[leglock]

For anyone who has taken or is taking the EA exam, in comparison to the cpa exam, how difficult is the EA exam?

Are the questions as tricky as the cpa exam or are they more straight forward like a college class test?

Are there review courses for the EA exam?

Thanks

[Tux]

to hecubus –

many on this posting (an others) have said there is no reason to pursue the EA and the CPA.

To someone who is still deciding whether to pursue the EA or not (like me), what feedback would you have for them?

Why are you pursuing both?

What advantages do you foresee?

Do you know someone who is already working in that field who has both, and would recommend it to others?

I plan to specialize in tax, and since I'm studying for REG, I figure I'll be half way through the EA material anyway, so may as well get the additional certification right after REG since the knowledge will be so fresh.

I guess I see additional certifications as potentially attractive for getting work. You never know when it will actually help, and it certainly can't hurt.

So, that's my thinking, but when others say it's a waste of time, I start having doubts.

I like the idea of not being limited to state lines, but a CPA told me that those geographic limitations don't apply to tax anyway.

Open to feedback.

FAR - 86 - 2/27/14
AUD - 75 - 5/29/14
BEC - 80 - 8/31/14
REG - 89 - 2/27/15
Praise Jesus! I'm done!!

Study resources:
Becker
Wiley test bank

[Skynet]

Let me chime in a bit.

I do agree with some people here that by being a CPA, you don't necessarily need to be an EA. Only a total of 4 states require you to have a Tax Preparer's license anyways. The EA is more for those who want to do taxes and work in tax related jobs yet don't want to prusue the CPA. You also have to understand that the states that require preparers licenses are often limited to preparing taxes only. By having an EA, you can represent the tax payers too.

Because I'm in SoCal, a preparer's license is required. I only have it because, I was out of the workforce for some time during the Recession and needed a way to get back into the Accounting field. Because I spent a year getting it, letting it go would be a waste even though I'm pursuing the CPA. It only costs me less than $200 to maintain it.

I know many professionals who are CPA's that are EA's and CMA's too and a few who also holds the CTEC license as well. A little redundant but hey to each his own.

[hecubus330]

I pursued EA to boost my confidence. You can only fail AUD so many times before you want to end your life force. If you have a CPA you do not really need an EA. In my firm the mangers who are EAs were grandfathered in. Now if you are CPA eligible, you must pass the CPA exam to be promoted to manager.

An advantage to having EA is that I can be on the Power of Attorney. You can also be on Power of Attorney with your CPA, but it is faster to get the EA. You can also sign tax returns (again, you can also do this with a CPA).

Studying for the EA exam also got me back into the mindset of studying.

So after passing the EA exam,I started over with CPA exam again. I took REG at the beginning of the month and I take BEC next week. I feel that this time around I have a better understanding of the time commitment and what sections I need to focus on.

BEC -69, 69
REG -77 (expired), 79
FAR - ?
AUD - 65, 67

[Skynet]

@hecubus330 – Surprisingly, passing the EA exams on the first try did the same thing to boost my confidence and got me back to studying the CPA exams again too after many prior CPA exam failures.

[hecubus330]

@Skynet A lot of my coworkers did not understand my reasoning, but there were a lot of people in my EA exam class that were in the same situation. I'm happy it is working for you!

WE CAN DO THIS!

BEC -69, 69
REG -77 (expired), 79
FAR - ?
AUD - 65, 67

[Author]

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