[Dan T]

So this is me, I’m doing general accounting at an entertainment company, I’ve been here for about a year and a half. I am not working under a CPA so this isn’t counting towards my work requirement. I also only have 124 credits.

i am looking at other opportunities but not in public, and I am not sure the new job would be supervised under a CPA. I’m not sure if I ever will get the work and edu requirement fulfilled. I was just planning on always having “passed the CPA exam” or working toward CPA” on my resume. Anyone in the same boat?? Oh CT has no stale date btw.

AUD - 75 ☺
FAR - 65, 71, 70, 77 ☺
BEC - 80 ☺
REG - 73, 66, 79 ☺ 2/28/15

Done!

[lude4life13]

So you are going through the trouble of taking the exams, with no intent of getting the educational requirements? Isn't that like going through college and saying, “no thanks, I don't need my diploma, but here is all that money and time because I want my employer to see i'm in college.” Not to be mean, but I am so confused here…

[Anonymous]

Interesting… I clicked on this thread wondering why the hell someone would do that, but you have a point… If they never expire, you can always go back and get the additional requirements. Honestly it sounds like a judgment call. If you take the exams, make sure you get that experience. No use in wasting all of that effort.

[Dan T]

Just passing the exam looks pretty good in my eyes, I can always say I'll get the rest eventually even though I might not.

AUD - 75 ☺
FAR - 65, 71, 70, 77 ☺
BEC - 80 ☺
REG - 73, 66, 79 ☺ 2/28/15

Done!

[Anonymous]

I met a man that passed the bar exam but never went to law school. I was impressed. There is nothing wrong with personal development. If you happen to meet the other requirement later on, great. If you never have the opportunity to meet them then you at least have an interesting story to tell.

[mla1169]

I guess it depends on what opportunities you intend to pursue in the future. Many will see that on your resume and ask when/how you intend to get your license because it is assumed that you took the exams to get the license. For jobs that require a CPA, passing the exams alone won't carry any weight. For positions that do not require a license, they may not care that you passed the exams. Either way be prepared to answer the question. It's a great accomplishment to pass, don't get me wrong but it speaks to your ambition level that there wasn't a follow through, and that can hurt you in a potential employers limited knowledge of you from an interview.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, but I don't see the point in taking the exam if you don't have plans to get licensed. Having “passed the CPA exam” on your resume seems silly since it doesn't really do you any good to have the exam done without the license. Your other suggestion “working toward CPA” it pretty much a fib because right now it sounds like you have no intentions to finish the license process. I would not suggest using that phrase unless you were in fact working towards getting your license (i.e. actively taking classes to meet the 150 credits required).

Personally I just don't think it's worth the money, time and effort to take the exam with no plans on getting licensed, if you're thinking this will help you career. It's not an easy journey, so I just don't quite understand the “just because” feeling I'm getting from your explanation of your situation.

However, with all that said – if you're just looking to do this for yourself, because you want to and don't care that it might not help your career at all, then go ahead. Obviously you're the only one that can decide if it's worth it for you.

[taxgeek83]

Aside from doing this just for yourself (which I wholly support!), I just have one concern. You said that CT has no stale date – are you planning on staying in CT? I don't know what your personal/family situation is, but if you got an awesome job opportunity in another state somewhere down the road, would you take it? Some states do have exam expiration dates (pretty sure mine does anyway), and I'm not entirely sure how it would work to transfer your exams, gain education/work experience, and then try to apply for your license. Then again, if that's not an issue, and you're happy just taking the exams, I agree with @bbrandenburg – nothing wrong with personal development! Just make sure your resume is not misleading….

[stoleway]

Sometimes I read some post or topic for discussion on this forum and right on, my IQ points drops so fast.

Who would want to take this crazy exam and not have any thoughts of being licensed??

REG -63│ 84!!
BEC- 59│70│ 71 │78!
AUD- 75!
FAR- 87!

Mass-CPA

[How many letters do you need]

Dan-Well If I were to do it your way, I would definitely at least get the education requirements. That way you can present it as “I've never had the chance to work for a CPA” as the reason you aren't fully licensed – most of us in industry can relate to and understand that. However, without the education it becomes very clear that you just had no intention of getting licensed. This looks like a quitter mentality to a lot of people (not saying you are, that's just the perception)…and before long it could turn into a detriment having the exams passed without licensure on your resume.

MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?

[Dan T]

Hmm thanks guys for your input, I think I'll go ahead and get the education req. after the exams, it will look much more presentable as HMLDYN said. if I do end up getting the work exp. then great but i won't worry too much about it. Cheers.

AUD - 75 ☺
FAR - 65, 71, 70, 77 ☺
BEC - 80 ☺
REG - 73, 66, 79 ☺ 2/28/15

Done!

[GSU-CPA]

Some of this is great knowledge. I am learning alot from the exam and i am hoping i can retain 40-50% of it in my long term memory.

Thats why im not rushing through this and taking my time.

I was reading on this site where people were taking one CPA exam every 2-3 weeks of studying but they would just cram cram cram to put it in their short term memory and they would pass but even they themselves admitted that they forgot everything as soon as they took the test.

Yes one of the big reasons i am taking the exam is so i can have the CPA after my name but at the very same time i would like to gain some knowledge out of this.

REG-77
BEC -Waiting on score May 5th
AUD - May 30
FAR - Q3 depending on if i pass above two in Q2

[impska]

I would. When I first started my accounting journey, I had no idea is I would do public accounting. But I would have sat for the CPA exam regardless, while the education was fresh in my mind. You never know when you might end up in a position where you could become licensed.

I also disagree that it carries no weight. I think it carries weight with any employer who frequently hires CPAs (they know that you'll be able to become licensed as soon as the experience requirement is done). And I think if you wanted to get into a public accounting firm, that firm would see it as a bonus (in fact, many offer a bonus for passing prior to employment).

Also – for what it's worth – the head of my MAcc program told us that we should get the exam done as soon as we graduate. She said she went to private first and then did the exam ten years after graduation. She said she regretted waiting. That it was much easier to do while you're still in student-mode and don't have a ton of family and other responsibilities to get in the way. That if we ever thought we might possibly want to get it, then do it early. Mind you, they liked to publish CPA exam pass rates in the school's marketing materials, so maybe take it with a grain of salt!

REG - 94
BEC - 92
FAR - 92
AUD - 99

[Anonymous]

Knowing you are planning to work on the education requirements completely changes my answer, for the exact reason How Many Letters already pointed out. At that point it becomes a “I just haven't worked for the necessary people to get my license” not “I passed the exam but just didn't finish the rest of the requirements”. It just looks better in my opinion. And as long as you have or meet the necessary accounting/business credits, you could take classes for fun to meet the remaining credit number. I've seen people talking about taking phys ed or cooking college classes for credit. You could have some fun with it once you have the required classes taken care of (if you don't already).

[taxgeek83]

@GSU – The short-term memory issue is a really big reason I was okay taking FAR for a second time. I crammed it into a very short amount of time for my first shot, and though I learned a few things, I wouldn't have retained much. Taking a bit more time (albeit not much) the second time around, and trying to reinforce what I was learning with various news articles and my own work experience, forced me to learn the material on a deeper level. My goal is to make a career out of tax, but the underlying accounting knowledge is definitely valuable!

[taxgeek83]

@Dan – Glad to hear you're going for the education – good luck! Even if you never get your license, hopefully the additional learning opportunity will serve you well down the road. 🙂

[Author]

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