[Anonymous]

I am pregnant and was planning to start studying for the CPA exam. I am hoping to take at least 2 parts before the baby and the other two afterwards (going into 2016). Does anyone know which sections are going to significantly change in the near future? I heard about IFRS 15 being included after Jan 1, 2016 in the FAR section. I think figuring this out will help me decide which order of sections to take.

Also, any other tips for which sections to take due to my pregnancy is greatly appreciated.

[Skynet]

You're going to put the baby through stress before it is going to being born?! What kind of mother are you 😛

Well at the least the baby will understand Journal Entries by then.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how much pregnancy plays into the timing, you'll need to pass them all within 18 months of each other, baby or not.

I'm a big believer in knocking out your personal hardest subject first. I deal with FAR every day, had an extensive audit background and BEC came naturally to me. So of course Reg was the last one I really committed to doing. I really regretted it as it took me several hard attempts at it, compared to passing the other ones relatively easily (comparably). I was finally down to facing losing BEC if I didn't pass before I did get a passing score. It made my least favorite one that much worse.

I think the biggest thing is preparing yourself to take multiple tests in each window. If you haven't started anything yet, it's likely not recommended to do 2 in the spring, but you definitely want to be able to take 2 between July & August. The rule of thumb is usually 2 months for Reg or Far followed up by 1 month for BEC or Audit, but everyone has different levels of understanding with the subjects.

[Missy]

What is hardest is different for everyone (I never imagined AUD would be the one I took three times and I'd get FAR my first time!) but without a doubt knock out whichever 2-3 you think will be the most difficult and time consuming for you.

I know when you're pregnant with your first your tendency is to try to take it easy on yourself, but that's not going to fly if you want to do the CPA in the next few years. It will be much more exhausting and difficult to study after you've got an infant, its difficult to find 5 minutes to pee with a new baby and even showering becomes something that requires planning. Besides now you'll have two great reasons to sit with your feet up all night studying.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Kimboroni]

Personally, I decided 1 per window would be the way to go. I came up with a study plan and committed to it, and luckily unforeseen circumstances did not get in the way too much, so I was able to carry the plan through. You can see my testing schedule in my sig (those are all first time passes, to give you an idea of the master plan's timing).

I would do FAR first, then AUD.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the advice. I think I am going to start with Audit and then see how things go. I don't want to be too stressed while pregnant, which is why I picked to take Audit over FAR or REG. I think I will have time to study for FAR or REG as I am taking 12 weeks off work. I have heard of people saying they were able to get a lot of things done while the baby sleeps all day. Lets just pray my baby sleeps all day ha.

[Author]

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