[Me.]

First a shout out to Jeff@another71! I may not have continued without the encouragement and words of wisdom of everyone who participates on this forum.

I debated about posting but hoped my journey may inspire someone else not to give up as I know that others on this forum have inspired me not to give up. I haven’t always posted but have been here for 5 years following other’s journeys and for those of you still battling, it is possible. Do not give up!

A little about me, over 50 but not when I started the CPA journey. Bachelor in Accounting 2011 (had enough hours to sit due to major change), Master of Accounting 2015 (By the way, not easy for me to do both a Masters and CPA at the same time, probably why it took so long). I work in government and a CPA is needed to advance but I wanted the CPA for myself.

I understand why people give up this CPA journey, unfortunately I was not one of those who passed on the first try. I have had co-workers pass first try and others who have given up.

To be honest I never counted how many times I have taken the tests over the 5 years until I passed and it’s not pretty! But here is the tally:

BEC: 65; 68; 78 (Hated studying for this the most but took the least amount of tries)

REG: 50; 64; 73; 76(Expired 2015); 78 (Surprised I passed my retake)

AUD: 66; 70; 66; 74; 76 (Currently work in Audit)

FAR: 67; 66; 65; 67; 68; 69; 70(1Q 2017); 66(2Q 2017); 66(3Q 2017); 77(4Q 2017) (Continued studying to score release because I was sure I had a retake coming-only had one more chance before AUD expired)

Crazy, Right?

For me it finally clicked when I looked for a key word in a question, then I also read the book and took notes since I found some things were not included in the MCQ’s, then copious amounts of MCQ’s. For my final FAR exam I did 4,600 of Ninja MCQ’s and SIMS for areas where I knew I was weak and reviewed journal entries.

I have to say that I feel a sense of calm now that it is over.

I have a long list of ninjas that have been motivators during this time:

MaLoTu; Circadian_Malfuntion; Vanessachy; Hasy; CPA50; Waffle_house; Stilgoin; RE2PECT; Spartans92; Mckan514w; CPA_CHIK; mtaylo24; Lilla; Skynet; Tncincy; and many others!

I want to borrow Stilgoin’s tag line.

“There are enough critics. Be an encourager.”

Thank you everyone!

REG - 50, 64, 73, 76
FAR - 67, 65, 67 Ugh!!!
BEC - 65
AUD - November 30

"You just can't beat the person who never gives up." -Babe Ruth

[fxbinbin]

Congratulations!
Enjoy it!

[mtaylo24]

Nice work! This journey can be pretty savage for some of us, but if you persist you will make it through and you are living proof of that! Congratulations on being done!

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)

[Pokey]

Thank you for posting your journey – I have been through several tests and almost on 2 years of off/on studying & testing. I began my MBA last year and decided to take a semester off, just so I can focus on getting passed this thing.. This goal is for ME and of course my career but to prove to myself that I can make it. I want to proudly say that I'm a CPA.

All the peeps you mentioned above, are all the same folks I have followed over the years as well, and shared in their defeats and victories. Not ashamed on what it took to get them there and gives others like myself hope.

Again, thank you and congrats!!

AUD - 74 (3x), TBD
BEC - Sept16
FAR - TBD
REG - TBD

[jeff]

Inspiring indeed – A big kudos to you for your perseverance!

Congrats on being DONE.!!

jeff

[Tncincy]

Bump
Amazing! I couldn't rest. So I fired up my computer to do some mcq's my husband said turn the light off…lol so I turned on my ninja audio with earphones. As I went through my little pity party, (business is not going well this year, is this my last year as a small business owner, how to work for someone else after all these years (20+), my bills are due, ran through my savings, 4 adult children with 3 in their last semester of college). So guess I'll say pressure moment, not pity party. Oh, what ever.
So I was looking for encouragement and here it is. The best early morning vibe I could ask for. So back to focusing on my audio. I'm not done but willing to keep trying.

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

[Anu]

Congrats!! you inspire me!!

[Me.]

Thank you everyone!

I was hoping that my journey would encourage at least one person not to give up. It is easy to get discouraged, I have a few co-workers who tried and gave up, they now regret it. I did question if I could pass it when I lost REG but thought, Geez! I know how to read, I can do this!
I tell you it was such a zen moment, such a calm feeling when I received that final passing score on 12/19/2017, totally worth the struggle! But licensing…that was another 6 weeks(Thank you Nasba!-their time table didn't align with mine!) I couldn't get licensed until my state(TN) actually received the scores from Nasba. I was licensed on 2/1/2018.

@Tncincy – Keep going! you can succeed! You will!

@Anu – Thank you!

REG - 50, 64, 73, 76
FAR - 67, 65, 67 Ugh!!!
BEC - 65
AUD - November 30

"You just can't beat the person who never gives up." -Babe Ruth

[Anonymous]

Kudos!

[Skynet]

CONGRATS Me.!😀

The good news is that you are finished.

The bad news is once words gets out that you are a CPA, those young 40 yo chicks are going to be throwing themselves at you and you are going to have to beat them off with your CPA review books.

[mckan514w]

CONGRATS Me.!!! I am so happy that you are finally done!

and they ask me why I drink...

FAR- 61-next time I'll ask for lube instead of a calculator
REG-75- Never been so happy to see such a low grade
BEC- 8/11
AUD- 9/2

[Valleygrl68]

totally encouraging, congrats!

[Cluster Slugs]

@Me. I just got goosebumps reading your post. I don't post much, but I'm on this site roughly every other night scanning for tips and info and confusions other have posted about. I love reading success stories and tonight I felt compelled to comment on this.
As I gear up for the last two weeks before I take a shot at AUD, nothing could possibly have motivated me more than reading about your determination. Thank you for the inspiration my friend, and congratulations on your incredible achievement

@Skynet that was a hilarious comment

[Josh]

Congratulations! Very inspirational especially to those of us for whom this is taking awhile. So what's next?

[sacpa]

@Me: What a testimony! Congratulations! I really admire your tenacity, diligence, drive & grit. Most people would have given up, but you went on. Your story gives me hope to continue in this journey with more determination. Thanks for sharing your story! Good Luck with your career!

FAR - < than 75, 10/2013, 2/2015
BEC - < than 75, 10/2013
AUD - < than 75, 8/2015, 1/2016

~ Winners fail until they succeed. Losers quit when they fail. - Robert Kiyosaki
~ I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me.
~ Something will grow from all you are going through. And it will be YOU.
~ Right now you may not be where you intend to be, but it's where you need to be in order to get where you want to go.

[Author]

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