news for 11 years before switching careers so I could be home for dinner at night. My bachelor's is in mass communication. When I sat for the exam, I had been working in the accounting field for a year and a half.

>>Do you have family in the accounting/business field?

Nope.

>>Does the material simply come easy to you?

Sort of, but I was also really really disciplined when it came to studying.

>>Do you particularly have an excellent memory and have always been a good test taker?

I think I have an average memory, not much better or worse than anyone else's. I am a good test taker.

>>Curious what kind of people score in the 90s on these exams and what would you attribute your high scores to other than “putting in the time” to study?

“Putting in the time” is a generic term that can mean a lot of things to different people. I knew my learning style before I started studying and made efficient use of my planned study time. When my schedule said I would be studying for 2 hours after work and 4 hours on Saturday morning, I would be studying at those times. I set daily study goals so I would know whether I was on pace to get through my material and know it well enough for the upcoming test date. If I were to fall behind, then I had to carve out more time to study.

AUD - 91
BEC - 85
FAR - 91
REG - 92

CPA, CFE
Passed all 4 CPA exam sections with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

Licensed CPA
Passed each section on the first try with Ninja Notes/MCQ/Audio

[Tuthegreat]

I literally came to work everyday and told myself, “look at those Idiots. if they can pass the exam, so can I.” and my journey of a thousand miles began.

Now, some the new guys thinks I'm that “idiot.” and so his journey begins.

[CPA2BEE]

Don't worry about scoring in the 90s – every point you score over 75 just represents wasted time 😉

CA CPA - est. Dec 2016

FAR - 80
AUD - 82
BEC - 80
REG - 85

ETHICS - 90
EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

[patelhj1]

I am the 1st in my family to get college education and get a professional job. I didn't pass with all 90+ but I still passed the exam. It's simply hard work pays off. There are no shortcuts to this exam!

PASSED ALL CPA EXAM AUG 2016

BECKER / NINJA MCQ

BEC 78 08/2015
REG 71 11/2015, RETAKE 83 01/2016
FAR 75! 5/2016
AUD ? 8/2016

Becker with Nonstop NINJA MCQ
Google most difficult professional exam

[CPA2BEE]

Yeah I'm pretty sure the people who scored 90+ on all of their exams aren't any more of a CPA than the rest of us. Just think 75 and the rest is gravy.

CA CPA - est. Dec 2016

FAR - 80
AUD - 82
BEC - 80
REG - 85

ETHICS - 90
EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

[jgod]

Quickie answer:

-For AUD, cut whatever time you think you need to spend on practice MCQ's and Sims by at least half and spend that time reading as many standards as possible. (Just make sure you are covering what's in the CSO)
-Take FAR before AUD.

I don't think having more of a background in auditing makes that much of a difference. I took 2 auditing classes and never worked in it.

For REG, I think your background does make a difference. I took 8 tax classes and Business Law and worked in individual income tax. I'll see Nov. 4 if that gets me over 90.

Two more.

AUD- 99 (6/8/16)
REG- TBD
FAR- TBD
BEC- TBD

[Lou]

I just have an undergraduate degree in business/accounting.

I concur with @wombataholic, for me, putting in the time is setting a dedicated schedule for studying and stick to it. It's about keeping yourself accountable.

Also, for my actual study techniques, I write the book out in notes and write down the tidbits from the answers so I can retain them better.

AUD - 91
BEC - 91
FAR - 94
REG - 87

Done!

FAR- taken 8/11/16....now the wait begins
AUD- scheduled 9/8/16
BEC- scheduled 10/9/16
REG-scheduled 12/10/16

Live a few years like most people won't, to live the rest of your life like most people can't.

[Valar Dohaeris]

All my colleagues who earned 90+ just finished school and all admit to “over studying”. I have colleagues who have earned awards for scoring so high on the CPA. One scored a 99 on FAR; another scored 99 on AUD.

AUD - 81
BEC - 83
FAR - 83
REG - 84

CPA

Finance Manager

Experienced in Big 4 audit, regional audit, and technical accounting consulting

BEC - 85
AUD - 81
REG - 84
FAR - 7/24/16

[jombe]

overstudy led by insecurity.

– b.s. in accounting, swore off accting as soon as i got my diploma
– 4+ yrs in non-accounting roles after graduation.
– accting all of sudden seemed the right thing to do
– studied FAR for 9 months because i just didn't feel prepared
– realized i overstudied when i got my FAR score
– spent no more than 3 months per section after FAR,
but just increased the daily hrs i put in, because yes i am that insecure

AUD - 99
BEC - 91
FAR - 94
REG - 96

--------------------------------------------
Done with exam. On with life.

FAR - 94 (10/4/15), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
AUD - 99 (1/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
REG - 96 (4/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ
BEC - 91 (7/19/16), Local Prep Online Lectures, BISK & NINJA MCQ

581 days of listening to lectures, reading texts & 10,000+ MCQs...

[Cjsr]

I scored 92 in AUD. My original educational background was in Mathematics and Physics. I felt it helped me with AUD because AUD has a lot of logic in it – e.g., if you want to test completeness, you don't start at the end. All that practice in math with “p implies q,” “not q implies not p,” etc. This also helped me with REG (scored 83). The IRS code has “except for (p and q), not r,” etc. all over the place.

As opposed to FAR, which has a lot of things that seem arbitrary to me. Like, why IFRS decided to do this differently from GAAP, but not that.

BEC Jan 2016 83 Becker FastPass
REG Jan 2016 83
AUD May 2016 92
FAR Jul 2016 74
FAR Mar 2017. 91 Becker book + NINJA 10-point combo

BEC. 83. 9 Jan 2016
REG. 83. 30 Jan 2016
AUD. 92. 27 May 2016

Becker FastPass with in-class videos

[.]

I just thought that AUD was a joke compared to the other exams. Sort of annoying but way easier than the other ones. The other exams were much more of a struggle.

Just have a bachelor's degree in accounting at a run of the mill public university. The prestigious public universities in California don't offer accounting/business as a major. I took one auditing class 3-4 years ago. I have 2 years experience as a staff accountant doing mostly bookkeeping. I suppose that helped with journal entries. So many on this forum seem to freak out over journal entries in FAR. As long as I see a few example entries, I'm fine. I have a crappy memory and am a decent but slow test-taker. My immediate family is more into art, science, and education; no one is in business/accounting. To tell you the truth, I don't really care for business much. Medicine turns me on way more. I also enjoy studying foreign languages and almost became a Japanese major.

FAR- 88- 6/16- (Ninja Avg. 74%)
REG- 89- 7/16- (Ninja Avg. 77%)
AUD- 95- 8/16- (Ninja Avg. 81%)
BEC- 82- 9/16- (Ninja Avg. 75%)
[Wiley CPAExcel + Ninja MCQ]

Finally licensed.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Author]

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