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I just wanted to share my thoughts and advice on the exam and the process in one mega post. I got my final, passing, score a week ago and I’ve had some time to think over everything and decompress.
I was laid off from last job a couple of years ago. At the time I decided I was going to go back to school and finish my Master’s Degree in Accounting. I’m extremely fortunate that my wife is a Registered Nurse (RN). Her job was good enough to support the two of us while I went back to school. But, more
Importantly, she knew what I was going through so there weren’t any fights about me sitting on the couch doing nothing. Years ago the situation was reversed where I was working and she was going to school to get her RN license so she understood the process and didn’t complain that things had switched. I took full course loads and got through the program as fast as possible. At that point I started looking at the CPA and decided to go for it. I met the requirements and I realized that if I don’t go for it now, I never would. She supported me the whole way but I’d be lying if I said it was all sunshine, puppy dogs and roses. We had our fights during the process and the “all you do anymore is study” talks which I’m sure everyone is familiar with. But the fact that she went through a similar process (even if it’s not as difficult as the CPA) to become a Registered Nurse helped out.
I started in July 2014. I did my research in review programs and went with Becker. They seem to be very polarizing with people either really loving them or really hating them. I think the price has a lot to do with this because they’re not cheap. But, for me, Becker was effective and it worked. I started with FAR because most people consider it to be the hardest of the 4 and I needed to prove that I could pass it. I figured if I couldn’t pass FAR, I was wasting my time. I still wasn’t working at the time so I spent all of July and all of August studying 6+ hours a day 7 days a week. During this time I did get a job in Accounting with the Federal Government but I didn’t start until September. That gave me enough time to finish FAR and I sat for my first section on August 30. I passed with an 84.
Passing FAR was a blessing and a curse. I proved that I could do it but I was so burnt out on the process after just one exam that I nearly gave up. AUD was my second section and I didn’t study for it nearly as hard as I did for FAR. I had just started my new job and having a job that doesn’t require a license almost proved too much a disincentive for me. There were quite a few nights where I blew off studying and I didn’t take it nearly as serious as I did FAR. As exam date got closer, I started to reevaluate things though and spent the last couple of weeks hitting the material really hard. Luckily I passed with an 80 during a quarter where only 42% of people taking AUD passed. This score makes me wonder if the exam actually is curved a bit. I wonder if I would have passed during another quarter or if results were SO bad overall that my score was pushed into a passing range due to all of the other people failing. Obviously I will never know and the AICPA line is that they don’t curve scores. At any rate, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about this exam. I think I blocked a lot of AUD from my brain. It was, definitely, the low point in my CPA studies.
Passing AUD gave me the motivation to finish strong. If I had failed AUD, things might have ended then and there but by passing I was committed. BEC was my next section. BEC was the “easy” section I had been led to believe. Very quickly I found out that was a bald faced lie. BEC is NOT the easy section. There is no such thing as an easy CPA section. BEC has the highest passing rate but that’s not the same thing as being “easy.” Luckily I realized this really early on (as soon as I hit B2 in Becker as a matter of fact). I cried and whined about it for a day or so and then I buckled down and told myself “Self, this isn’t as easy as you were led to believe so you need to take it seriously.” So that’s what I did. I spent nearly as much time on BEC as I did on FAR. Financial Management is still a weak spot in my Accounting arsenal but I really sat down on Financial Management and Cost Accounting to make sure I understood the main formulas. Every exam is different but mine was very formula and calculation heavy so I believe that this preparation paid off. I walked out feeling good on exam day and later I found out that I earned an 89 (my highest score).
Last up was REG. This was, by far, the hardest to study for but, as odd as it sounds, the most enjoyable section to study for. It’s the most detailed of the four exams in my opinion. While FAR covers a ton of material, it stays pretty high level on all of the topics. REG goes into a lot more depth which makes it really tough. But because this was my last exam, I had motivation to finish strong and I picked up a lot of good study habits with BEC and I carried those with me into REG. But on exam day this was the exam I was least confident about. Especially walking out of the Prometrics center. Everyone says that the simulations for REG are brutal and they are not kidding. The Sims were just as brutal as advertised and I had no idea if I passed or failed due to them. In the end I got an 83 which makes me one very happy camper.
I passed all 4 exams on the first try. It wasn’t easy but here’s my secret: I didn’t take a single exam until I was ready. I know that this sounds obvious but I think a lot of people want to rush the whole process. People sign up for 2 exams (or even more!) in a test window and then find out they’re running out of time. A lot of people can do it but I’m not one of them. I found that taking one exam per window worked for me. It gave me time to get through all of the material and then spend a solid month in Review Phase. Ironically the section I spent the least amount of time reviewing was FAR. I finished the lectures and homework in mid-August and that gave me only two weeks for review. I think that worked out for FAR though since there is SO much material that it’s easy to forget little details. I’ve said a number of times that it’s a balancing act. Take the exam too early and you’re not ready for it. Take it too late and you’ve memorized answers to review questions and you run the risk of forgetting important details. It’s absolutely critical to find that sweet spot (the Goldilocks zone) and take your exam at that point.
This site has also been a tremendous help. The CPA exam is something that the average person will never understand and never have to go through. Those people will never know what we go through to get our licenses. But this site is great because everyone is here for the same reason and we’re all going through the same thing. My advice for people just starting, get involved with the Study Group sticky threads. They really help keep you sharp and they also reinforce that you aren’t the only one doing it. I didn’t get involved in the FAR or AUD groups but I was very active in the BEC and REG groups and it helped a lot.
So that’s my experience. Feel free to ask questions if anyone is still around reading this 😉
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