Thoughts on studying for the CPA exam after being out of school for a while.

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  • #1644031
    John Doe 15
    Participant

    One issue that I’m having a hard time getting a concrete answer for is regarding any correlation between recent undergraduate accounting/business coursework and then jumping into studying for the CPA exam.

    I’ve been out of school for three years and I pursued an entirely different career. I want to come back to accounting. I have a BS in accounting with 159 credits but no work experience in accounting. I was recently certified by NASBA to sit for the exam and I registered for BEC. I’m going to use the Gleim review which I will start next week.

    I just don’t know what to expect with this going forward. I’m highly motivated but I want to make sure I’m doing this the right way. Do these “review” courses assume you know nothing or are they assuming you are already coming in with a decent amount of knowledge?

    Just want to see what you guys think of a situation like this. I’m not working right now so I’m trying my best to pass all four sections on the first try in 12 months.

    Thanks

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
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  • #1644038
    Jen-J
    Participant

    Welcome! I'm 10 years out myself (but have been working as an accountant). I'm using Becker, and it's starting from a fairly basic level. If you have an undergrad in accounting, you should have a pretty good basis to start studying. I will say that I'm devoting a lot of hours because so many things just aren't there in my brain any more or I haven't used them since school. No one was born knowing this stuff, which means it must be possible to learn it. 🙂

    AUD: 87

    BEC: 90

    FAR: 93

    REG: 84

    CPA license issued September 2018

    #1644050
    LawGuy
    Participant

    I had been out of school for about 6 years when I started studying. I’m over halfway done now so it’s definitely doable. I haven’t tried Gleim but I have been extremely satisfied with Roger CPA review so far. It’s a full review that is pretty much like starting from scratch, but it doesn’t get overly bogged down in irrelevant minutia.

    The main drawback with having been out of school for a while is that it will take you longer to get through the material. I think the vast majority of people who pass in short time frames like 3 months do so just out of school while it’s fresh on their minds. It took me 4 months to make it through the material for FAR (while working full time). I originally budgeted 6 months to pass all 4 parts but now it’s looking like it will take closer to 1 year. I think 6 months is definitely a realistic goal if you’re not working full time if you are devoted to studying.

    AUD - 86
    BEC - 85
    FAR - 81
    REG - 92
    Excelsior!
    #1644052
    John Doe 15
    Participant

    Thanks Jen,

    Do you feel that your work in accounting is helping you with the studying or do you feel the studying is very different than your work?

    Thanks

    #1644055
    John Doe 15
    Participant

    Interesting to hear LawGuy. Yeah I agree that completing all four parts should be a lot easier when you're just studying and have no work obligations. I picked Gleim because they said it was more thorough and not just a review of what's on the exam. Being out of school and away from the accounting scene, I figure that maybe the Gleim course might give an overall bigger picture than I might get with another review course.

    Any advice on how many hours you are all spending a day or per week on studying? What do you think is normal or realistic and what is overkill?

    #1644073

    @ b694515

    I am out of school 10 years – started studying for CPA in January – fast forward to October I am 3/4 done! Honestly I think experience helped a great deal getting me this far. The review courses give you the ability of not learning from scratch but building on what you know and fine tuning what you may have forgotten.

    Best of Luck! <3

    BEC - Passed

    REG - Passed

    AUD - Passed

    FAR - Passed

    #1644100
    Jen-J
    Participant

    @b694515 – Some stuff I have encountered at work, but it's been the more esoteric things because I work for a non-profit. I'm rusty on for-profit accounting, don't know auditing, and I have no experience on preparing for-profit business tax returns. My goal is to get through this in 9 months (if I pass every part on the first try, obviously longer if not), so your 12 month plan sounds pretty doable.

    AUD: 87

    BEC: 90

    FAR: 93

    REG: 84

    CPA license issued September 2018

    #1644107
    kay
    Participant

    I just started my first real accounting job in July and graduated with my undergrad in accounting in 2010, and Masters in 2013 where even though I got a masters degree also in accounting most of my courses were more specialized then what is covered on the exam. In 2012/13 I took Becker.. it overwhelmed me and after taking aUdit and failing I gave up because at the time I was working as a business analyst in didn't think id ever want to go the CPA route. Fast forward to now… Like I said I started my First accounting job in July in public accounting in the Tax department. Since then I have studied for and passed REG, FAR is Next. Studying now feels easier then it was right out of college I'm not sure why but I am no longer feeling overwhelmed, Maybe its the added maturity Of being 30 instead of 24, maybe its that I want it more now, maybe it's that I'm using another study course. All I know is right out of college it felt like an unattainable goal… today 6 years post graduation with my only accounting experience being a couple tax seasons doing basic tax returns at h&r block. It's doable, maybe even easier now. They say its easier to learn things the second time around, so far for me, that is absolutely true. I am working Full Time and plan to complete all the exams in just over 6 months. You Can Do It!!! And yes Working Full time, although challenging to maintain my study schedule has been helpful. Having resources to help when I don't understand something and also being given the opportunity to apply things I study really solidifies concepts.
    3 months ago, I couldn't tell you what the normal balances in most accounts were, now I know it and am getting to the point I can apply basic Framework to solving problems.

    AUD - NINJA in Training
    BEC - 91
    FAR - 77
    REG - 78
    You'll never succeed if you never try.
    #1644110
    maj1028
    Participant

    I graduated back in 2001 and although I have been working in accounting field, it was at a small business which was using cash basis accounting. I just recently passed all 4 parts in a single attempt with an 87% average, so I think if I can do it, so can you. Just create a plan and stick with it and be determined. good luck

    AUD - 94
    BEC - 86
    FAR - 81
    REG - 87
    @maj1028

    "In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete.  All is well in my world." - Louise L. Hay

    #1644175
    ukrainiangirl
    Participant

    Hello!

    I would say it is realistic to pass from the first attempt years after graduating if you have ability to study for at least a few hours every day.

    In my case I have graduated in 2012, have started studying for exam in September, 2016 and set myself a pretty aggressive goal to try sitting for all 4 within 6 months. Used Becker to study. Passed BEC and FAR with like 77, 78 and the other two with slightly better scores.

    Studied every day after work, did not study at all Sundays.

    Also, I do work in audit which was very helpful for the AUD section but honestly did not make much of a difference for the other 3.

    #1644185
    tskits75
    Participant

    I graduated in 07 with an accounting degree but due to the economy being bad I took a finance job and got comfortable. I switched to public in 2012 and i was in the process of getting my MBA so i didn't end up studying for the exam until novemebr 2015 so 8+ years removed. I treated it as if I was learing it all again because i knew i wouldn't remember much from school, and i finished Q3 of this year.

    AUD - 92
    BEC - 79
    FAR - 79
    REG - 76
    If I can do it, anyone can!

    AUD - 92
    BEC - 79
    REG - August
    FAR - TBD

    #1644224
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I turned 30 this year… 30!!! That means I'm too old, it's been too long since college (graduated in 2010), my brain is already deteriorating, I won't learn as fast as I used to (I actually heard this from someone), I won't be able to pass this exam (heard this too 🙁 ), I should just give up on my hopes and dreams and move into hospice care.

    I passed all 4 on the first try within 6 months while working full time.

    For what it's worth, below is a link of the CPA exam statistics from the 2014 candidates. I found page 10 to be particularly motivating, the average candidate age is 29. In fact, 38.7% of candidates were over the age of 35. I think it's safe to assume, for the most part, the average candidate has been out of school quite some time.
    https://nasba.org/app/uploads/2015/07/Evaluating-Examination-Statistics-Suh.pdf

    #1644242
    PNS2CLT
    Participant

    Boy I feel like an !!! writing this, but I found the link drumstick posted to be interesting: Younger people are more likely to pass the exam; 67% of candidates who were under 22 passed the exam but then the number steadily drops — from 62% of 22-23yo to 39% of those of us 35+. Average age is also deceitful – nearly 60% of all candidates are in their early/mid-20s… it's just old farts like us who drive the average up :).

    #1644247
    Defo
    Participant

    I wouldn't let those statistics influence you. I would find it more odd if they were different. The top accounting students will all be taking the exam as recent graduates, so as the age of candidate increases the population remaining is going to be made up of less and less exceptional students to drive up the average.

    AUD - 83
    BEC - 84
    FAR - 78
    REG - 92
    #1644298
    John Doe 15
    Participant

    Thanks for all the responses. I feel better moving forward with this.

    Anybody have thoughts on the Gleim course? Like I said previously, I picked Gleim because the reviews said it was more in-depth and I thought that would be better for my situation.

    Does the course make a huge difference in the outcome of the score?

    #1644313
    darthlarryboy
    Participant

    I'd been out of school for 12 years when I picked up the BEC study material for the first time. The job I had for 11 years, I did no real accounting. I've pass three exams so far and on the first try. I'm 43. Point is, age is only a number…unless your talking about health then it is a bitch!

    B-76! 11/14/16

    A-76! 09/8/17

    R-79! 07/10/17

    F-84! 05/30/18

     

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
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