Introducing NINJA CPA Blogger Rob

Rob is a new NINJA CPA Blogger.

Hello fellow CPA Exam Takers,

My name is Rob; I’m a 43-year-old happily married father of two living in a town approximately 30 miles north of Boston.

Since 1989, I’ve made my way through the ranks of accounting jobs: A/P, A/R, staff accountant, Senior Staff Accountant, A/P Supervisor, General Accounting Manager, and now Global Finance Manager.

I’ve been told that if you wanted to advance your accounting career, you need a CPA license.

So after years of not wanting to invest the time or effort into studying for the exam, a chance meeting over a game of pickleball put me on a path that I’m not still not sure where it’s leading. What’s pickleball? It’s like tennis, but the court is smaller, you use paddles, and the ball is similar to a wiffle ball.

A few years ago I was “considering” sitting for the exam and evaluating CPA review courses. I hadn’t yet made up my mind, when at a Thursday night game of pickleball, I was paired with a guy I had never met. As it turned out, he works for a review course!

While I’m not into the supernatural, I took this as a sign that I should take the CPA exam. So I bought the entire product line.

Now, armed with materials, I sought the advice of others who had taken the exam for guidance. Unfortunately, all had different advice, so I decided to start with FAR based on the fact that it encompasses the most material and is generally considered the hardest section.

Since I don’t have an accounting degree (undergrad and masters both in business), a lot of the material was new or something I had seen years ago but haven’t used in my career (like bonds or non-profit accounting). Along the way, I discovered Another71.com and was happy to meet and read about others who were in the same situation as I was.

After a couple of stops and starts, I got on a schedule and completed all of the DVDs, a ton of MCQs, and a lot of simulations. I took the exam and did not have a strong feeling either way if I passed or not.

When my FAR results came, my score was FAR from passing (pun intended). It was a like a kick to the gut, not that I failed, but by how much. People I talked to said I would feel worse if I scored a 74, but I didn’t agree.

At least with a 74, you were in the game; with my score, I wasn’t even in the ballpark. I reached out for advice and was told, “Maybe FAR was not the place to start; try BEC to build some confidence.” So I started on BEC.

From the outset, BEC seemed easier – corporate governance, project management, and economic theory were all things I was familiar with, but then there’s cost accounting, which I’m not so familiar with.

So I again watched all the BEC DVDs, did a ton of MCQs, and studied practice essays. I was nervous, but I felt ready on exam day. But I failed miserably again. So I started BEC again and got on the ELL (early, lunch, late) study schedule.

I was awake most mornings at 5am and studying until 6am, studying at lunch time, and ending the day with more studying, but I failed BEC again and added only three points to my previous failing grade.

Something was wrong; I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t able to remember what I had learned and recall the concepts on test day. I went for neuropsychological testing and was diagnosed with ADHD. It made sense: I was losing focus when I would try to study for more than an hour, and I wasn’t retaining anything I was studying.

After a break while trying to figure out how best to study with the ADHD diagnosis, I’m about ready to start BEC again. What will be different this time? I’m working with a coach, and I will have medication that will help my memory and my focus. I’m hoping the medicine will have the same effect on my CPA scores as PEDs did for A-Rod’s batting average and home run totals!

Related Posts

New NINJA CPA Review Flashcards

Check out the new NINJA Flashcards. No additional app is needed – it’s all included in the new DOJO that’s been optimized for mobile studying. Want To Try The NINJA Flashcards for Free? To Your Success, Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) NINJA CPA | Another71

NINJA CPA Promo Code

Does NINJA CPA Review have any promo codes? No. NINJA CPA Review doesn’t run promo or discount codes. Most CPA Review courses play the discount code game where they say, “this is the price (but it’s not really the price…wink wink)”. NINJA CPA doesn’t play the promo code game. Instead, we offer the same affordable […]

cpa exam simulations

15 New CPA Exam Simulations added to NINJA MCQ

NINJAs, We just added 15 CPA Exam Simulations to the NINJA MCQ Simulation list. New Simulations: FAR: Consolidation: Eliminating Journal Entries AUD: Evaluating Audit Evidence BEC: Direct vs Absorption Costing (SIM), Expected Value (SIM), Budgeting: Master, Static and Flexible (SIM), Economic Indicators (Written Communication), Financial Statement Analysis (SIM), Performance Measurement (SIM), Capital Budgeting Decision (Written Communication), […]

With a Full-Time Job and Two Kids, I PASSED the CPA Exam!

Hello Ninjas, This will be my last blog entry as a NINJA CPA. I found out at the last score release that I passed both AUD and FAR to bring an end to my CPA exam journey. My journey with NINJA began about 4 years ago. After not having taken the exam for 7 or […]

Leave a Reply