[NEY_000]

I work in industry and my manager (I’m not even sure if he knows what CPA stands for) asked me how I did on my exam. I responded with something like, “I’m not sure. It was hard and I’m a little depressed about it.” He responded with, “One of these days your self confidence is going to kick in and you’re going to be sure that you did well.”

His remark doesn’t sit well with me.

Is he right? Do people really have a significant amount of confidence when it comes to passing an exam where the success rate is roughly 43%?

AUD - 81 (5/5/14)
REG - 67 (7/28/14) b00; (10/3/2014)
BEC -
FAR -

[WeWillSee]

Anyone that I have ever talked to – No. I have never heard a person say that they are sure they passed an exam, at least not out loud. I don't think it's anything to be depressed about though, because you never know what is going to happen. You could think you did horribly, and pass the exam, or you could think you did pretty well and completely fail. I think that is why it is hard for anyone to be super confident about it – you just never know.

[Kimboroni]

Sometimes people here who have failed say “I was so sure I passed” which I don't get. I haven't felt sure that I passed any of them, and I got 84 on AUD and REG and 83 on FAR. I walk in pretty confident with my knowledge of the material, but that doesn't necessarily result in a pass. It's just so hard to tell, what with the wonky grading and the pretest questions and the complicated sims, how it will all work out in the end.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

I am not confident on the result of any particular exam but I go into the exam with the mindset that I am going to do my best to physically beat it into submission. I view it the same way I do an athletic event. I am going to do my best to stomp on it and I will only respect it if it hits back. Someone is going to win and someone is going to lose. If I lose this time, Im coming back for a rematch

So, I am confident I will eventually pass. I see a lot of people in this forum that are not (even though they will pass), I feel like they psyche themself out.

[JamesBJames]

I've got a pretty similar mindset to @Darcer. I also try to evaluate myself relative to how I think other people would do on the exam and that helps me walk out of Prometric feeling slightly confident.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[jpowell31]

nope. i felt bewildered all 3 times i took audit and got 3 completely different scores. first time – guaranteed passssed, so much easier than practice tests (71), WTF was THAT (74), okay but seriously what WAS THAT (83).

it's also not fair when there's pretest questions, testlets are meant to get harder…etc. it can mess with you and how you think you're doing/did.

[krokofilen]

I was 100% sure I passed on AUD. Had that feeling throughout the exam (even took breaks when I didn't really need them, just b/c I was feeling so good about timing), and walked out the room after the exam very confident. I was also feeling good prior to the exam. I ended up with a 95.

Different story for FAR though, I do not feel confident at all due to the massiveness of the materials.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Author]

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