[75 CPA]

All CPA candidates are in the same boat. Your life is on hold until you pass all four parts of these exams in the 18 month window. There will be no vacations this summer, no trips to relatives, etc. Everyone that you know will just shake their head.

You may have to retake a section. Retaking an exam should not deter you. These exams are all about endurance, not intelligence. I promised my wife a first class vacation after these exams, even if I had to borrow the money!

There are no failures in this CPA game. There are only people who quit. Do not be one of them. No one will care how many times you take these exams. All they will care about is if you are a CPA.

The purpose of the CPA exams is to keep you from becoming a CPA. That is a fact of life. Those 3 initials, CPA, do not come cheaply. There is a shortage of CPAs and there will always be a shortage of CPAs. The pass rate of the CPA exams is only one half the pass rate of the Bar exam.

Take an exam and do not look back. Start studying for the next exam. That was my plan.

By the way, a 77 and 76 just means that you were smart enough not to study too much. It does not mean that you “barely passed.” Perfection is the enemy of good enough. If you made a 75 on all four exams, would that be good enough?

It helps to be a Christian. Get close to God! Children trust their parents and children do not worry. God calls us to trust Him. Worry and fear about these exams are useless. If we worry about these exams, we are not close to God. Peace and joy only come from God. Have you ever noticed the joy in a toddler? Confusion and discouragement do not come from God.

When I made a 68 on FAR, my first exam, I did not get upset, or complain. I admitted the mistakes that I made in my study methodology (I was using out-of-date books). I developed a better study process and I easily passed on my second attempt.

Do not become Miss Inflexibility. Inflexibility is the kiss of death. You cannot change if pride does not allow you to admit your errors. Failure is just a learning experience. Change your study materials and the way you prepare for these exams.

You will become a CPA, IF you never give up! Do not substitute emotionalism for reason. Come up with a better study process that works for you, and then share it with everyone on this forum.

I passed all of my exams within the eighteenth month window in July. It all seems like a distant memory now. I hate to admit it, but I enjoyed the study process. I am one of the few people who would be willing to retake the CPA exams.

The CPA exams are the best game in town. The whole thrust of the AICPA is to discouraged you and to get you to quit. 17% to 25% of the CPA candidates do just that, quit. Once you decide that you will pass these CPA exams, no matter how long it takes, or how much it costs, 50% of the battle is won.

Hang in there! No one can stop you from becoming a CPA, except you. Additionally, do not start this CPA process unless you willing to give up your fomer life. There is no free lunch. College was a peice of cake compared to these exams.

[whitesoxfancpa]

Honestly, I have never felt motivated for this crap. I treat studying like work. I tell myself I have to do it, and I do it. Just like I hate getting up to go to work each day but still do it, I hate studying but still put the time in. Whatever works to get you to study is the line of thought you should use! Different strokes for different folks, they say.

Regarding the pass rates, the pass rate of each part of the CPA exam is pushing 50%. Are you saying the pass rate of the bar exam is close to 100%?!

When you say pass rates, are you referring to the first time pass rates for each exam? In that case, I'd expect the pass rates for the bar exam to be higher because you only get one shot at a time. If you fail, it's like having to take the entire thing over. Just like if you failed one part of the CPA exam, having to take all four parts over. So with that in mind, I would hope the bar exam pass rates are higher.

The CPA exam is a whole bunch of easy to moderately difficult information. It's the volume of information that makes it a bit tough. The CPA exam, to me, is an exam that is easily conquered with practice and good study time. The material is not hard, no matter how many people wish to tell us it is. Keeping it all fresh is the hard part! That was the first thing I realized when I started studying. I was expecting a nightmare of long nights trying to understand extremely complex problems. It hasn't happened yet! It's just a ton of information.

Just my two cents on the topic.

Off to study another hour for BEC then spend the rest of the day watching football! Last exam is Tuesday and I'm as ready as I could be.

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the pep talk 75! I'm in the home stretch and really needed that!

[75 CPA]

I have heard that only 10% to 17% of the CPA candidates pass all four exams on the first try. 80% of the remaining CPA candiates eventually pass. 17% to 25% of first time CPA candidates quit.

I had to teach myself about 75% of the material for the CPA exams. My college just did not prepare me for the CPA exams. However, with great teachers like Dr. Phil Yaeger, Cindy Simpson, Bob Monette and Garland, learning the material was not a problem. However, the quantity of material to learn was a problem, especially for FAR.

My faith in God and the prayers of my prayer warriors helped me pass the exams without any emotional swings. I even learned to like auditing!

These same prayer warriors even found a Christian CPA for whom I now work. That was a miracle in my eyes. It all happened within 36 hours. The CPA hired me sight unseen and he did not even care to look at my resume!

[potatogun]

What exactly are prayer warriors? And what is a Christian CPA versus otherwise? Specialization in NFP such as churches…?

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[75 CPA]

potatogun

Google “secularist.” A prayer warrior is someone who prays for me, the exact opposite of a secularist who has no need for God.

Socialism is a philosophy that does not want God to be equal with it or above it. We are trying to create a world without God.

[GSU Josh]

Not trying to be offensive, but if there is a shortage of CPA's then why am I still unemployed? I think I just live in an area of the U.S. where it is hard to find a job. I know one thing, I sure hope they drop pass rates for 2011. It will be very interesting to see the first quarter 2011 exam pass rate statistics.

AUD - 74, 87; BEC - 84; FAR - 78; REG - 79
It's done, Son!

[75 CPA]

GSU Josh

We are in the first stages of a hyper-inflationary depression. The monetary system is breaking down as the U.S. dollar, Yen and the Euro face drastic devaluations. Unemployment remains very high at 9.6%. Unemployment is headed much higher with more than 500,000 jobs being lost per month.

[LSU_BR]

@ 75 CPA

Thanks for the motivation. This journey has brought me closer to God and taught me a few things about faith. I know some people don't like to hear about religion and God and faith. That's too bad.

Congrats on passing 🙂

I look forward to joining you as a CPA by the end of this year.

AUD 95 (3/5/10); BEC 83 (5/28/10); FAR 71, 72, 74, 82 (10/16/10); REG 65,80(11/23/10)
ALL DONE 🙂

[wishfulthinking]

75 CPA – Thank you so much for sharing your faith and bringing motivation to this site…. You are an inspiration. God is the only way I get through these exams! If He has brought me this far, I know He will bring me through to the completion of these exams. I do not have prayer warriors praying for me, but I know that is very powerful….I do, however, have family and friends that pray for me and my exams…so I guess you could say they are my prayer warriors! 🙂 Congratulations on your successfully passing the CPA. Best wishes to you!

REG 85 | FAR 85 | AUD 88 | BEC 76!!! DONE!!!!

[suzzette1]

The CPA exams humbled me and this journey brought me closer to God. There are a lot of things that I am now grateful and I have shown my gratitude by going to mass everyday. I am always confident and calm when I go to prometric center because I know I am not alone doing the test. I agree that people does not really want to hear about religion but I still want to share my experiences and little “miracles ” that happen to me during my test. I took Regulation with only 2 hours of sleep before the exam and got a high score. I did not even remember doing the MCQ's because I am half asleep and the simulations are so easy that I breeze through it.. This is where it hit me hard and I started to pray. I took my Auditng exam while I am sick with fever that I can barely get up and go to prometic center but still managed to pass the test. I also develop my devotion to the Virgin Mary which helps me a lot in this journey.

BEC 2/8/10 - 75 (studied hard & prayed less)
REG 5/15/10 - 88 (studied less but prayed hard)
AUDITING 8/9/10 - 79 (studied hard and prayed hard)
FAR 11/30/10 - 79 (studied hard and prayed hard) Thanks GOD! I'm DONE

[south0085]

Amazing post my friend. Jesus is the Answer. Without Him I am nothing.

[75 CPA]

Offer your study plan up to God, and your plan will succeed.

General George Patton wrote, “The secret of victory lies not wholly in knowledge. It lurks invisible in that vitalizing spark, intangible, yet as evident as the lightning – the warrior soul. The fixed determination to acquire the warrior soul, and having acquired it, to either conquer or perish with honor, is the secret of victory.”

My prayers go out to all of you who are studying for the CPA exams.

[Ness]

I have definitely got some prayer warriors lifting me up during this exam. I take my exam on Thursday & I made sure to tell people at church yesterday so they would pray. I ask people that I know care enough to actually spend time and pray for me not ones that will just say they will & never do. I know that I couldn't do this without help from above, to keep me calm and to give me peace during exams.

People that do this exam without faith, I can't imagine. There is just something about knowing that people are praying for you that can get you through the tough times and bring an unimaginable peace to any situation.

BEC 7/20/10 88 (90 hours)
AUD 8/27/10 73 (65 hours), retake 11/22/10 81 (75 hours)
FAR 10/28/10 80 (157 hours)
REG 1/7/10 extended to 1/17/10 78 (130 hours) I'M DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Good luck on your exam ness. I take far on Friday!

[italianCPA]

I believe in Jesus (even though I haven't gone to church for years), but I think the right answer on the test is not Jesus but it's the one out of the four in an MCQ.

No disrespect, but I would leave prayers for more serious things in life than a test.

FAR - 7/26/10 - 95
AUD - 8/10/10 - 88
BEC - 8/31/10 - 88
REG - 10/15/10 - 95

[Author]

Replies