[payfields]

I am not trying to offend anyone, as i know there are a lot of people who have taken parts of the exam multiple times…

But does anyone thing there should be some kind of limit to the amount of times you can take each section of the exam?

I recently heard about an ex employee who took over 40 exams, then finally passed all 4, but not within the 18 month period, actually had one exam expire by two months, then another by 3 days… yet wrote a long complaint letter and asked for a reprieve from the rules and was granted a license.

I was so annoyed to hear not only did they take 40 exams, but they didnt even complete them within the time period, but the BOA still gave them a license!

Unfair to the people who did complete it within 18 months. It then also make me thing of the max number of times for failing a section.

Thoughts?

[Skynet]

Here's one for you guys.

What if it was someone working at B4 that was there like 8-10 years and is really good at the job but due to the high numbers of hours worked took him/her at least 20 tries.

[Missy]

For me (and I may be in the minority) my respect for sticking with it when any rational person would walk away trumps the fails. I'm all team babe Ruth, had no business in the major leagues but how many other baseball players have a candy bar named after them LOL.

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

[Biff-1955-Tannen]

Would you guys feel comfortable hiring a lawyer knowing that he failed the bar exam 40 times? Or would you feel comfortable taking your child to a doctor that failed the mcats 40 times?

AUD 93 Jan 16
BEC 83 Feb 16
FAR 83 Apr 16
REG 84 May 16

99% Ninja MCQ only

[monikernc]

i can't imagine doing this 40 times but will add for consideration that these folks are not taking the same exam and failing it over and over again. each test is different and standards and regulations change as time passes. we can all attest to life happening while we attempt these and some people's lives are a lot more complicated than mine. who knows why it takes so much more effort for some than others – for them, continuing to try is worth it. locking them out is like saying i am too old. live and let live.

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

[Son]

Skynet, after the first 3-4 years passing the CPA exam becomes your first priority at any Big4. No one, no matter how good they are, can get promoted to manager without a CPA or at least an EA license. Partners are often willing to accommodate your needs by allowing you to take more time off or lowering your workload.

I second Biff-1955-Tannen, I would much rather go with a professional who was good enough from the start rather than someone persistent enough to push through with enough tries.

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

[jlee1086]

Do really have any way to find out how many times a lawyer took the bar or a doctor took their licensing exam? That question is probably moot.

Many of my Becker teachers have told us that the CPA says nothing of how good of an accountant you are, though that's standard review course spiel for every exam. But I heard this from the the very beginning. At my MBA orientation, a professor told us he worked with very good people who are not CPA's and idiots who are licensed. But he did tell us it was important to pass because of the PERCEPTION that you're a better accountant. I'm sure I'm not the only one to hear this stuff at school. I hear stories from my dad and my sister of idiot CPA's. One of these morons is my dad's boss (who was one of the reasons my dad decided to retire). This guy is obviously more years under his belt than a kid like me. I'm not saying experience has no value but there's a big difference between someone who learned a lot and just doing the same thing for 20 years. I'm in a small bank with 1 CPA and another with an expired license (that's my first accounting job) so I don't have much choice but to believe all of this hearsay. For those of you who think there is a correlation between the number of times it takes to pass and job ability, do you believe professors exaggerate the idiot stories?

One Becker teacher said that the EWS scholars he knows are too awkward to put in front of the client, though the one Jeff interviewed doesn't fit this stereotype at all.

FAR 57 (11/2014), 64 (1/2015), 79 (7/2015)
AUD 68 (2/2015), 79 (11/2015)
REG 79 (1/2016)
BEC 81 (4/2016)

[Biff-1955-Tannen]

lol the question is not moot. The question wasn't a matter of how likely are you to find out, it was how comfortable would you be hiring them if you did know.

And I don't think that because somebody is a CPA it makes them a good accountant, but I do think that if somebody needs to take the exam 40 times before they pass, that it says a lot about how well they can learn.

AUD 93 Jan 16
BEC 83 Feb 16
FAR 83 Apr 16
REG 84 May 16

99% Ninja MCQ only

[Missy]

Biff its funny you should ask that, my mom passed the RN exam her first time (not long ago) with one point over the required score. I asked her if she can tell me what she got wrong, lol because regardless of pass/fail if the question she got wrong involved calculating my morphine dosage, just let me die.

Which leads to the other question, lets say there is in some alternate universe a way to know how many times someone failed, then I want to know how comfortably exactly someone passed by. If two candidates both passed all exams first try (best case scenario) then I demand to know their scores too. A 76 doesn't cut it if I can get someone who got 90's. KWIM.

When it comes to accounting, AICPA says proficiency is demonstrated by a pass. If someone demonstrated their proficiency to the AICPA I personally don't care what path they took to achieve the pass. Study 24 hours and miraculously pull off a 77, take the exam 14 times, for the same result. But like I said, that would be my decision process and we don't (nor should we) all follow the same decision process.

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

[monikernc]

all we know is that they have to take them more than 40 times to get licensed. there may be some who have passed all of them, perhaps even more than once, just not within the magic window. we have folks on here now who have required more than a dozen attempts at them before everything fell into place. these exams are hard. the fail rates are high and many think they are designed to make us fail. i have worked hard on them but a lot of things had to go right to get me this far. i still have a long way to go with REG before i am done. i don't feel threatened by the failure of others and i don't consider their attempts to be actions discreditable to the profession in any way.

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

[Spartans92]

It is definitely hard to give a solid answer to this question. But as Biff suggested I would not feel comfortable to go with doctors that took the board exam multiple times versus someone who took it once. But that does not mean the former is incompetent. Passing the exam alone is a recognition of your competency or at least understanding of the topic/issue. I am not saying those who took the exam multiple times before passing are not great accountants or doctors or whatever. But if I do know the amount of attempts an individual have taken the exam I would go with someone who passed it on first try. Ironically, I am struggling to pass. At the end of the day experience is what really matters. As one of my business law professor mentioned in his entire law career he has not seen a like kind exchange before with boot given (this is a common scenario for academic purposes). Everyone is different, accounting certainly isn't my strength though some are more book smart and may pass easier than others.

BEC- PASS

[PharmBoy]

It's sad for the profession when somebody who doesn't meet the requirements gets a license for being a squeeky wheel.

I'm praying that some day, hopefully soon, those BOA members are the only passengers on a plane piloted by somebody who didn't pass their flight test even after many tries, but somebody gave them a pilot license because they whined loud enough.

[Martin]

Would you guys be Ok with taking the CPA exam every 10 years after you passed it the first time around? So if you passed all 4 parts at 25 then you have to take it again at 35,45,55,65 and until you meet your maker. Most of you m,might say that this is not fair, and you have enough doing your CPE credits, but this is something Doctors have to go through every 10 years after passing the board exam for the first time, and let me tell you that the board is a lot harder than the CPA exam.

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

[Spartans92]

honestly, it is hard to compare doctors to CPA in my opinion. Doctors have a lot more on the line, they are in control of someone's life/health. Therefore, I do think they should take the board every 10 years or so to be on top of the game.

BEC- PASS

[Martin]

That is precisely the point I was trying to make since we are not at risk of killing anyone then who cares if you take the exam 4 or 15 times. I guess the only people who really care are the ones who think the CPA is their biggest accomplishment and they dont want other students to join the club. If it were up to them the max amount of times who could take the exam would be 4 in total.

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

[Spartans92]

I totally see your point and agree with you. Yes, Passing the exam is a great accomplishment and as you said those who care more may be the ones who passed on first try.. but does it matter at the end? I mean unless you are the EWS winner then that is a different story. Not belittling others hard work but I don't think it is necessary to compare to others who have taken more attempts. If I were not an accountant I trust a CPA who took the exam 20 times as much as someone who took it and passed on first try as long they can minimize my taxes and do whatever is required.

I know some will disagree on my perspective and I am happy to respond. Unlike Trump who encourages violence and bashes on protester. It is good to disagree and help each other see the other side of the coin.

BEC- PASS

[Author]

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