[foreseeableCPA]

Hi all,

I am in the process of studying for the CIA exam. I was wondering if passing the CIA exam will count as CPE towards the CPA designation in California?

Also, I heard the first two parts are much easier than the third? Can anyone elaborate why the third is much harder? And what parts of the CPA exam, if any, over laps with the CIA exam parts?

Thanks!

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[foreseeableCPA]

@pickanicken good luck today !

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

Thanks! I think it went okay. That thing felt like a marathon!

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[foreseeableCPA]

@pickanicken Now the waiting game begins. The anticipation to see CPA exam results kills.

If you pass AUD, what are your remaining exams?

I'm almost done taking a first pass at Part 2. I know you mentioned that Part 2 was the easiest one for you, but I'm having a harder time with this than Part 1. Most of the gleim questions are situational based and ask you to pick the least correct answer. Throws me off. I'll be going through the material again so maybe things will start to click.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

Yes, the waiting game begins. It's torture. If I pass then my last exam will be FAR. Then I am done forever. No more certification to pursue unless it is on my companies time and dime.

Yeah, I agree that Part II is a little more situational. I think once you actually take the test you will see that you probably had nothing to worry about though. Just stick to your good study habits and you'll do great.

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[foreseeableCPA]

Sounds like you are knocking out these exams with ease! Good stuff.

I just paid for Part 2 and am waiting for pearson to allow me to schedule an appointment.
Really want to get this one over with so I can start studying for Part 3. You mentioned Part 3 is similar to BEC, which I'm excited for. I actually liked studying for BEC because most of the material was familiar, especially the economics portion. The size of the Part 3 book is definitely intimidating. Reminds me of CPA books.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

Happy to report that I got an 86 on audit. Going to start studying for FAR this week and plan on taking in April. Any tips?

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[foreseeableCPA]

Congrats on the 86! Impressive. You are killing these exams. All in the 80's.

It's been quite some time since FAR. I actually took that exam as my first one back in 2013. I didn't know what to expect and spent tons of hours studying the formulas.

I am also happy to report I passed CIA PART2! Now its time to tackle the beast, Part3. Looks like we are both now studying for one of the bigger exams.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

WOW! That is impressive. You are flying through the exams. Wasn't it only a month ago that you started studying for Part 1? Either way, that's great. Part 3 is definitely the most comprehensive and will probably require a bit more attention than the other two. Good luck and keep me posted.

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[foreseeableCPA]

I believe I started studying for Part 1 early February. Studied for about 3 weeks before taking Part 1's exam. Took Part 2 two weeks after. I don't think its possible to cram Part 3. So much material and it drags on. The Org Structure stuff is information overload.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[foreseeableCPA]

@pickanicken, Part 3 has proved to be unbearable lol.. The amount of material feels more than any of the CPA books. I'm only on Ch. 13 IT Systems and Business Continuity. More than halfway there, but I barely touched the multiple choice questions. Trying to read/take notes on the material first. I know this is comparable to BEC but BEC seemed to be much narrower.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

My advice is to focus on the big picture concepts and don't get lost in the weeds. Unlike BEC, Part III of the CIA is almost all conceptual. There are very few calculations. I know there are like 5 accounting sections which include financial and cost accounting, but my advice would be to know this material only at a base level. From what I recall, the exam is IT heavy.

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[foreseeableCPA]

Hows the FAR studying going for you? When you do anticipate taking the exam?

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

If I am being honest, it has not been going great. I am scheduled to take the exam on May 2. I knew this would be the section I struggled with the most because I do poorly with memorizing computations and am not the greatest at math. I also had a pretty large learning curve with journal entries because I have been so disconnected from those concepts. I have been averaging in the 60s overall on quizzes and am roughly 3/4 through the material. I am scared because by the time I start to review, it will have been a significant amount of time since I looked at the first few sections of material. I am worried about forgetting things, but don't have time to go back for a refresh because I need to stay on track. I am considering pushing my date – the pro would be more time, the con would be that its also more time for forget things. I think the biggest issue is just that there is sooooo much material to study – makes it very difficult to focus on things.

Anyway, how have you been? Have you taken Part 3 or still preparing?

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[foreseeableCPA]

Hopefully, when you go over the material for a second time, things will start to click even more. I believe I was scoring in the 60's on some parts as well. Do not get overwhelmed. I felt my review material (Becker) was more difficult than the exam. For the other CPA exams, what were you scoring in those quizzes?

I'm still studying for PART 3 and anticipate taking the exam sometime in the first week of May. For Part 1 and Part 2, I was able to complete all the multiple choice in Gleim. Completing all the multiple choice questions for Part 3 would be extremely time consuming. Instead, I am going to keep re reading the book (3rd time) to try to get it to stick in my head. Also, I'm trying not to get caught up on all the math.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[pickanicken]

I was averaging in the low 60s when I took REG and ended up with an 81. I probably was averaging higher with BEC and AUD because I thought those were a lot easier. Right now I have been gauging my progress based on REG since I feel like they are similar levels of difficulty. If I am averaging in the mid-high 60s then I will probably feel okay. The Gleim materials are brutal compared to the actual exam.

Good to hear that you are still progressing with Part 3. Reading the book is great, but if you have already gone through it three times, I would really start focusing more on the questions. Also, don't go to crazy worrying about the accounting sections and the calculations. I think the CIA takes a more conceptual route than the CPA in those regards.

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

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