[Morichierich36]

This may be a dumb question but I guess after failing far, I’m concerned that accounting isn’t the career for me. I was just wondering if anyone felt that how well they did on the exam correlated with the opportunities in the future. Does it affect promotions? Obviously I understand you need to pass to get the promotion but was wondering if failing the exam will hurt me or getting only a 75 will indicate how successful I am at a firm?

[2012passtheCPA]

Just sharing a bit of my story with you.

I was trying to get into public accounting shortly after I graduated. My school didn't have firms that actively recruited on campus so it was basically up to me to sell myself and network to get in. I started by talking with about 6 different firms and one reason or another it didn't work out with any of them.

I passed my exam 2 years later. My job during the two years doesn't have anything to do with public accounting, while I did have some experience it wasn't relevant to public accounting. I'm just trying to illustrate all the variables at play here. In the 4 months since passing the exam I've had 2 phone interviews, a lunch with a director of on of the Big 4 who said he would forward my resume to their recruiter, he'd also forward my resume to a partner he knows from another Big 4 firm, and an office interview.

It definitely won't hurt you if you do pass the CPA exam. I believe it does open doors for you down the road. I'm not sure I'd give up the CPA exam after failing one exam. I failed the exam 4 times (REG 3 times). Failures sometime happen that might cause you to question quitting, but you shouldn't let it stop you if you ultimately want to pass.

[vanadium3]

It just takes time. My scores are not the best and I've failed many times. If you find something you are good at and it's a good career then go for it and tell me what it is 😉

CPA

[Anonymous]

Your license number doesn't reveal your scores or your failures. The only way an employer would know your scores is if you told them.

[KelzMS]

Failing will not hurt you. You just have to get back at it and try again. I get the feeling all the time that I'm just not cut out for accounting but I'm going to keep at it and just try to get better. I failed FAR the first time I took it and yes it was very upsetting but the place where I worked was very understanding and said that it is normal to not pass all on your first try. I don't think any firm would use failing against you because so many people do fail at least once, just look at the pass rate. Good luck in the future on FAR.

B-Passed
A-Passed
R-Passed
F-Passed

[wannabeCPA123]

The CPA exam is NOT an IQ or aptitude test (well maybe it is an Aptitude test). I bet there are plenty of partners, controllers and CFO's out there who failed a section or too.

Don't give up!

FAR 78
REG 87
BEC 78
AUD 78
Passed all exams on first try! Good luck to everyone!

[Anonymous]

Like the others have said, your scores won't really matter that much. If you average over 95.5 (which really means 95.75 or better), you get a special award, and putting that on your resume *might* help you…but even then, I'm not sure how valuable it is. Short of that (and very few people qualify for that), whether you pass with 4 75's or 4 95's won't make any difference. Getting the CPA certification is all that will matter!

As to whether the CPA will help you in your career or not…that depends on what you do, of course. In public accounting, it will help a LOT. In private accounting, it's not needed, but it's still kind of a “feather in your cap”, something that shows that you actually knew something at one point in time. 😉 Outside of finance-related careers, it won't mean much, though (like, say, if you want into construction).

[zakahracw]

A lot of companies prefer CPA's even in their Finance Departments. I know that many high level job positions at Microsoft and IGT have job descriptions that say “CPA preferred” and “Big 4 experience”. Many employees in the Finance department hat MSLI in Reno are former CPA's from Big 4 firms, FYI. Plus many large CPA firms have more than tax, audit and advisory. There's M&A and Project management just to name two. You'll figure it out as you begin your career and pass these exams. Things will become clearer to you. Until then Good Luck!

~Z

"Live your Best Life"

[Tncincy]

The exam impacts my future because where I am now I am over qualified for most jobs and without the CPA I am not qualified for the jobs I would like with a firm. I've been out of school for a while, I have my bachelor's and master's in accounting and I have run my own business for 16 years. So for me I need to get the CPA to either find a job with a firm or build the business I have, but I am really running out of capital and want to get out of the comparison to H&R BLOCK.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[nzwoof]

Several things:

1) a 99 is the same thing as a 75, CPA means CPA. Not everyone is trying to score a 99, they just want to know enough to pass

2) there are people at big 4 firms who dont have their cpa, after their first or second year. Example, i know someone at kpmg, he is audit. he tried to pass the CPA but didn't. they put him in advisory after a year and a half.

3) if you are trying to pass the CPA and took the 150 hours, i bet you were a good student and not accustomed to failure. once people get over the fact that they aren't part of the few who can pass the CPA on the first try it will be easier. dont get discouraged.

4) Scott London the scumbag KPMG partner who provided confidential information to his golf buddy, doesn't matter if he scored a 75 or a 99, hes still a douche. your score doesn't correlate to how successful you will be.

5) friend is full time at a top 10 firm, he said his office doesnt require a CPA for managers.

6) according to goingconcern.com rumor has it, Mcgladerdy is waiving their requirement for managers to have CPA's.

7) having a CPA will differentiate you from the bookkeepers.

Reg 4/06/13 81
Far 5/28/13 86

[Tncincy]

nzwoof:

great points. especially #1,#3,and #7.

Now if I could just get over failing FAR and focus on passing :-(( .

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[PatientStranger]

1) The cpa is the best exam to pass if you are uncertain of what you would like to do in the business world but want all options available at any time. In comparison to the CFA, which is only good for asset management, the CPA means you are qualified for anything from property management to partaking in a start-up with a few friends, to being a silent partner with some decision making ability in an LLC, LLP, or LLLP.

2) The CPA score does not test your ability to perform CPA work. Again, this is ironic, and a paradox but it is the truth but also only true in certain areas. For example, the CPA will test what you know about taxes, but will not test to see if you can apply linear regression analysis, a far more specialized and abstract form of knowledge which requires a higher I.Q., to determining if you should accelerate tax recognition. Meanwhile, many who pass the CPA quickly are superior in lower level management positions than those who don't…based on a study I will search for and try to post later.

Most people with high I.Q.'s are not narrow. The CPA is a very narrow exam, but broad in its narrowness. It is an exam created to protect the public. It is an exam based on sacrificing your self. It is not the most intelligent person who passes, but the person who is able to give up their other hobbies and activities and put in the time. There is no logical basis to the exam, it is a slew of random facts and archetypal patterns that are not related by any natural law or premise, which is not to say that accounting is unnatural.

After you pass the exam, you will see, that it is an exam testing short-term to longer-term memory, and not one of I.Q. or being able to connect random concepts into a homogeneous principle, or the ability for applied abstraction.

Most people who do well on the CPA are very narrow, not that this is bad or not to offend anyone, they tend not to have many interests other than making money or raising a family. If you have many passions, or somewhat of a renaissance person, then the CPA will be particularly hard for you even if your IQ is above 140, and even if you could potentially be the best accountant in the world.

What makes you good at any career or vocation is your ability to harness all your life experience and create a synergistic affect. It is one thing to assimilate facts into information, and information into knowledge, but an entirely different beast to turn knowledge into wisdom. The later involves a huge component of emotional intelligence which is almost mutually exclusive to passing the exam the first time.

Not to offend anyone, but this is also based on a personality study that found most partners in firms who are successful are late bloomers in the field who are INFJ's or growers by nature instead of sensors who are able to assimilate details because the INFJ's have a stronger intuition.

[PatientStranger]

Okay everyone…here is the study. You'll notice that the dominant type in the business field is not the ideal for upper management, but that the dominant type tends to do well early on in passing certifications and doing well in school. There you go…this study indicates that passing the CPA too early is a sign that you will probably not be as good in upper management later on. I know, it's strange and ironic, a paradox even, but it's also based on empirical data and science. It has to do with intuition, which is suppressed early on by these types, but developed by the other ones, and required for upper level management.

https://www.aejournal.com/ojs/index.php/aej/article/viewFile/37/37

“The STJ type is dominant in business overall, but most in business do not rise to

upper management. Keirsey.com (2003) describes the ESTJ as the supervisor type and

the ISTJ as the inspector type. This appears to be a logical fit for the accountant/CPA.

The NT types are described as rational, with the ENTJ described as the fieldmarshall

type, and the INTJ as the mastermind type and may be a logical fit for upper

management. Schloemer and Schloemer (1997) found that 61 percent of CPA firm

partners have a preference for intuition over sensing while only 20 percent at the staff

level do. This may reflect the fact that partners need a broad perspective, must be able to

apply abstract reasoning, and utilize unstructured problem solving skills not needed at the

staff level. Additional research needs to be conducted to examine the personality type

differences, if any, between entry level accountants and those who rise to upper

management within public accounting”

Note that INTJ's and ENTJ's are usually great straight A students, but horrible at passing exams like the CPA because they are intuitive based, where as the CPA exam is about details, or sensory perceptions. Of course, intuition does play a role, but not as it would on an exam testing concepts and abstraction rather than rote understanding.

[PrinceofDubtown]

I've known managing partners of smaller firms that failed the exam multiple times and eventually passed. I've known partners of Big 4 accounting firms that failed the exam many, many times (i.e., in the double digits) and eventually passed. I've heard of newly-immigrated individuals who barely spoke english studying, failing, and restudying and earning a CPA. Finally, I've seen many people on here refuse to give up and earning a CPA. One failure is by no means a reason to give up.

FAR - 92 (7/13)
AUD - 98 (10/13)
REG - 92 (7/14)
BEC - 95 (8/14)

[nzwoof]

@pateintstranger the research article you bring up is interesting however I fail to see how the researchers can come to the conclusion that they did.

1) the methodology they used involved surveying 137 students, some of which 40 percent of which are freshmen. Thinking about how many accounting students there are in the world, and how many go for the CPA, it seems that the sample size cannot be applied to the accounting profession as a whole. How did they control for the regional or cultural differences?

2) they used a KTS methodology, any methodology comes with its criticisms. How did the author adjust for those criticisms in the testing?

you make some other statements that i am unclear about…what is your point about linear regression? we have the code, we look at the treatment to the transaction? Side note, most people who went to grad school has had some interaction with linear regression.

i do not believe that the CPA is just a random mess of topics. the test is testing what the profession thinks a 1st year must know.

so if you have two guys A and B, and you start a partnership with one of them you are gonna go w/ the guy who has a CPA? what if its some guy who has no real world experience but has a CPA and another guy who is involved in entrepreneurship?

If passing the CPA too early is a bad sign, when is the right time to pass the CPA? AT least for me, the people I know at big 4 and at midsize firms all tell me “I wish i passed the CPA sooner”. This is anecdotal because these are people who I went to graduate school with and not a nationwide sample.

you dont have to sacrifice your life to pass the exam, i know people who studied for two weeks 3 hours a day and passed and i know people who passed after studying for 6 days.

i also disagree with the “cpa only interested in money or raising family” not because that not only doesnt describe me, but that doesnt describe the people i went to school with.

There is no logical basis to the exam, it is a slew of random facts and archetypal patterns that are not related by any natural law or premise, sure there is a pattern. You have GAAP, IFRS, the tax code, and other guidance that guides you. it is not “unnatural” by any means.

for example, negotiable instruments must state the amount. that makes sense.

i am not angry, i just find fault with everything you are saying. also, the cpa is the best exam to pass if you want to be a public accountant.

Reg 4/06/13 81
Far 5/28/13 86

[PatientStranger]

Is it enough for me to say that I can tell you're a sensor and not and intuitive type or introverted thinker? I'm aware of all your objections. There's nothing wrong with passing early…I've just shown a study that demonstrates the personality types that tend not to pass early may actually be better at upper level management.

Again, your criticisms with the sample size could even be made about gravity since we've sampled less than .0000000000000001% of units of time that gravity has actually occurred, yet intuitively we are aware that gravity as a principle is solid as a rock.

We haven't even tested gravity on other planets….

Okay, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but passing the CPA early just means that you were good at taking the CPA, not that you will be a great CPA.

[Author]

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