[Anonymous]

BACKGROUND:

“You know, you don’t need a 3.8 GPA to sell insurance…” said the managing partner of a small boutique consultancy, as he began his interview questions for me. I had to bite my tongue in order to refrain from replying, “Well.. you don’t really need a Harvard MBA to figure that one out.” Incidentally, he DID have a Harvard MBA, and I didn’t get offered the position. Usually when you hear feedback from an interview, it’s hard to tell if they’re being euphemistic, excessively politically-correct, or truly honest. However, when you hear the same thing over and over, you start to believe it. For me, it was: “Everyone really liked you, and you’re obviously a bright guy…. We’re just looking for someone with slightly different skill-sets/background.” That’s frustrating. How could I change my skill sets? I really wanted to work in a field/position where I’d be able to think and work with financial data in a very analytical and quantitative manner, but my general sales experience and ‘Business Management’ degree didn’t seem to convince anyone I was capable of doing so. Going back for another bachelors degree would be prohibitively expensive, and I had nowhere near the necessary credentials to get into a top MBA program.

I actually brainstormed this quandary with my mom in late 2009. I randomly mused that I could take the CPA exam. Being a part time instructor at the local community college, my mom informed me that they had a pretty good accounting department. Within five minutes, I had mapped out two years worth of courses. The plan was to work full time while taking two classes per quarter. Fast forward to August, 2011, and my Academic Credentials Evaluation had been approved. Rock and roll.

Fast forward to a week ago (March 8th), and I have officially passed all four parts, and the ethics test. Rock and roll.

BEC – 10/15/11 – 91

FAR – 11/25/11 – 89

REG – 1/17/12 – 81

AUD – 2/25/12 – 97

There are obviously a lot of different factors that go into a successful CPA study-plan. What works for some may not work for others, and my approach may very well not be the best for you. Nonetheless, if even some small part helps someone else out, I’ll be glad. I’ve segmented the different components of my study plan into several categories, including: Attitude, Personal Life, Time Management, Study Materials, and of course, the Four Exams.

ATTITUDE: TL;DR: Be very serious about passing the exam – treat it like a commitment you can’t break. Also recognize that by even being eligible for the exam, you’re already at a level of knowledge that few people will reach.

I’m convinced that having the right mindset about the exam played a huge role in being able to get through not only the actual exam, but also the classes preceding it. For me, I approached the exam as though I had only one shot at passing each section, and that failure was not an option. Sure, that may sound a bit like ‘locker-room’ garbage, but having met people with a blasé attitude, I believe that being serious about the exam is important. Next, I always kept in mind that even BEFORE taking the exam, I had reached a level of education that a large majority of the world never will. This may sound cocky, but everyone on this website who has sat for (or will shortly be sitting for) the exam probably has a Masters-equivalent number of college credits, and has managed to pass quite a few hard courses (I don’t care what anyone says, Intermediate Accounting was tough!!). Next time you feel like giving up, just reframe the situation – you’re playing on a level that few will reach. If you’ve made it this far, there’s no sense in quitting now – time to fully commit!

PERSONAL LIFE: TL;DR: Set expectations with your significant-other/friends/family – they’ll think you’re less of a dick for doing so. Go out and get drunk from time to time, fly a kite, or do something you enjoy.

I’m not married (I do have a wonderful girlfriend), and I’ll be the first to admit that this exam would be remarkably difficult to study for if you have a great deal of family responsibilities. It was difficult enough having to constantly keep my head in the books and ignore my girlfriend. That being the case, I found it beneficial to actually explain the situation in detail and get her ‘buy-in’. No significant other wants to hear that their loved one is going to be stressed, busy, and unable to participate in many fun weekend activities for the next 6-9 months. However, by setting expectations and putting a timeframe on the test, I found that she was pretty understanding. The same idea applies to friends. If you simply ignore texts and don’t return calls, your friends will justifiably think you’re a jerkoff. However, if you let them know what’s going on, and when you’ll be free, they’re a bit more understanding. I’m a big believer in balance, and I definitely didn’t want to become a complete recluse as a result of this exam. To that end, don’t forget to go out from time to time. I found that going out for a beer, or 10, every so often really helped keep me sane. As long as I was ahead of my study schedule, going out on a random weekend definitely helped keep my life in perspective.

TIME MANAGEMENT: TL;DR: Be an ogre about your time – it’s very valuable. It’s not enough to simply set aside time – turn wait periods into study periods.

Although I always tried to be polite, there were definitely times when I had to tell people not to disturb me unless the building was on fire or my pets were being kidnapped. Given how busy life gets, it’s important to be capable of telling people to leave you alone while you study – don’t let distractions interrupt a good session. Additionally, I found it beneficial to block off certain times – generally between 9:00-11:00pm. Having a structured time for studying definitely aided my willpower. However, being the OCD and ‘urgent’ person that I am, I couldn’t help but notice how much down time I had during the day. A 20 minute commute in congested traffic, a 45 minute lunch break, 15 minutes here/there waiting for my girlfriend to get ready, and other such blocks of time became the perfect opportunity to read the notecards I had made while studying. To that end, I literally filled in all the cracks of my day with CPA studying.

STUDY MATERIALS: TL;DR: The Wiley book/bank combo is the best value out there hands down. Wiley can be frustrating, and the use of a second study-book set can make a world of difference.

Given that I didn’t have an employer paying for my study materials, exam fees, or the classes I took to meet eligibility, cost was definitely a large consideration in deciding upon study materials. Although the most common answer regarding study materials seems to be Becker, I was unimpressed by what I saw, and it seemed like a poor value (in my opinion – ymmv). Anyone who has an above average memory, can learn well solely through reading, and has a lot of willpower could pass the entire exam with Wiley alone. That being the case, having a second book – such as the Gleim text – can make a world of difference. While Wiley tended to read like legalese, Gleim was a bit more well-reasoned and the explanations were a hell of a lot easier to digest. I found myself starting with the Wiley book, and if I was having difficulty grasping a concept, I’d switch to Gleim. Regardless of the order, I read both books and answered every single multiple choice question – in addition to doing thousands of questions in the Wiley Test Bank. Additionally, I pretty much did every cpareviewforfree.com question, for all the sections. I found it to be most helpful for BEC and AUD, and least effective for REG (in my opinion).

THE ACTUAL EXAMS: TL;DR: Do as many multiple choice questions as you possibly can. Then do more. If you find yourself getting stuck on a concept, pretend you are explaining it to a sophomore accounting student – if you can explain it to them, you probably understand it yourself. Steal other people’s ideas and acronyms.

While working in sales, I coined the phrase, “Don’t reinvent the wheel – just paint it your favorite color.” When it comes to exam prep, the advice regarding multiple choice questions is correct – do a boatload of them. Not only should you do a lot, but understand why you got a problem wrong (or why you got it right, if by accident). Take Notes, and actually review the notes on a regular basis. Additionally, if someone has a great acronym, study tip, or anything else, then steal it! For instance, I now have a giant box of ear-plugs – I highly recommend them, and I’m glad someone told me to use them. In terms of test specifics, for BEC I found that studying the calculations was very helpful – my reasoning was that if I understood the calculations, I should be able to rationalize the theory behind them. To that end, I committed a lot of formulas to memory, and I believe it helped. For FAR, I tried a similar approach – ie, memorizing formulas and hoping I could figure out the theory behind it if needed. In retrospect, this may not have been the best idea, and I probably would have spent more time on concepts if I could do it over again. Also, I found that the most efficient way to learn IFRS was to focus SOLELY on the differences relative to GAAP. While IFRS is supposed to be all “conceptual” and less prescriptive, the study materials tend to suggest more similarities than differences (between IFRS and GAAP). For that reason, I focused on the much more narrow set of information related to differences. My logic while preparing was that if I didn’t know an IFRS question, I’d answer it as if it was a GAAP question, provided I didn’t have a specific reason NOT to. REG was by far the most difficult exam for me. For REG, the devil is in the details. As we all know, the questions found on any given exam could be at least a little bit different than those found on the test of someone sitting across the room. To that end, I probably would have spent more time on personal tax issues, rather than business law (I can’t help that I find business law to be a lot more interesting than tax!). Additionally, REG was definitely the exam where I really started practicing my technique of ‘explanations’. For instance, after completely f’ing up a series of questions on corporate distributions, I focused on that material until I could literally explain (out loud) exactly why certain distributions received certain tax treatment. I figured that if I could explain the logic behind it to someone with a sophomore level of accounting knowledge, then I was probably in good shape for the exam. AUD felt difficult at first, but after reasoning through a great number of multiple choice questions, I started feeling comfortable with the logic. In essence, if you understand the concept of segregation, can memorize a few of the ‘lists’ (ie, what is control environment composed of? What are the elements of a quality control system?), and can grasp the logic behind audit procedures, then AUD is very passable. Given that I had only taken a single intro-audit course coming into the exam, I found multiple questions to be the absolute best way of learning AUD.

Also, it should be noted that I did indeed wear lucky red boxers for all four exams – and this started before I read about the benefits of lucky red undwear. This would suggest to me that this is a best practice worth following. I also wore the same blue flannel button-down and worn out Asics for all four exams. That all being said, it appears I have rambled out a damn near novel. I hope someone finds some use in it, and I’d be happy to answer any questions.

[ReneeNC]

That's a good strategy – pretending you need to explain it to someone with less knowledge of the subject.

I am also of the mindset that I need to pass the first time. I can't afford to take this multiple times.

For me, the time management thing is my worst problem. I have 7 children, and (at this time) they are homeschooled. In addition, I am finishing up my Masters in Accounting in May. I get up at 5:30am and seem to keep going until I fall into bed at 9:30-10:00. I just keep telling myself that this is for a season, and if I can handle this, I can handle busy season at any firm!

Sometimes I just think of Dori in Finding Nemo….”just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

Congratulations to you on your accomplishment! I hope that job hunting for something in your new skill set is fruitful.

REG - 89
BEC - 82
FAR - 87
AUD - 81
Used CPAexcel, Wiley Online Practice, and NINJA!

[willieverbeacpa]

Congratulations on your accomplishment! Did you pass all your exams on your first try?

If so, that's amazing!

I wanna ask you how many hours you committed on the weekends..ppl say its about quality not quantity.

Also did you use both wiley paperback 2012 edition with wiley test bank???

I heard they both have the same questions, so I was going to only get wiley problem sets (paperback) for all fours sets.

should I order both?

[kmwgrace]

1911 – thanks for sharing your story. It's very inspiring! Your tips are also very helpful. Congrats on reaching your goal!

~ Kate... MTX!
CPA exam on hold while I homeschool my 6 year old!

[Kodiak]

Great read. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

AUD - Pass
FAR - Pass
BEC - Pass
REG - Nov

[lateralus ag]

“I wanna ask you how many hours you committed on the weekends..ppl say its about quality not quantity.”

Nonsense. It's about the quantity of the quality time you spend. People that say it's about quality not quantity want to feel better because they didn't spend a lot of time studying.

I spent 3 hours a day EVERY DAY, for two months, studying for FAR and REG. Passed both on the first try. And before anyone claims that I don't have a life, I have a full time job as an accountant at a global consulting firm, I do tax and bookkeeping work on the side and I have a wife and three kids. It's about time management.

But it can be done. It's only temporary….

FAR 88
REG 89
AUD 89
BEC 86
DONE!!!
Using Becker Review and Becker Final Review, and Ninja Audio for BEC

[Anonymous]

To address the issue of time spent studying, I would tend to agree with lateralus. I think part of the reason I was able to pass the exams within my allotted time frame (two test windows, total), was that I focused on making all of my study sessions count. It's not enough to just be physically present as you click through a test bank. Additionally, I found that in order to make a session productive, I had to block off about an hour minimum. In my opinion, it is difficult to truly ‘get into' a subject matter topic without having at least an hour blocked off. This is also why making great note cards is key. While learning an entire subject-segment may require at least an hour commitment, note cards allow you to greatly shorten the required time for studying. For instance, once I learned the concept/material behind the ‘Control Environment' I could benefit from brief, five minute note card sessions before dinner, or during a break at work.

The big takeaway? Quantity and quality are both necessary, and when you're covering material for the first time, set aside an appropriate amount. After you've digested a topic, THEN it's possible to perform shorter impromptu study sessions with your note cards. It's also worth mentioning that I would mark a note card when I reviewed it (ie, with a date), that way I knew that I had covered the material multiple times.

Additionally, having seen a number of threads asking for advice on which materials to use after failing a section, I probably should have emphasized the amount of redundancy I built into my study plan. I used the Wiley books as the foundation of my program, but supplemented them with Gleim. Wiley is a bit like an encylopedia — very comprehensive and thorough, but somewhat difficult to stay focused on. Conversely, Gleim felt a bit more like an actual class. The material was covered in such a manner that made it very digestable. However, Gleim — in my opinion — was not complete enough to be a standalone study program. Wiley theoretically could be a standalone study plan. In fact, REG was the only section where I flew solo with Wiley — and my score reflects that. I'm a bit of a ‘book learner'. My friends have often characterized me as a robot — in respect to nearly everything I do (I used to be an incredibly choppy driver). To that end, I completely avoided computerized lectures and videos, as they do absolutely nothing for me. Instead, I read every single Wiley book, cover to cover, did every single Wiley question from the books, and did a hell of a lot of questions from the Wiley test bank. In order to have an appropriate amount of redundancy, I also read the entire Gleim book for FAR and BEC — which I should have done for REG, as well. AUD, in my opinion, is learnable through a single source. At the end of the day, I spent a LOT of time studying — I'm definitely not a CPA savant who breezed through the book in a week or two and aced the exam. It's also worth noting that when I said I had to pass the exams first try, within two windows, that was less of an exaggeration than it may have sounded. Illinois is moving from a two-tier state to a one-tier state, and I desperately wanted the ‘Registered CPA' credential, as I may never work in a position that will allow me to accrue the necessary experience for a reporting license. To that end, failure truly wasn't an option, and excessive study-redundancy was necessary. Looking back on it, I over-studied for BEC, studied the exact right amount for FAR, understudied for REG, and grossly over-studied for AUD. Although there is no hard and fast answer to how much a person should study, I believe BEC and AUD can definitely be done with a solid 4-weeks/month of studying, while REG and FAR may require an additional one to two weeks, each.

The big takeaway? Create a study plan that is both comprehensive enough, yet digestable. I highly recommend having two books, and a test bank. Read the material in both books once, and do the accompanying problems from each book as you read through the sections. While studying sections for the first time, block off enough time in order to get into the zone, and make solid note cards so you can later fill in the time-gaps of your day with brief note card sessions.

Lastly, as lateralus mentioned, it's only temporary. This too shall pass, and once your done, you will feel f'ing awesome! Thanks for the kind words everyone, and best of luck!

[flunk me flunk you]

@1911 CPA That's amazing that you passed everything in 2 windows, but for me that would be an impossible task. If you don't mind, I want to ask you a few questions about yourself. This will help me understand the “type” of mind that excels at this exam versus the ones that don't. Because there are types of minds that excel at these kinds of tests versus others.

When you look back at your high school, college, & professional careers, how do you honestly compare yourself to the rest of your peers or classmates? For example, you describe yourself as a bit of a “robot” and I think I know what you mean. To me that sounds like you are very left-brained dominant, which is the perfect mind for passing the CPA exam in only 2 testing windows.

For example,

Were you in the AP math classes in high school?

Did you get an A in Physics & Chemistry in high school?

Are you usually one of the fastest readers you know?

What's the typical length of time that you can sit down and read something straight through without any breaks?

Are you horrible at creative type activities such as making a funny video or painting?

In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain ones. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, & accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, & creativity.

Your answers will help a lot, thanks.

[Minimorty]

@flunk me – None of that matters. Just study your tail off and give 110% of yourself. That is all you can control.

[Anonymous]

Flunk — To a certain extent, Mini is correct. In my opinion the CPA is passable by the vast majority of college graduates who are willing to devote enough time (albeit, in certain cases that may be years — I'm looking at you Communication majors! Just kidding… kind of.).

That being said, it would be somewhat difficult to categorized myself as a left or right brained individual. I've always been a top academic performer, but never the valedictorian. I would characterize myself as a jack of all trades, but perhaps not the very best at any single one. Not to sound too cocky, but with the exception of basketball, I haven't encountered too many things in life that are beyond my abilities. Frankly, until I began studying accounting, I was not always the most detail-oriented person. I tend to have a very broad-level, systems thought process — as in to say, I prefer the 5000 mile view, as opposed to the 5 inch view. To that end, I did struggle a bit initially in understanding the fundamentals. However, with enough dedication and practice, I was able to internalize the logic behind accounting and to start setting the curve on exams. In my original post, I mentioned a consulting interview. During the case study portion, I was able to compose a solution that was nearly identical to what the firm did in real life (the case was one of their former clients). However, I did so in a very gut-instinct/intuitive manner — which means I got absolutely no credit for getting the correct answer. Most business problem solving roles require a very rigid and structured thought process. Studying for the CPA — both in the sense of creating an action-plan/study-framework, as well as by studying the actual material, have had a huge impact on the way I think. I'm MUCH more quantitative and numbers oriented than I used to be.

To more directly answer your questions, I graduated high school with a GPA above 4 (out of 4). I did well in math, chemistry, but I while I was consistently in the top 20%, I was never the absolute best. I am a reasonably quick reader, but more importantly, I believe I am able to better absorb information I read than most people. As in to say, even if someone can read faster than me, I'm usually able to better synthesize and respond to the information (or simply regurgitate it). In my opinion, being able to absorb material effectively is a much better quality for CPA studying than being able to simply read quickly. In terms of how long I can study for, I would say my longest sessions stretched into the 4 hour range (I read Freakonomics in a single sitting). My usual study sessions were probably an average of 1.5 hours before a break.

Incidentally, I am actually pretty good at art and creative activities. As a kid, I won a county wide art competition and had my picture published in a full-page spread in the newspaper. In elementary school, I don't think I ever got less than 3rd place in the school art competition for 4/5/6th graders. I also lead my elementary school's ‘creativity team' to 2nd place in the county wide competition (we got robbed, and actually deserved first place — long story short, the goal was to make a balloon powered device that flew the furthest and straightest. Rather than inflating the balloon, I simply made a T with a ruler/pencil, taped a deflated-balloon between the pencil ends, and shot it from my finger. It went over 5 times as far as any of the others and flew almost perfectly straight. The judges thought we were bending the rules. I'm still bitter about that to this day!). As a high schooler and college student, I've had numerous people tell me that I'm one of the most random people they've met. I've sewn custom pillows and blankets, but also fixed a faulty trigger spring on a Yugo AK variant. I like the Lion King, but I also enjoy riding my motorcycle. SO, with that long-winded explanation out of the way, I would say that I'm more of a balanced person, as opposed to a strictly right or left brained individual. My greatest assets in studying for the CPA exam were a huge sense of determination, a large amount of focus, a driven work-ethic, and a natural ability to digest information quickly. To that end, I am not a genius, nor am I an accounting master. Once again, I believe most college graduates could pass if given enough time (18 month window notwithstanding) and the proper incentives.

If you want it badly enough, then I would follow Mini's advice and give 110% of yourself.

[Anonymous]

@Willieverbeacpa — I would highly recommend purchasing both the Wiley books and the test bank if you intend to do a budget study plan. I believe it is possible to pass all four sections with those materials alone. Then again, if you want to be absolutely sure, it may be wise to buy another book/system that is more easily digestable than Wiley. By having both resources (a comprehensive one and a more understandable one), I believe the odds of passing on the first try are greatly increased.

In terms the actual MCQ's, there was some overlap, but not enough to make me regret purchasing both. While the actual figure is probably larger, I would say I saw less than 15% of the questions in both sources. At about $220, the Wiley test bank is a phenomenal investment. Furthermore, the test bank gives you instant feedback on multiple choice questions. In contrast, the books require constant page-flipping to go back and forth between the questions and the answers. This can be remarkably annoying, and makes it difficult to review the questions without seeing the answers for questions you haven't answered yet. While this sounds trivial, it made for a world of difference in my studying.

Also, just to go one step further, my process while studying in 2011 was to read the entire Module, answer all of the accompanying questions, and then grade myself while reading the answer explanation. For 2012, Wiley started blocking the modules into segments, with accompanying question blocks. I modified my process to where I would read a segment of the module, then answer the questions, then grade the questions, and then move on to the next block in the Module (rinse and repeat). I believe my final process was the most effective (you just have to be careful to use a note card or half-sheet of paper to block the answers to questions you haven't answered yet).

[flunk me flunk you]

@1911 Yes of course I shouldn't let any disadvantages get the best of me and slow me down. I'm just trying to figure out what my natural god-given deficiencies are compared to a “good” student and “good” studier” like yourself.

I appreciate your answers because I know now you have a very high level of reading and comprehension ability. I on the other hand do not. I couldn't read a book in one sitting like you described if my life depended on it. That's just the way I'm built. It goes deeper than motivation and drive, that's where you're not understanding the point in my questions. There are deficiencies in people that they can't control or improve. So for example, I could never compete with your reading ability. I couldn't understand chemistry and physics in high school and barely got a C because the way it was traditionally taught by the teacher because I am a hands-on learner. You can read something like chemistry or accounting in words and make sense out of it very quickly, I can not. You on the other hand managed to get A's in chemistry. You graduated in the top 20% of your class, I graduated in the bottom 20% of my class. You see what I mean? There are some things you can't teach & are just born with. You are obviously born with your quick learning and reading abilities. You have to understand that your experience is rare for anyone else to duplicate on this forum.

Funny you mention basketball, because I am usually the best shooter and player at any court I go to for my size.

[Anonymous]

@ Flunk — I definitely realize that the exam process can be a bit more challenging for some than others. At the same time, as my scores reflect, I'm definitely not playing on the same level as the Elijah Watt Sells Award winners. I'm not trying to be ‘fakely' humble here — I'm very proud of my accomplishments. That being the case, there are a number of other posters (ie, Kasia, for instance) who have been able to pass the exam in a timeframe/manner similar to mine.

At the end of the day, I think motivation, work ethic, and a solid study plan/commitment go a long way towards CPA exam success. There are a number of posters on this board who have taken each part more than once — and completed the exam. They're CPA's now, and that's really all that counts!

[olazabal]

sooo…what kind of 1911 do you own?

AUD-87 (12/5/13)

[Anonymous]

@ olazabal – You pose a great question. Unfortunately, the only .45 in my collection, at the moment, is a Springfield XD. Back in 2011, when I finally received my first NTS, I told myself that I'd pick up either an MC or LW Operator. I'd still probably buy one at the right price, but I think a Saiga-12 conversion project may be higher on the list (provided I can find one before election-year panic-buying sets in).

[Anonymous]

1911 CPA you sound just like my 13 year old daughter.

She reads something once and gets the point, most of us have

to read it 3 times.

Go to law school, you would make a great lawyer.

Many CPA are lawyers as well.

[Author]

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