[rlkamp]

Background:

10 Years Ago I was a retail manager who knew that I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life. Examined my options and decided to pursue Tax and my CPA. What a trip I’ve been on.

I am the oldest of five from a family of over achievers. There is a doctor, a sucessful business entrupenuer, a nurse and most intimitating is my baby sister who is a CPA who passed all exams on the first try. No pressure right!

Path:

Quit my job

Went back to school for my Masters in Tax while working PT and raising my family

Got a job in a tax dept of a corporation while still in school

Finished my MST

Went back to take the prereqs I was missing as my undergrad is in management

Began studying when I was pregnant and one of my best friends was battling cancer

I was with her on Memorial Day when she lost her battle (This really made me realize that we are guaranteed nothing and best make the most of the time we have here)

Had my second baby @ the end of June 2011

Picked back up with my studies and took my first exam in August 2011

And now 11 months later I’m done.

Observations:

Studying – Reading this forum has been great for somethings, obviously there are great people on here who really want to help and lend support, it’s wonderful to know that you are not alone etc. That being said, I also feel that for me reading the posts on the forum made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough. How could I ever pass because I can’t put in the hours that everyone else is putting in…… It was discouraging. I know everyone has to make sacrifices to studying, believe me I did but when many talk on here that you have to read the book twice, do the multiple choice twice, do the final exams twice, do the SIMS practice twice……… and then maybe you’ll have a chance and bash people who aren’t putting the time in. These posts made me want to hang it up. I tried to live up to those studying expectations but always fell short. I got up at 4 and tried to comply, I missed my daugther’s sporting events and tried to comply and I BEAT MYSELF UP DAILY THAT I WASN’T DEDICATED ENOUGH when the test was 2 weeks away and I hadn’t even finished every multiple choice once let alone the required twice.

SO what I am trying to say on the studying front is even if you can’t commit the time that you assume it takes, just keep moving forward and don’t give up!!! Fit studying in where you can. I put the wiley app on my iphone and did 5-10 multiple choice before closing my eyes every night. I recorded my lectures over a loud speaker to my iphone to listen to while working, cleaning and driving. I did not howerver ever finish every question and I still made it. I’m not saying that I didn’t work extrememly hard or that it was easy. I just didn’t let the fact that I couldn’t do everything I thought was required stand in my way! I know that everyone is different so I am just hoping that my experience will help those that are beating themselves up about not doing more when for you it’s just not possible. DO YOUR BEST!!!!!! It may just be enough.

THE EXAMS

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Posts from this forum again got in my head! The exam will get harder if you are doing well, you see that everywhere you turn. So on my last two exams after I hit the submit button for first testlet I held my breathe. Please get harder I said to myself. The second testlet came up, it’s not wordy……. it’s not full of hard calculations. My mind immediately goes to panic mode. MAYDAY MAYDAY, I’m failing this exam. It’s all over…… How do I continue. Then each time I get a grip on myself take a deep breathe and tell myself it is what it is, just do your best. I’m here to tell you. My testlets did not appear to get harder and I still passed. DON’T LET THIS EXAM GET IN YOUR HEAD! You can still pass and maybe you won’t be able to tell what is really “harder”

SIMS

In all 4 of my exams, the SIMS represented things that I feel a “Real Accountant” should know. I have been saying all year, I’m not a real accounant but now that I’ve passed I guess I’ll have to stop saying that. Maybe my draw on the SIMS were just lucky but I don’t think so. I think we over analysis. My advice is to master the basics. They know that you don’t have the time to solve super complex problems during this exam.

IMO they want to make sure you understand the BASICS.

For Audit – Think about what you would have to do on an engagement.

For Reguation – Think about the basics you need to know to complete a business or personal tax return.

For FAR – Know your basic J/Es and How the accounts relate.

For BEC – Use buzz words, make sure you can spell and that your grammar is correct. (I have a problem with the last 2)

I’m sure people will rant and say that they weren’t tested on the basics but I would argue if you can calmly work through the SIMS set up the basics, you will get a majority of the points. The problem that I almost had on my last exam FAR is that I forgot my basics due to the overwhelming detail provided. But I gave myself enough time for the SIMS nearly 2 hours so I was able to get my head back in the game.

SO from this non accountant who has just completed a journey of a lifetime which included life, death, job changes, and many other obsticles, I say to all of you, keep your eyes on the prize and don’t let what you think is required stop you from even leaving the starting line.

AUD 84 (AUG-11)
BEC 81 (OCT-11)
REG 87 (FEB-12)
FAR 81 (MAY-12)

[Sandra]

Congrats! I agree with you that seeing people post that they studied 200 hours, failed, put in another 200 and still failed is super discouraging to read. And I've had my moments when I've browsed this board and had mild panic attacks. But the truth is that everyone is an individual- some people will struggle with things that other people breeze through and vice versa. And while there are always people that just really suck at life and only eventually pass through sheer luck (or give up) I think there are waaaaay more that just aren't good test takers.

[round1]

Rlkamp, what a delightful, introspective and encouraging comment! Congrats on the whole journey!

Those feelings “not a real accountant” echoed mine during exam prep. I think it's quite normal to question yourself post-exam, when you're anxiously waiting for test results. As for the prep itself, I've never ever worked though all sims even once, and didn't spend time on final exams either. Overkill I think.

On the other note, can you give me some insights regarding MST? Was it difficult to study? Is there a huge emphasis on the legal aspect of taxation versus pure compliance? Did you find your tax job while in school? In your opinion, are there enough tax jobs right now? Sorry for too many questions

DONE!

[ledgermaven]

thank you for the thoughtful note. I am always striving to do my best on this thing and with my first fail will continue on.

[rlkamp]

@sandra6500 – I totally agree that everyone is an individual. Everyone learns differently and has to find their best method. I am an auditory learner so my method makes sense for me. I also think that I am a good test taker and my heart goes out to all the really smart people who just can't get their true knowledge to shine through on the exams.

What I was trying to get across is that even the people like myself who don't live and breathe the exam because circumstances can't allow for it, can still pass if they gain a very good understanding of all the basics. I know that the exam tests indepth knowledge as well but not to the same extent as the basic stuff and by basic I don't mean easy 😉 There are a lot of concepts on each exam and you need to be familiar with every one but I don't feel like you need to be an expert on each one to get a 75 and pass.

I wanted to share my observations in hope that it could help someone else on their journey.

I was very worried that I would offend some of the great people of this community, glad that hasn't been the case as of yet 🙂

AUD 84 (AUG-11)
BEC 81 (OCT-11)
REG 87 (FEB-12)
FAR 81 (MAY-12)

[rlkamp]

@round 1 – This will be long, sorry

When I was deciding how to get out of retail. I read the book 48 days to the work you love and examined what I was really passionate about. What I found is that I love to save people money, myself included. I also love math and solving problems. I thought what better way to save people money than to help them to send the government less. I know this all sounds very Nieve to a tax professional but this was my vision for myself years ago before I did any studying 😉

I looked at the options for myself and I saw that I could go MBA or MST. I already had a management degree so I did not see the vaule for myself on the MBA route but the idea of a MST seemed right on target. I took the GMAT and signed on the dotted line. I went to my first class and the professor began with a history of the world lesson. My eyes got big and I was in shock for the whole class. I called my husband crying on the way home telling him that I made a huge mistake. I couldn't do this. My first assignment was to do a paper comparing the Gettysburg Address to the Constitution. YIKES!!!! What had I got myself into. As it turned out my MST was not quite what I thought it would be, I wasn't in an H&R Block Class that was going to teach me the ins and outs of the forms. I was disappointed but not for long.

My MST program was much more of a law degree than anything related to accounting. I learned how to research, the history behind the tax code, how to interpret tax laws with some estate, partnership, corp, personal, sales and trusts sprinkled in. It taught me the why of tax which I feel is invaluable but it definitly wasn't compliance based.

That being said, my program is no longer available and I am not sure it would have helped me land a job in the BIG 4 if that had been my dream but it wasn't. I had already worked the long hours and missed too much time with my family. I did get a job offer in sales and use for a large corporation while still in school. My research skills came in very handy and I was able to save the corporation tons of money, it's crazy the amount of companies who charge tax incorrectly 🙂

I've since moved on to a role that is even closer to my dream job. I am a recovery and asset protection analyst. I spend my days identifying system weeknesses and finding money for my company. I received a promotion this week for my good works so I guess working in what I love is paying off.

As for the job market, I have not looked over the last few years, so I can't throw in my 2cents for that area.

AUD 84 (AUG-11)
BEC 81 (OCT-11)
REG 87 (FEB-12)
FAR 81 (MAY-12)

[Author]

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