[rhodycpa]

Hi all,

I just passed the first section of the enrolled agent exam (individuals) today, and I was wondering, down the line when I get my EA designation, would it be appropriate to list my credentials in my email signature at work (Accounts Receivable Analyst) even though I’m not in the tax department?

Thanks in advance!

Enrolled Agent - August 2012

AUD - 01/05/13 (waiting)
REG - 01/26/13
BEC - 02/16/13
FAR - 04/20/13

[Givemesleep]

I believe according to circular 230 as long as you are in good standing and have your valid card after statisfying the CPE requirements. I am an EA and have the designation on my business cards. Once I pass this CPA monster, I am dropping it an replacing with CPA. The EA is very helpful if you are in public practice and need to represent clients in an IRS matter and dont have your CPA yet. Keep studying, part II is the most difficult, part III is the easer of the tests. Congratulations on passing part 1. Anyone trying to advance themselves is a hero from my perspective. Good work! Now back to FAR, I love the pain!!

Reg 11/15/2011 - 80
Aud 02/28/2012 - 81
Bec 05/31/2012 - 78
Far 08/31/2012 - 83 Do you believe in Miracles, YES !!!

CPA License received 10/2012 !!
CFE License received 04/2013 !!
EA License received

Givemesleep

[lacpa2012]

Congratulations to both of you! What materials did you use and how many hours did you study?

I just bought the Gleim book and Test prep software. Due to time constraint, I am giving myself 10 days for Part I, 18 days for Part II, and 7 days for Part III. This is because I'm able to study full time during June, but need to return to work in July. Not sure if it is doable but I'll try my best. Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

I'm an EA and I definitely list it….I earned it. Congrats on passing your first part.

As for materials, I used Phoenix and really liked it. Passed each part on the first try.

[rhodycpa]

I'm going to list it, thanks for the words of encouragement everyone 🙂

I used FastForward Academy with unlimited practice tests. I was sure when I went in there that I failed everything, but I passed. I screamed (not too loud, I dont think 🙂 ) for joy when I saw that paper print out, and the ladies at the Prometric center laughed and congratulated me lol

For study time? I think I studied about 30 hours for part 1, and I'm taking part 3 this saturday and I would say I'll get about 10-15 hours in for that section. Comparatively speaking there is a LOT less material. I'll let you know how it goes!

Enrolled Agent - August 2012

AUD - 01/05/13 (waiting)
REG - 01/26/13
BEC - 02/16/13
FAR - 04/20/13

[lacpa2012]

@rhodycpa and Givemesleep, thanks for the responses. Appreciate it.

@rhodycpa, good luck on Saturday! wow, you studied about 30 hours for part 1 and 10-15 hours for part 3…sounds like

a genius to me. I'm sure you will pass part3!

I just passed part 1 yesterday and thought it was pretty straight-forward comparing to Reg. But part 2 has a lot of material. Any suggestions on how to approach part 2 in a short period?

[lateralus ag]

Is there any reason to get the EA designation if you are already a CPA? What advantages would the EA provide that you don't already get with a CPA?

I realize the OP is not a CPA (I am assuming they are not), but thought about this the other day when I was reading someones post and thought about it again today.

Thanks

FAR 88
REG 89
AUD 89
BEC 86
DONE!!!
Using Becker Review and Becker Final Review, and Ninja Audio for BEC

[lacpa2012]

I work for a public accounting firm but I'm in tax. I did part 1 of EA while waiting for my last CPA score because my firm requires either a CPA or EA to get promoted to manager.

[rhodycpa]

I know that EA's can represent taxpayers in front of the IRS in any state, compared to CPAs who are only licensed in the state they live in. One competitive advantage of having both or just the EA is if you live close to the border of another state and might have to represent them there. (For example, I live in Rhode Island and it's about 45 minutes from one side of the state to the other)

And an update on my exam today: I PASSED! I had been pretty sick with bronchitis the past two weeks and I didn't think I was going to pass because of it. However I went to reschedule and they said I'd have to pay another $105 to reschedule, so I decided to take it anyway. I'm glad I did!

I'm using fastforward academy and got the unlimited practice tests, but I havent been using them much. The information in the book is sufficient, and I find the practice tests MUCH HARDER than the exam itself (which can be a good thing)

My advice for studying? Everyone is different but here's what works for me:

Don't take too much new information at once: I always confuse myself.

I read 1 chapter a day or every 2 days until I get to the end, I then go back and reread the chapters, stopping this time when I get to the practice questions and seeing how I do.

I then take the time to go through and memorize important information, Form names and uses, different penalties, basically anything with a numerical value attached to it (for Part 1 I memorized the charts for earned income credit, credit for elderly and disabled, filing requirements, social security, etc they're all important and the test is much easier if you have all the numbers committed to memory)

The day before the test I go through the chapters rereading them a third time and focusing on trouble areas. My idea is to spend an hour on a paragraph that makes NO SENSE and looking at it until I get it, because I know that if I don't there's going to be 5 or 6 questions dedicated to that paragraph. Now, if there are a lot of questions dedicated to it I'm GLAD because I spent the time understanding it and now that's 5 questions closer to a passing score!

I hope that helps, and GOOD LUCK!!! 🙂

Enrolled Agent - August 2012

AUD - 01/05/13 (waiting)
REG - 01/26/13
BEC - 02/16/13
FAR - 04/20/13

[lacpa2012]

Thanks for the great tips and here's an update. I passed all three parts of the EA exam first try after a month of studying. Now I can say it's totally manageable!!

I'm a little bit confused about the enrollment process though. Do I have to send the form 23 to IRS by mail even after the electronic application & payment is done? (https://www.pay.gov/paygov/) I was trying to call the customer center but it always go to voice-mail.

Has anyone passed EA exam recently?

Thank You!

[Author]

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