[Martin]

I guess they do care about how many times you take the exam. I found the following in one on the board meeting minutes, which is available online in a pdf file.

Test Taking Patterns – Candidates who have taken the CPA Exam > 7 times

NASBA sends a quarterly report on any candidate who has unsuccessfully taken the CPA exam

combined sections in excess of seven times. The Board reviewed the report sent May 20, 2015. The

reports are generated for information only for each board to evaluate as it sees fit.

Mrs. Blank discussed what other states are doing. Blank BOA has a stated policy to review an

Exam applicant’s record for applicants that have taken combined sections of the Exam more than 40

times: Based on facts and circumstances, such applicants at the discretion of the Executive Director

and prior to being approved to sit for additional sections of the Exam, will be required to come before

an Informal Fact Finding Hearing of the Board to present evidence of their intent to pass the exam.

The full Board determines if the applicant would be permitted to continue sitting for the Exam.

The Board instructed Mrs. Blank to discuss with other states such as Bkank and Blank about how they

are handling the interview process for individuals who have taken the test multiple times. The Board

also suggested any candidate who has taken the exam at least 25 times without successfully passing all

four parts in an 18 month period should be contacted

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[Missy]

There's a huge difference between being aware of something and actually caring about it. Its not like they're denying anybody a license who took it too many times.

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

[Jdn9201]

As long as they can back up the integrity of the exams and how they score them, they could probably care less how many times take it. Think about it – if you are operating a test, and you have people who are willing to pay you $250-$300 dozens of time, you'd be happy take their money. Maybe they want to earn some brownie points by looking like they care about people who excessively take it, but I doubt it goes beyond lip service.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Skynet]

I honestly don't think they really care as long as you are continually writing those checks for each exams.

[Tncincy]

So what should you say to the board, I wanted to pass, I studied to pass, but just couldn't pull it off. I agree to buying company b review materials next time. If I fail again, I'll try something else, other than giving up. Are they going to give test fee discounts if you have not pass any part out of the 25 fails? I don't think they really care, it's another way to make money from us slow learners or another way to humiliate or intimidate into giving up. Too many of us are willing to pay to try again. :-/

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

[Anonymous]

In that case, I want to see how they score us point by point.

[Jeff01234567]

“will be required to come before an Informal Fact Finding Hearing of the Board to present evidence of their intent to pass the exam.”

I think it's more to prevent someone from taking the test and intentionally failing over and over again just to see what's on the exam and let people know about it.

Judging from the language of this passage, they're worried less about seeing if you're smart enough to pass and more about whether or not you are even trying to pass at all.

BEC - 83 Oct 23
FAR - 84 Jan 8
AUD - 81 Feb 26
REG - 84 May 23

[Nessie]

In some jurisdictions awhile back, you could only fail 3 times, than you could not write any more

REG Aug 20/15: 88
AUD: Feb 29/16: 80
FAR: Jun 10/16: 80
BEC?

Becker self-study, Becker Final Review & NINJA MCQS

[Son]

I see two reasons why they should absolutely do this: (1) to prevent people from scamming state boards by learning the questions tested and then divulging this information to people taking the test to actually pass it and (2) to protect the public interest.

Take it as you want, but I firmly believe anyone who has failed a section more than 5 times should not be allowed to get licensed as a CPA, or at least required to take a few years break before taking the test again. There are different circumstances (illnesses, family problems etc.). But you can do taxes or bookkeeping without a license, and earn a very decent living still working in the field. In my opinion a CPA designation is a sign of exceptional qualifications that puts you above your average accounting professional. It's not something everyone should get, and not something everyone can get, either.

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

[Martin]

I'm having fun reading these CPA board meetings from different states. They got these CPAs for selling cocaine, and another for selling weed. Then this other guy for hitting his wife. And a younger CPA for forging checks. I guess they have access to police records, or the CPAs need to report these incidents.

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[monikernc]

Martin, i just read that you passed BEC this round. Congratulations and I hope this has improved things with your wife. What's next?

BTW: i like to read my board's minutes and recently found out that my most pious professors were recently sanctioned for using CPA in their signatures and online profiles when in fact they had never applied to this state's board to have their out of state licenses recognized. One was my audit teacher and she was always, “when i worked for Deloitte” this and that…oh, she would go on and on. HA! She needed a slice of humble pie.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Anonymous]

Given that each state board sets its own requirements for who is eligible to sit for the exams, I would think it would be within their rights to set a requirement that candidates have only sat for the exam xx number of times. So, while I'm not aware of any state which is currently like this, I think a state could do this if they wanted to.

@Martin Sounds like fun haha. Shows there's a variety of things that are “acts discreditable to the profession”.

[Martin]

monikernc, thanks, I was able to finish BEC after my second try. So far, I usually get low 70s on my first try and then high 80s on the second try, but that did not happen with BEC. I went from a 74 to a 75, and once again, I did not have time to finish the memos. Give yourself enough time to write good memos, because it could mean the difference between passing or failing. Based on my score report, I got stronger on the MC part the time I got a 74, so this just shows you how important they are.

Lilla, I would have never guessed that practicing CPAs could be selling weed or cocaine as a side job. The crazy shht that you read on those minutes is out of this world.

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[Anonymous]

@Martin I live in an area with a very high rate of drug usage, so I've heard many more drug-sale-stories than I would have liked to (especially when I worked directly with the public – retail etc. – people would tell these things as if it was a daily occurrence for everyone 😐 ). You can make better money and much quicker with a side-business selling drugs than as a CPA…seriously. $10,000 for a weekend trip to Florida? That's a lot easier than $10,000 for months of 60-80 hour weeks at the office. So, I'm not too surprised. Besides, your coworkers who are working 80+ hour weeks might need something to keep them going that long. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a few CPAs who use a few chemical stimulants to keep them going through tax season, and if not all of those chemical stimulants are legal. So, I'm not surprised that a few CPAs have found that their connections in the underworld thought that their offices represented an excellent customer base. 😐

[Anonymous]

Martin, congrats on BEC.

please post some links to the drug possession charges. i have a criminal record from when i was a kid and its always kind of a dark cloud in the back of my head that i would get denied a license. i want to see how the boards handled prior offenders

[Vanessachy]

This is interesting, I know a lot of people take FAR four times

Far 10/26/2015, 64, 1/4/2016, 82
Reg 7/10/2015, 60, 2/27/2016, 86
Aud, 5/9/2016, 74 (ouch), 7/26/2016, I cannot wait to take this test again
Bec, 6/10/2016, 70,9/8 retake

[Author]

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