[D]

My old manager works in private industry accounting, has been out of school for over 10 years (Bachelor’s in Finance), and just recently finished up enough accounting credits on the side so he could take the CPA. He started his CPA journey about 8 months ago.

He only uses Wiley books (outdated, btw). No online test bank, videos, etc. He has 5 kids, all who are homeschooled by his wife who is a stay at home mom. He easily works 10-12 hrs each day.

He started taking his tests summer 2013.. results as followed:

– AUD, passed 1st try, after studying only on weekends and occasionally at night for 3 weeks.

– BEC, passed 1st try, studying on/off for 3 weeks.

– FAR, passed 2nd attempt. For his 2nd FAR attempt, he only studied the weekend before the exam… passes.

– REG, 2nd attempt will be in April.

There’s no doubt, he is a sharp guy. He was also a great supervisor and I learned a ton from him.

However.. just leads me to wonder what MY problem is? I’m married, no kids, work and commute is about 10-12 hrs avg. I’ve put in a ton of quality hours (thousands of MCQ, lectures, supplementing with NINJA Notes & Audio), but yet I’m still having trouble getting over the hump.

Is it possible that there are just some people out there who are absolute geniuses when it comes to CPA exam?

Or, is it possible that we psych ourselves out way too much over this exam, making it way harder than it really is?

Anyway, not trying to rant. Again.. he’s a sharp guy and deserves the passing score.. as does anyone who receives one! If anything just trying to think how I can apply this as a “lesson learned” and maybe start passing the final 3 sections that I need to.

Happy Studying to all! 🙂

----------
AUD - 74, 77! (1/2016)
BEC - 80! (5/2016)
REG - tbd (8/2016)
FAR - tbd

Study materials: NINJA MCQ/Audio/Notes

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!"
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[Anonymous]

I don't think he is some sort of CPA exam Rain Man. I think some people are just better at taking tests. I know that I suck at it!!! I seriously over think things and get myself all knotted up! It makes me happy to hear about people who pass this beast like it's nothing. Good for them. For some this exam is a sprint, and for others it's a marathon. The license doesn't say which track you were on. Those all look the same.

[Anonymous]

I don't think he is some sort of CPA exam Rain Man. I think some people are just better at taking tests. I know that I suck at it!!! I seriously over think things and get myself all knotted up! It makes me happy to hear about people who pass this beast like it's nothing. Good for them. For some this exam is a sprint, and for others it's a marathon. The license doesn't say which track you were on. Those all look the same.

[Kenada]

I agree.

Some people are very natural at being able to take these exams and pass it. Others have to put in double the effort and take the exam several times before we pass it .

Rogers says this all the time. You do not have to be genius to be able to pass the exams. You just need to study, learn the concepts and be able to apply them and read the questions carefully.

I too am a horrible test taker so it is a uphill battle for me but I won't give up trying!

CA Candidate. 05/27/2014 ~ 786/110
I am done!!

[Kenada]

I agree.

Some people are very natural at being able to take these exams and pass it. Others have to put in double the effort and take the exam several times before we pass it .

Rogers says this all the time. You do not have to be genius to be able to pass the exams. You just need to study, learn the concepts and be able to apply them and read the questions carefully.

I too am a horrible test taker so it is a uphill battle for me but I won't give up trying!

CA Candidate. 05/27/2014 ~ 786/110
I am done!!

[mla1169]

Some people just focus better and are more intense under pressure. I had no business taking the CPA exam when I did, my life was too crazy but I finished in 12 months. Now that my life is a bit calmer, I don't think I could achieve that same level of intensity.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Some people just focus better and are more intense under pressure. I had no business taking the CPA exam when I did, my life was too crazy but I finished in 12 months. Now that my life is a bit calmer, I don't think I could achieve that same level of intensity.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[yourmomsaCPA]

First of all, it sounds like he just had a boat-load of accounting classes recently to be eligible. That should help a TON. For instance, with my FAR experience, having a recent government/non profit class would've covered a good 20% of the questions. Throw in some actual real-world experience with financial statements and some studying, it's possible.

FAR - 87 2/18/14
AUD - 84 4/2/14
REG - 87 7/23/14
BEC - 78 8/26/14

I'm finally an *official* CPA - TX

[yourmomsaCPA]

First of all, it sounds like he just had a boat-load of accounting classes recently to be eligible. That should help a TON. For instance, with my FAR experience, having a recent government/non profit class would've covered a good 20% of the questions. Throw in some actual real-world experience with financial statements and some studying, it's possible.

FAR - 87 2/18/14
AUD - 84 4/2/14
REG - 87 7/23/14
BEC - 78 8/26/14

I'm finally an *official* CPA - TX

[Wanna_B_TXCPA2014]

TXCPAGAL12 I would not sweat it. Some people are just naturally talented and do not need alot of preparation to peform.

Think about the CPA like an athletic competition. In that you have superstars that fly high and make it seem real easy, but they are not the league. The NBA, NFL, MLS, NHL is made up of alot of people that are not household names. Its doesn't make those guys any less because they don't transcend the sport like the >1% superstars.

I find the main thing about this journey is learning how to manage to voluminous amounts of information. They overload you to see how well you can handle pressure and stress. You can work as an accountant without a cpa. CPA and Non CPA alike will have to refer to same literature to answer questions. The CPA is more about prestige than anything IMO. A person with an accounting degree has learned and been tested on all the material covered on this exam. The difference between the two is a CPA has been vetted by the AICPA the Non CPA has not.

You can and will achieve this goal. You should not compare your completion time table to anyone else.

[Wanna_B_TXCPA2014]

TXCPAGAL12 I would not sweat it. Some people are just naturally talented and do not need alot of preparation to peform.

Think about the CPA like an athletic competition. In that you have superstars that fly high and make it seem real easy, but they are not the league. The NBA, NFL, MLS, NHL is made up of alot of people that are not household names. Its doesn't make those guys any less because they don't transcend the sport like the >1% superstars.

I find the main thing about this journey is learning how to manage to voluminous amounts of information. They overload you to see how well you can handle pressure and stress. You can work as an accountant without a cpa. CPA and Non CPA alike will have to refer to same literature to answer questions. The CPA is more about prestige than anything IMO. A person with an accounting degree has learned and been tested on all the material covered on this exam. The difference between the two is a CPA has been vetted by the AICPA the Non CPA has not.

You can and will achieve this goal. You should not compare your completion time table to anyone else.

[jlough]

@OP- I think that some people do just naturally understand accounting better than others. Not saying this is the case here, but it is possible that he just picks it up more easily. I agree 100% with YourMomisaCPA— it probably helped that he recently took a bunch of accounting classes. Also, I think sometimes people like to downplay how much they actually did study. Again, not saying that is what he did, but I'm always suspicious when people say they passed FAR after only studying for a week.

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[jlough]

@OP- I think that some people do just naturally understand accounting better than others. Not saying this is the case here, but it is possible that he just picks it up more easily. I agree 100% with YourMomisaCPA— it probably helped that he recently took a bunch of accounting classes. Also, I think sometimes people like to downplay how much they actually did study. Again, not saying that is what he did, but I'm always suspicious when people say they passed FAR after only studying for a week.

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[D]

@Kricket- same here.. I'm a HORRIBLE test taker. Even back in college, I would do great on the homework but it was the tests that would kick my booty. Especially given that college classes weight the exams like 50%+ of your overall final grade! What I really didn't like is that some would say “well, if you truly knew the material you would do well on the test”.. as if I were slacking on the studying, however that was not the case.

Like you said though, I'm all for those who can take tests with ease and not psych themselves out. Maybe one of them will write a self-help book for CPA exam takers someday! 🙂 (Hopefully by then I will have passed too and won't need the book lol)

----------
AUD - 74, 77! (1/2016)
BEC - 80! (5/2016)
REG - tbd (8/2016)
FAR - tbd

Study materials: NINJA MCQ/Audio/Notes

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!"
----------

[D]

@Kricket- same here.. I'm a HORRIBLE test taker. Even back in college, I would do great on the homework but it was the tests that would kick my booty. Especially given that college classes weight the exams like 50%+ of your overall final grade! What I really didn't like is that some would say “well, if you truly knew the material you would do well on the test”.. as if I were slacking on the studying, however that was not the case.

Like you said though, I'm all for those who can take tests with ease and not psych themselves out. Maybe one of them will write a self-help book for CPA exam takers someday! 🙂 (Hopefully by then I will have passed too and won't need the book lol)

----------
AUD - 74, 77! (1/2016)
BEC - 80! (5/2016)
REG - tbd (8/2016)
FAR - tbd

Study materials: NINJA MCQ/Audio/Notes

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!"
----------

[D]

@Wanna_B_TXCPA…. Great perspective, and there is so much truth to your post. You're right, I WILL achieve this goal… very soon! I can feel it. You can tell how long I've been going at it by my screen name. 🙂 I created that when I started pursuing, was hoping I would only be using the screen name through 2012. haha…

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AUD - 74, 77! (1/2016)
BEC - 80! (5/2016)
REG - tbd (8/2016)
FAR - tbd

Study materials: NINJA MCQ/Audio/Notes

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!"
----------

[Author]

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