[tak23]

Hi Everyone,

I’m a Japanese university student studying for the CPA exam in Japan.

My goal for now is to get an inactive license in Guam.

I have a question about the order I should take the exam in (ex. FAR, REG, AUD, BEC). It would be wonderful if someone can give me advice!

This is how my schedule looks like right now:

◆　Sept – Nov 2014 = Fulfill Accounting Requirements for Guam / Graduating

◆　Dec 2014 – Feb 2015 = Study for 2 topics during the three months (I’ll be able to study for at least 4 hours or more everyday)

◆　End of Feb 2015= Take TWO exams

◆　April 2015= Start working at a company in Japan (won’t have too much time to study for my first year perhaps…)

Therefore, my goal is to pass two topics before I start working from April 2015.

Someone please give me advice for the order I should take the exam!

Thanks!

FAR- 67, (May 2015?)
AUD- Feb 2015
BEC- ?
REG- ?

"Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

[Juliemiddle]

FAR 1st…If you can pass FAR, you can pass the rest. I saved it for last…it's so much information 🙁

AUD: 84 - Oct. 2013
BEC: 83 - Feb. 2014
REG: 91 - May, 2014
FAR: 68, 96 - Oct. 2014...DONE

CPAExcel, Ninja Audio (all sections)

[tak23]

Ganbatte,

Thanks for your tips! Yah, I just finished the lectures of FAR but sooo much info lol Now I'm going through the lectures for AUD but probably forgot parts of FAR already…I'll definitely check out the previous forums on this website! ありがとう！！

Juliemiddle,

Yah after giving it a thought, decided to challenge FAR first. So jealous you're already finished with the other three exams though!

FAR- 67, (May 2015?)
AUD- Feb 2015
BEC- ?
REG- ?

"Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

[tak23]

Ganbatte,

By the way, I need your input on my studying plan if that's ok. I plan to take FAR at the end of Jan 2015 + AUD at the end of Feb. That would give me about 3 months to study for FAR and about 1 month to study for AUD…..You told me AUD took half the time to study, but did you major in accounting? I'm a beginner in accounting so I just wanted to ask if my current study plan is realistic….

FAR- 67, (May 2015?)
AUD- Feb 2015
BEC- ?
REG- ?

"Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

[Anonymous]

tak-

I don't think its appropriate for me (or anyone) to point you towards any test in particular. I can tell you that I think that your first test should be the one has your strongest subjects. It's good to have a self-esteem boost in what can be a demoralizing exam to some.

The converse opinion would be to take your most difficult subject study the hell out of it, and go on from there. I personally don't think that any test is noticeably more difficult than the other, its just that some have less and some have more materials.

[Anonymous]

I'm doing FAR-REG-AUD-BEC because content wise, it seems like FAR and REG have the most (going off Becker's textbooks). If time's going to be an issue once you start work, I'll rather get those two done first.

[tak23]

billbrasskey,

Thanks for your input. Yah, I'll probably challenge the difficult ones first to get them out of the way!

Akvod,

Yah it seems like REG has a lot to cover as well….I decided to go with FAR and AUD first since some topics do overlap…

FAR- 67, (May 2015?)
AUD- Feb 2015
BEC- ?
REG- ?

"Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

[Anonymous]

Hi tak, Japanese (American) student here, who also studied international business. 🙂

There is really great advice here. I also took FAR>AUD>REG>BEC (studying for that now), and think the overlap is really good in that order. There always will be a bit of overlap no matter what order, but the review of FAR helped bring accounting back into my mindset.

Since you are not an accounting major until recently though, that could even help you more with the FAR topics (since you will be taking a lot of the classes closer to the time you're studying for it so it will be fresher in your mind). But for the exams that require a lot more of an accounting mindset (like Audit, in my opinion), try to give yourself a bit more time. BEC hopefully will be a breeze for you, what with the econ in it (I'm in the macro/micro lesson right now!).

I do have some advice for you regarding the Japanese working culture that you mentioned. It is ABSOLUTELY true that you will have very little to no time to study during your first few (not just your first) years. I have many friends who work in Japanese business environments and I believe it to be much worse than public accounting in America (not only the work hours, but the many social obligations that really are obligatory). I don't know if you are originally from Japan/know keigo super well, but I know that also is a huge barrier for a lot of people too if they haven't had to use that much. So… As someone who only has one exam left to study for after starting work (Big 4, but still not a Japanese company), it is really hard to work 70 hours and then go home and study, much less if you either work more/have other things you need to do with coworkers/are studying at home just to refresh yourself on the new business language. So… I know it might sound slightly hell-ish, but getting as many exams done as possible before you start work is absolutely the best possible thing you can do for yourself. I know it might sound crazy, but it is possible to pass exams on very short time-frames if you are able to devote as much time as possible to it… I've taken audit after 2 weeks of study, and while I spent almost all day for those weeks studying, in your case if you have the time to do that, I definitely recommend it. It is worth it to be DONE and be able to focus solely on doing your very best and excelling at work.

And… Sorry, I wrote you a book of a post up there, but just wanted to give any input/advice I could since yours is a somewhat familiar situation to me! 頑張ってね～ ＾-＾

[How many letters do you need]

It really depends on your strengths. I took a slightly different approach. Started with what I thought would be the hardest, then snuck in the easiest end of the same window. Took a break…Then my second hardest in 2nd window and 2nd easiest in last window. If I didn't have a pre scheduled vacation in June I would have attempted a much shorter break and just 4 exams in 2 windows as described. I had contingencies built in for potential fails but I think this approach might work well especially since you are taking two before you head. As for which exams rank where…I believe it's different for everybody based on their experience and background.

Also I would highly recommend studying for one scheduled to take it at the beginning of the window and then taking the 7 or so weeks left to study for the second as opposed to trying to digest 2 exams worth of info in one sitting. Just my $.02.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Anonymous]

Take the hardest sections that you are most likely to fail at the end of the window. If you fail take that section at the beginning of the next window 3 weeks later.

My 2 Yen.

[tak23]

DisneyDebits,

Thanks a bunch for your reply + advice! Yah, I'll definitely challenge FAR and AUD first since the content overlaps. I really want to get as much studying done as possible before I start working, but considering how Im a beginner in accounting, I decided to just challenge two exams for now. Like you said, I'm really concerned about how much studying I can do after I start working…..Any advices on how to study for FAR? Since there's so much stuff to cover, I'm just wondering how I can make sure to not forget the stuff I covered in the earlier days of my studying period…..

How many letters do you need,

Thanks for your input! I'll probably take the same approach as you. Will start with the one I may have the most difficulty in!

FAR- 67, (May 2015?)
AUD- Feb 2015
BEC- ?
REG- ?

"Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

[Anonymous]

Hi tak, sorry for the late reply. Been busy studying for BEC and working far too many hours for non-busy season. 🙂

I think that's a good approach. But if you think you are getting the material knocked out, don't hesitate to try for another squeezed in there – you don't need a 99, just a 75! (I'm struggling to grasp that concept right now, myself. haha)

That was my biggest struggle for FAR, and actually is why I recommend doing as much as you can in a shorter period of time. That's why courses have a couple weeks of review usually built into their recommended plans – you WON'T remember everything, and kind of need to refresh yourself on everything you once learned. That's why I've adapted my strategy, to listen to all the lectures, then do all the problems after I'm done with that. It might not be perfectly effective, but if you are in a time crunch, it makes more sense to learn the material through lecture, then go practice it all and cement it into your head right before you take your exam… Actually, I believe that is the Ninja recommended way. 🙂

It really is all up to personal preference/circumstance though. I always would find myself rushing at the end, so it made sense for me to adapt my strategy to at least allow myself more choices of how to study in the last few days, instead of still trying to knock out chapters of new material!

[tak23]

DisneyDebits,

I'm so sorry for my super late reply. And thanks again for your advice on how to study for FAR! I actually have a similar studying strategy (listening to the lecture–> MCQ –> etc).

One question. You said you passed AUD in about 2 weeks of all-day studying. How many hours did you actually study? And did you have any audit experience before?

I'm just considering throwing in BEC into my studies since I have a decent feel for AUD + I have about 3 months remaining to study till Feb.

FAR- 67, (May 2015?)
AUD- Feb 2015
BEC- ?
REG- ?

"Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion." - Muhammad Ali

[krokofilen]

I'm a non-American taking the CPA too. REG was really tough, due to lack of experience of American taxation (even if lots of Americans have that too, I imagine they at least know the meaning of health care savings or educational deductions, stuff that does not exist in certain other countries – just as an example). So I would start with REG, get it out of the way, and spend most hours there.

My order was AUD – FAR – REG – BEC.

My recommended order is REG – FAR – AUD – BEC (i.e. from difficult to easy, assuming you're not used to American taxation and also will find the huge accounting section challenging)

BEC is a piece of cake, you will barely have to study.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Anonymous]

I think the many people that have failed BEC multiple times would disagree with the statement that BEC is a breeze and you barely have to study. I found it to be fairly easy in comparison to all the others, but I still had to study and I realize that many will have difficulty with it if they don't have the extensive business background that I do.

OP: Point is, don't underestimate any of these exams. Study for each one well, but I agree that FAR and AUD have overlap and could be studied for together if you had to. BEC could probably be taken while you are busy at work because it has the least amount of material. REG is just a pain in the butt. So many rules. I wouldn't study for FAR and REG at the same time for 2 main reasons. 1. They have the most material. 2. One is accrual based and one is cash based so it could pose a problem to switch back and forth between those two methods of accounting while you study.

[krokofilen]

Just to be clear:

“the many people that have failed BEC multiple times” = fewer than “the many people that have failed REG, FAR or AUD multiple times”

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Author]

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