[Anonymous]

I have REG still yet to take. But, I have to re-take FAR, AUD, and BEC (waiting on score for BEC but sure I did not pass.)

I could go one of two ways. I could do REG first, and then could basically say “I’ve taken all 4 parts.” Or, I could start working on the re-takes and leave REG for later. My Roger review course for REG expires July ’18. So, still have time left on it.

I’m not planning on studying again until mid-September due to a great new job, and being burned out.

Ordinarily I don’t ask for advice. My decisions are usually the right ones. But, this is an unusual situation – what else is new, in the land of CPA, where everything is pretty warped for *most people*?

Thanks in advance for any constructive comments. I was accused earlier by someone of bringing “negative energy” to these forums (I laughed when I read that, never had someone tell me that before in my life). Anyone who thinks similarly is not being forced to read my posts, so don’t read them. Please stay positive – Another71 is not Reddit – where everyone lives to decimate each other in order to build themselves up. Although, there are people on here who try to, so hopefully this forum is not devolving into that. Enough about that though.

[shawn in VA]

I would advise against taking REG just so you can say you have taken all the exams- that means little to nothing. Unfortunately unless you are a tax person, REG will require a lot of time to pass if you work FT. I would start with the easiest of the 3 which IMO would be either BEC or AUD and stick with it until you pass. It kinda seems you are all over the place and need to focus on 1-2 parts until you pass those.

Which fail did you have the highest score? Meaning did you get a 70-74 on some part? I would go with that one first. BTW stay hopefull for BEC . I don't think many people took exams in Q3 b/c of delayed score release for Q2 and only so many people are willing to cram for 2 weeks to take a part in Q3 for a retake. Point is hopefully this translates to a nice “curve” My guess is there will be a flood of test takers in early to mid October as it will give the ones that failed in Q2 about 6 weeks to study for the retake which sounds right if you are FT worker.

[Anonymous]

@shawn – yes indeed, I realize that having taken all 4 means nothing. I was just wanting to conquer my studying and taking of REG so I could then be in the position of having studied and taking all four exams and then could go back and focus on re-takes. Yes, I am all over the place, sorta. With work and life in general, and not being someone right out of school, it's just not easy to stay on the path without some diversions. I had 62 on FAR and AUD. Not good, but not so terrible that I am light years away from passing. And I think the failures were due mostly to my rotten test-taking skills (although had 3.9 in school.) I was never a fan of computer-based testing, still getting used to it, I prefer pencil-paper but will never get that.
Yeah, I hope there's a curve for BEC. Even if I had a score in the 60s for it, I would feel pretty good actually, like I didn't have to totally start from square 1 again.

Still thinking this over, but I think I will probably go back and conquer FAR first. I felt prepared for it when I took it, I just got some ugly SIMs. My issue, while studying for that one, was speed. I was never fast on the calculations that took awhile (example, weighted average of outstanding common shares, followed by the simpler calculations stemming from that, for instance.) So, I have to find a way to increase my speed if I can.

[mtaylo24]

I would say go for Reg by late Oct/early Nov, then 3-4 weeks for your retake towards the end of the window, or you can tackle your most recent fail in the next 3-4 weeks then switch to REG for the end of the window. Up to you. I was in a similar situation a year ago, but getting through ALL of the CPA material was a nice little accomplishment for me despite having only 1 pass under my belt at the time.

AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
FAR - (8/16)

[Missy]

I'm strongly in the no such thing as a retake camp. Treat every attempt as if it were the first time because in reality it is. The second time is nothing at all like the first, and thinking just seeing it once is an advantage makes you let your guard down and that's why we we people sometimes scoring lower their second or third time around. If you need time to get settled in the new job take it.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[shawn in VA]

Missy has good points. I have unfortunately had to do retakes and the exams are completely different. If you have retake you need to study like its your first time but it is easy to let your guard down.

Although in my last BEC test a few days ago I had a couple recycled questions (identical) from my other version, AND I got 2 questions in different testlets that were not identical BUT very CLOSE (slighhtly different lettering) to each other and I knew the answer.

[Anonymous]

@Missy – yes that's true, every “retake” is like the first time, the slate is clean because failed attempts don't count against a person.

@Mtaylo – I was really rooting for you (and still am) because I know you are really close to being done finally! I admire your tenacity. I may do what you suggest, I just have to figure out what
will work the best, when I go back to the state board and get another NTS. I was supposed to take REG in this past window but had no time to do it, so on my record right now
it's listed as a “NO SHOW”. Not that it matters, they still have my money.

[Missy]

You probably already know many of your practice problems in your review material are recycled exam questions from previous exams. So if you've sat there on exam day, and thought this is NOTHING like my review that's exactly how you'll feel about a retake, it's not even from the same planet as the first attempt.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

Yes. The SIMs I got on FAR this past January were nothing like the ones in the review material. The SIMs on AUD actually were, and they weren't bad at all….but the MCQ were from another planet. I think that's right – “retakes” are basically like taking it for the first time again.

[Anonymous]

@crazyleon

Going to play devil's advocate here: Consider waiting until long after September to start studying again. Why not just let Roger possibly expire and take some time off? Since you just started a new job, your focus should probably be on that for 6-8 months. Once you get into the groove of things, then you could start reintroducing study time. I'd just bite the bullet and focus on work. I have to assume that the main point of passing the CPA exam in your case is marketability and stability. If you just got a great new job, it's probably your best long-term interest to prioritize that for at least a few months.

Regardless of what you do, my recommendation is to draft a few rough 12-month schedules with all the holidays, vacations, study vacations, weddings, period-end closes, exam dates, etc. and play with different possibilities. One of these drafts will speak to you more than another.

@Missy and I have been on here for many years. Although I cannot speak for her, I think your venting and frustration has merit and that's why we look out for each other in this forum. In any case, you do have to jump over the hurdles that we've all had to–the computerized portion, generational difference, memory loss, lack of sleep, testing center woes, full-time job, family, falling asleep mid-exam, etc. The AICPA doesn't care about any of this.

[Anonymous]

@Almond – first of all, THANK YOU for your very insightful reply. It is much appreciated. Yes, when you're going thru the rigors of a new job, studying for the CPA exam is not something that mixes well. You want to perform well at work in your first 90 days, to ensure that you are not terminated. Well, you always want to do well at work, but those first 3 months are crucial.
Going thru a few closing cycles will tell a manager “he can do it” or “he can't do it.”

Secondly, I don't recall reading any of your earlier postings, weird as that is! So now I'll have to look for your replies. I know Missy was “mla11692” and she's always great. Other than her and Skynet and Shawn_from_VA and a couple others, nobody else seems to be a very long-term poster. So it's nice to meet you. I am glad you are not fazed by my occasional rants. I do tend to write a lot – although I'm not an addict on here. I go weeks/a month/two months with no posting sometimes. But, as I pretty much have no one to talk about this stuff with other than *one* friend who is a CPA, I find this forum really useful. A few of my coworkers at jobs-gone-by were on the CPA track but as we know, *everyone* does it differently and not everyone likes talking about it, especially if they've had multiple fails. Reading my posts, you would be inclined to think that I am just a bitchy complainer. I am critical, but I'm a firm believer in taking action rather than writing diatribes or making verbal complaints (at least when it comes to everything other than the CPA!) And, I am objective, I don't just post things for no reason or write a reply that I don't think will be constructive. But, it's not like we have any power over a lot of this stuff and that's what's frustrating…the most we can do sometimes is post something, hopefully get some feedback, and since the AICPA reads this forum daily, maybe they'll take a hint! But probably not. 🙂

Finally, yes – you are correct. I am not in the CPA game because I'm in my 20s and wanting to be a senior at B4 or a managing partner at a firm. Nope. I'm doing it for the reasons you mentioned, not even because I have to. I'm too far into it to stop, despite the hurdles you mention. Perhaps because of the kind of life I've led/had, the CPA is not something that I deem impossible. My undergrad degree was in Chemistry, and if I can get through Vector Calculus and Quantum Mechanics, I can pass FAR. Easier said than done, but “giving up” is in my vocabulary. I am still thinking about what approach to take, but the most sensible one seems to conquer the re-takes first. Since I have until July 15, 2018, before Roger expires, I can probably do REG from April-June of next year. It makes more sense to me to pass what was failed the first time around. I'm within reach of passing FAR, AUD, and BEC. REG, I don't know. I took taxation long ago and even did people's taxes on a volunteer basis for a couple years during tax season. I know Schedule C pretty well. But I know almost nothing about business law or the other non-tax stuff on REG, so it's gonna take a few months to conquer. Anyway, your idea about writing a schedule is good – I've done that in the past and will do it again.

Thanks again for your input! I almost didn't see your reply because there's been a lot of activity on here in the last 12 hours and this thread got shoved way, way down on the list!

[Anonymous]

@crazyleon

You will conquer this. Just maybe not all at once. Perhaps acknowledge that Roger may expire before you're done with the remaining exams.

On a personal note, it took me from May of 2011 to April of 2017 to finally beat this. You're right–we're no spring chickens. We older folks aren't trained to know the intricacies of IFRS vs. US GAAP, the tax updates, and other changes the AICPA throws at candidates. We have to learn this stuff from scratch (and in my case, from endless CPE now).

There's testimony on these forums where candidates have spent tens of thousands of dollars over many years to pass all four. There's also a notable situation where a candidate was a single mother who was working full time doing full-time grad school and finally passed. When people convey this type of stuff, it helps a lot of testers put things into perspective whether or not they reply (or complain or call us bitchy or trolls or whatever). Jeff is pretty good at banning nonsense.

I can't tell you how many friends I've lost over this, but what I can tell you is the friends that have put up with this exam are ready to do business. One I've already been working with and one that's on deck for a much larger endeavor.

Your partner is a lucky man. If you can do vector analysis and quantum mechanics, you can strategize how to make these exams work in 18 months and still maintain your most trusted relationships.

[Anonymous]

@Almond – I typed a reply but apparently my login timed out because the reply was deleted. Anyhow, thank you. Without retyping it, I will say that I agree with all of the above!
And, as far as people dropping many thousands on the CPA journey, I do remember one story I read on here about a guy who took FAR 9 times. Nine. That's a lot of tries.
But, that's what I'd call dedication. And yes, my significant other is good about letting me study. He knows all about board exams, as a physician. He's not practicing/reporting anymore, he's in hospital administration. But you can bet that even 25 years ago when he was taking those tests, they were far more grueling than the CPA. The human body is like a computer with about 100,000 different parts, most of them tiny. But, you gotta know them all. Makes FAR and REG look like a cakewalk!!

[Author]

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