[Anonymous]

I will be starting in Big 4 audit this upcoming fall and am worried that studying for the CPA will be very difficult. Has anyone experienced this and if so, how did you manage?

[Anonymous]

My best advice to anyone is to complete the exam first before starting work full-time.

[SchruteBeet]

I work at a Big 4 and am awaiting results for my third exam. I def second @brickellcpa's advice but in my case, I graduated in summer, and only had one month between when my classes got over and my job started. I used that time to get BEC out of my way. The first weeks are usually training and onboarding stuff so I used all the down time to get REG out of the way. However, I will say it has been hard lately. As of now, all my projects are pretty full fledged (no busy season per se in my practice but we have those waves too), and with all the traveling it has been difficult. I'll find out next Tue and let you know how it went but I would recommend having a very strict schedule and sticking to it. Your coworkers and friends will go to happy hours. They will party on weekends. But you will need to realize that studying for this exam comes first (esp for us at the big 4 since we get no promotion without passing the CPA).

[Ryan – Just Another Dollar]

Take and pass as many sections as you can before you start. I finished the CPA at my last job (non-public, 40-hour weeks). I can't imagine studying where I'm at now, and I'm not big4 (only working 60-65 hour weeks). A lot of my coworkers are working on CPA or Masters programs and I don't know how they do it. Sure, they are allowed to study at work during the slow times, but that's pretty much October 15-Jan 15 for Tax. Good luck!

B - 88 (2/16)
A - 84 (4/16)
R - 73 (6/16), 82(7/16)
F - 67 (1/16), 84(4/16)

Ethics - 93

Roger course & Ninja MCQ - HiYa!

[Son]

Most people (not all, but most) at Big4s work and study at the same time. Not saying it's going to be enjoyable, but it's definitely doable.

AUD - passed
REG - passed
BEC - passed
FAR - passed

[Small4]

Coming from someone who used to be in big 4 and eventually left, focus on passing that exam the first 2 years, if possible, with all your effort. Treat it with the same discipline as you do for your own client work.

Long story short, I procrastinated and put a lot of importance on work over studying…that backfires. The more tenured you are, the most responsibilities you will have and it will get even more difficult to study for an exam if you are a Senior/Manager (let alone the pressure to pass to move up) vs a Starting Staff 1-2 yrs. This is the main reason: Staff usually gets all the grunt work and longgg long hours. So it will be tough to study. But that wouldn’t compare to why it would be harder to study once you start moving up because as senior/manager:

1. Life happens, not sure if you are single or not but as you get older, personal relationships also carve a significant amount of time as you progress in your career. So that takes efforts to be mentally there and not just check out every time its exam time.
2. Although less billable hours, just remember the time you turn in work for review. Usually its afternoon etc.. or late night. But seniors/managers often work VERY late to review the work of their staff, plus again #1.
So my advice: Whatever happens you have that works for studying in college, don’t lose them yet. Also, always always make sure you carve out study time even if its an 1-3 hours per day (i.e. wake up 1 hr earlier, or skip lunch with coworkers and study during, study as you eat dinner during busy season…)

Also, don’t lose sleep over it and just know all this hard work PAYS OFF. I’m in my 30s and barely just passed it. I work in industry now but above were some things I coulda woulda shoulda done and wished I did but I want to FYI anyone who wants to hear it. In short, procrastinate less.

Good luck and congrats on Big 4 gig! That experience will take you far!

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice! I would like to finish the tests before starting but obviously this is not always possible. I was just wondering how people did it with such a busy schedule.

BTW @Small4 “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck” is a hidden gem.

[Author]

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