[italianCPA]

The CBA has not approved my application yet, so I can’t select the exam parts, can’t pay NASBA, can’t get a NTS, and obviously can’t schedule yet.

I called them every other day…they received my last transcript (I was short on ACCT credits) on Jun 14 and said it could take up to 30 days to approve the application (hopefully less than that).

I did F1 to F7 in Becker twice, did all the MCQs, including most of the supplemental ones. I feel pretty good about the material and keep scoring 96% on the progress tests.

I still have to do F8 and F9, will take me 2 full days, then I’d like to have a full day for final review.

How should I keep myself prepared during this wait? I’ll be away 4 days during the long weekend and plan to take my Wiley book (MCQs only) so I can practice new questions.

I feel like I mastered F1-F7 but I’m afraid the wait (reasonably, and considering the long weekend, I’ll be able to sit around mid-July) will make me lose some sharpness.

Also, once you get a NTS, is it possible to schedule for the next day (if seats are available obviously) or is there a wait period for that too?

PS: Did I mention that I hate the CBA (California Board of Accountancy)?

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

[financeguy]

I believe you can schedule your test for the next day as long as seats are available

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[Anonymous]

italianCPA

Have they indicated when you may be approved? Wish we could go down and help these folks push the papers around to speed up the process!

Sounds like you are doing all the right things. Have you practiced simulations? Perhaps re-writing your notes, reviewing flashcards, practice the more difficult problems, think about making JE , lots of practice tests to keep the material fresh in your mind. Hopefully you will get the green light to schedule the test. If you are in LA i would guess there are lots of test sites.

Good luck!

[Ness]

I feel the same way except that I have been approved to sit and am waiting on the Oklahoma Accountancy Board to call me back and tell me that my way of getting information is changed from snail mail to e-mail. I called them Wednesday and said that I needed to change after I talked to NASBA and said I was worried about my NTS taking to long to get to me coming through the mail. They never called back and I called them again yesterday and they said they would call me back today (Friday) when it was done. As soon as they called today I was going to call NASBA and pay my payment coupon to get it in the works. Well no call today so I guess I will have to wait till Tuesday for them to put my information in (easily just a quick change, they already have the e-mail address in the request that I made). Then I will have to wait a week if everything goes as planned for my NTS to come in through e-mail (that is what a guy from work told me that is taking the exam), then I will have to schedule my exam, which I heard can take up to two weeks to get a slot in Oklahoma City since we do not have as many testing centers. I am hoping to take the BEC section by the third week in July and AUD the last week of August. I have already started studying BEC and went through all the chapters in Becker I have almost done all the MCQ except for the last couple hundred. I have not went through and memorized all the formulas yet, because I want to do that the last couple of weeks so that they will be fresh (I feel like I will forget them if I memorize them now since it might be a while). I know I am going to need to start studying for AUD pretty soon though and I really hope that my stuff gets processed quickly and I can already have taken my BEC test before it is time that I must start studying for AUD to be ready to take it at the end of August. Sorry for long ramble, just know how frusturating it is when you can not get answers and you know that it is a something that they could go to the computer and do really quick.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[italianCPA]

Well, I called again today. This time a guy answered (3 times out of 4 nobody answers anyways).

He checked out my application and he said that EASILY there's another month wait, that I am back at the end of the line and then he starts blaming the Governor and blah blah blah.

I almost lost it, for real. Then I tried to calmly explain my point, that my application has been in since early March. He did not care….he kinda sounded like he was glad so they could blame the governor even more.

I have been in California for 5 months now. Definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world, but I am SO glad I never had to pay a cent of my taxes in this State. There's seriously something wrong here, I'm telling you. Everything is so slow and inefficient, and they're running a $20B deficit. After that phone call, I registered to vote.

I don't know what to do, seriously. I'll probably keep studying…after I'm done with FAR, I'll study for REG, even though I probably won't be able to sit this window, at least till the very end of it. FYI, my case requires 2, maybe 3 minutes of work.

I miss NYC.

Sorry for the frustration, I just needed to vent…

And if that wasn't bad enough, I'm studying governmental accounting…..

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

[Anonymous]

If CA BOA is close to where you live, I suggest going there. One of my friends in Maryland (also a pretty slow state) went to their boa and wouldn't leave so they processed his application on the spot. Your situation is just ridiculous, I dealt with VA, it took them 2 weeks from application to NTS.

Good luck!

[financeguy]

italian cpa

have they already cashed your check for the app fee? What are they saying is the reason it will take so long?

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[italianCPA]

They cashed my check right away. They evaluated my application twice.

I had to take two classes because of their incompetence (almost 200 semester hours of business-finance only classes and they gave me 16 accounting credits, after I appealed because they gave me 5 at first).

They received my transcript about those two classes almost a month ago. Transcript are from an accredited american college so it's really a matter of typing something in the computer.

The guy told me I went back to the bottom of the pile and that the queue is 1997 people as of today and he started to rant about the governor and that they're undermanned and blah blah blah. Your typical government employee at his worst.

I wrote them two emails in the last two weeks. Needless to say they went unanswered.

I'm not trying to play the victim here, I'm just so fed up and frustrated. I dealt with many italian and american government agencies, including very burocratic italian agencies and US immigration. This is BY FAR the worst agency I ever dealt with. They're incompetent, inefficient, and, on top of that, they are rude.

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

[Anonymous]

italianCPA

That just stinks – sorry they won't just do the right thing and approve the application. Jumping through hoops does get old pretty darn quickly!

[financeguy]

Damn Italian CPA that sucks.

Let me just throw in my disclaimer about how incompetent I think our government is. I can go on and on about how incompetent it is. That being said, my process w/ the CBA has been one of my best experiences w/ government ever.

I'm telling you man…you gotta get the right person on the phone and you gotta speak correctly to them. Its like pulling a Jedi Mind Trick on them. These people think they are overworked like some child slave in China, so you can't flat out ask them to do something special for you.

No matter what they do, no matter how rude they are…they won't get in trouble. You cannot threaten to speak to a manager, or complain, or whatever. They won't get in trouble, they know that, and it won't do any good.

I have called there myself several times and sometimes I get no answer and sometimes I get someone who is very helpful. You gotta get the right person and you just gotta get them to WANT to help you.

Hell, call them up and just start talking about how you heard about how they are getting paid minimum wage and you feel sorry for them, and how you think the governor has really done a bad job. I'm not even joking, that might work miracles for you.

AUD - 81, BEC - 74, 80, FAR - 82, REG - 81
Done!

[magic_8_ball_did_i_pass]

Can you take your info and apply in another state? I know you can test in another state if there are no seats available…anyone know???

IL - BECKER=============> DONE
REG - 80; FAR - 65,79; AUD - 53,78; BEC - 71,68, 75 (used becker and yaeger for 3rd BEC)Ethics 95

I'M GONNA CELEBRATE AND LIVE MY LIFE SAYING AYE OH BABY LETS GO!!!!!

[Anonymous]

italianCPA- What a bad situation! I think I'd keep calling and calling and calling until I get the right person to help. Maybe you should call the governor? LOL

There is just no way the process should be taking so long!

[Ness]

YEAH!!! I finally was able to pay my payment coupon today because I actually spoke with someone at the Oklahoma Accountancy Board that knew what they were talking about. When I called up their a week ago yesterday whoever answered the phone did not know what he was talking about and told me that he would be able to change my preferred method of notification from mail to e-mail. A week and 4 phone calls later, I finally talk to a lady that says she is the only one in the office that is able to do this and that written consent has to be given not just permission over the phone. I sent her an e-mail and she was able to quickly fix it. When I asked why I had been lied to and told that they were working on it when I had verbally given them my e-mail address and each time I had called had been said it would be completed probably by the end of the day, she said that is beside the point and she is the only one in the office that can do it and she was out of town all last week.

Government agencies are crappy, wish there is someone I could complain to, but know it would never be heard. Why they did not tell me this when I called on Tuesday this week when the lady was suposedly not on vacation anymore I do not know. Looks to me like employees need to find out the rules or ask a supervisor if they are unsure of the answer instead of leading applicants on a wild goose chase. Although I was polite to the lady because the last thing I want is for the Oklahoma Accountancy Board to take things out on me and make the process even slower than it has to be.

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]

Government workers have a saying “Good enough for Government work” Sadly many never took a page from private industry which is judged on performance, out comes, customer satisfation. Private industry loses customers for poor performance – the Government nows we have few options. Wish the Government got that message.

Congrats on getting the problem solved. Endurance pays off!

[Author]

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