[Anonymous]

Hi!

So, its all over. After 10 exams and nearly 2 years I’m finally finished. The feeling of receiving a 77 on FAR to make me a CPA was one of the greatest moments in my life. Before I move on there are just a few words I want to share with anyone who needs that extra push.

1. I never thought i’d pass this exam. I did. After each exam I walked out thinking I failed – most of the times I did fail, but sometimes I passed : )
2. I questioned my intelligence everyday, always comparing myself to my friends who breezed through this exam. It won’t come easy for everyone. If I can do it I believe anyone can. I’m the kid who hates accounting and received C’s in my college accounting classes. Never truly understood the concepts, but I just kept truckin’ and you should too.
3. I consider myself a pretty fun and adventurous person. Always hiking and climbing in the outdoors, dreading the thought of sitting at a desk. However I removed most social interactions and “fun” for almost 2 years. I’m not saying thats the best advice or what will work for you, its just what needed to happen if I wanted to succeed here.
4.Easier said then done (and I was guilty of this myself), but no matter how bad you think you did, always have hope. As mentioned in #1, I always thought I failed. Guessing on multiple choice questions and SIMS certainly wont make you think positively, but I’d be lying to you if said I didn’t do this on most exams simply because I didn’t know the answer. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. No one knows how this thing is graded.

Quick Bio on my life and study materials: I’m 24 and work at PwC in Risk Assurance. I used Becker, Roger, Ninja, Wiley, you name it. I think Roger’s the best and most easiest understood, but the Becker books will be your best representation of the exam conent.

Thats all. Take care folks. Thanks Jeff – Appreciate this forums support.

[maj1028]

Congratulations @DMB!

And thank you for sharing your experience. It's so inspiring to know that candidates go through tough times getting through this exam but in the end prevail. I hope that I can give a motivational post soon too.

Good luck in everything

[Nekeny]

Congratulations! It is such an accomplishment! I am in a similar boat with you on the actg GPA part, and because of that, I didn't get any offer from a public firm when I graduated, not even an interview opportunity. Just curious, how did you get a job at PwC without being a top accounting student?

[NA474]

Congratulations! I went through this too. And for those people who “breezed through it” probably worked their ass off like the rest of us! If you keep your eye on the prize you will definitely get there.

FAR-5/31 -PASS
REG-7/29 (TBD)
AUD TBD
BEC TBD

[Anonymous]

Congrats on passing the exams.

But someone has to say this. Stop for a moment and think about what you said. You hated accounting and got C's. That's like saying you want to be a pilot, but hate flying.

How can you be a CPA, uphold the public trust but not understand accounting. Plan to just skate by??

[Radez]

I wouldn't jump all over the guy. I hated accounting and corporate finance in college also. I was a math major and wanted to live in abstraction my whole life. It wasn't until I started working in accounting and finance that I realized this industry basically administers the circulatory system of the world. Passing the exam means you've demonstrated the basic skill and knowledge to uphold the public trust.

[Anonymous]

@nekeny – I had a lot of extracurriculars and have a good personality. Plus I got into the externship early which led to an internship and ultimately a full time offer. I consider myself lucky. Keep pushing.

@cessnapilot Apologies if i offended you. Nice analogy but to compare an accountant to a pilot is absurd. People can do poorly in college accounting and thrive in the industry as it hardly relates. Everyone knows you learn it on the job. Also to give some context, I'm in IT audit now, which has like 10% to do with the CPA materials haha.

If you want my honest opinion the CPA is silly because you purge everything you learn- BUT still worth it in every way as its the key to success in accounting.

[zccpa]

Congrats and thanks for the post. You gave me hope, as a single mom and full time employee, many times I want to give up on this monster, but also find reasons to stick to it. My GPA was not the best in college either, and I hated Cost Accounting!! but I'm a very good accountant, because as you mention we learn more at work than in class. However, I'm not a great test taker, get nervous and CPA exam is not the greatest of the experiences in that sense.

Thanks again!

[YXH425]

Congrats on passing!

[Author]

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