CPA Exam: The Key To Passing Is Never Giving Up

I think nothing in my career has been more satisfying than to finally have completed the CPA exam last year and finally receive my official paper certificate in the mail this past week and receiving notification that I am officially a California CPA!

I reflected back on that journey and felt there were some things I definitely want to share publicly. The path to the CPA is different for everyone - strategies and opinions on how to approach the exam can actually vary depending who you talk to. Probably the two worst bits of advice I got were:

"Why don't you wait until you get some more work experience in accounting? It might help you during your exams"

"When you study the exam, focus more on learning the concepts and don't get too bogged down by MCQs and SIMs"

The advice I have been giving young aspiring CPAs has been completely the opposite of some of that bad advice I got. The test is extremely academic and therefore it is to your advantage to sit for the exam as quickly as you can out of college. My prior audit experience was only marginally helpful for connecting some dots from my classroom days; it is however in no way materially helpful though. I could not ever seriously recommend postponing the exams if you are able to qualify and sit now. The bottom line - sit for your exams ASAP.

Every section of the CPA exam will require very diligent studying including a propensity to rely on rote memorization of topics. You will not be able to "reason out" the answer on a lot of questions if you don't understanding the underlying concepts. In regards to the advice I got - there is some truth in "learn the concepts", but my experience is that you will have to put in the work and drill MCQs and SIMs in order to solidify and test your own understanding of the concepts. For the vast majority of us this will be the case. The one CPA friend I have who gave me that advice who had sat for the exam very close to the end of college was an incredible accounting student to begin with. I would be willing to bet he could have been an Elijah Watt Sells award winner with studying rather than slipping by with 75 and 76s - that wasn't his goal though. It was to simply pass. A wise man once said:

What do you call a person who scores 75 on the CPA exam four times no matter how many times he fails in 18 months? A CPA.

Don't forget it. There are folks on "Another71" who have sat for the test 20+ times and eventually made it through. I think after 10, I might have already started questioning my career decisions but it just goes to show it is only unachievable and done when you decided you have had enough. You CAN conquer this test.

I will state though, my experience as a senior accountant and accounting manager booking all manner of journal entries especially related around consolidation, debt, stock-based compensation, and equity transactions helped tremendously with FAR sims. The new weighting of the CPA exam probably worked in my favor towards the end because my scores rose tremendously after the format change.

CPA Exam Journey - First Steps

I started my CPA exam journey in 2012 while I was working with the California Franchise Tax Board. I went in the whole process completely eyes wide shut having been out of school for several years already. I assumed because I was a multi-state tax auditor that I had some innate advantage with tax that would propel me to instant success on REG. I went ahead and bought Becker CPA Review and tried to learn the material by "osmosis".

I sat with my homies Tim Gearty and Peter Olinto religiously all week on those Becker videos. I furiously highlighted like a champion every time Tim instructed me to do so. Where many candidates fall short is exactly this over-reliance on the basic videos, reading, and short review questions after the unit is complete being enough for you need to pass the exam. I absolutely fell short on my early attempts getting enough exposure to the questions and material via drilling MCQs and SIMs... but this was because I kept feeling like I was running out of daily study time from long sessions watching those videos! Complaining to one of my friends who passed the CPA while at the Big 4, he went ahead and gave me some partially bad advice in hindsight. He said watch all the videos straightaway for a week and then focus on studying after by preparing an intense "cheat sheet" to use as a basis for studying. It was really a combination of both good and bad advice. The good advice was keeping condensed notes and a "cheat sheet of core topics", as well as a deemphasis on the video lectures. The bad advice was not emphasizing the need to practice your concepts. For my friend, one or two reviews of accounting topics was enough for him. In reality, most of us need to drill concepts to develop the "muscle memory" to retain the information and apply the concept properly come exam time. I definitely was a person who needed lots of practice!

For most of the CPA review courses out there, it is absolutely worth getting through the videos as quickly as possible even though the courses encourage you to simultaneously do the videos and chapter specific review questions together. Many review strategies such as the "Ninja" method of Another71 champion getting through the videos as quickly as possible and getting to the business of practicing your concepts through drilling MCQs and SIMS for the highest return on time. I believe this too is a good strategy.

The problem with the "standard" out of the box study method of doing the lessons with the accompaying questions as the review course wants you to do is that 4-5 weeks into the course if you are juggling videos and studying at the same - you will start to forget what you learned in weeks 1-2. That is exactly what happened to me during my study session. Even adopting my friend's "half" correct techniques made me fall very short because he didn't emphasize the need to get through the test bank enough. He was able to find a personalized strategy that worked for him that had minimal practice time with questions - this is definitely not standard for most of us!

Long story short, I spectacularly failed with these scores back to back with successfully more demoralized studying with each fail on this NTS.

• REG - 55
• FAR - 67
• AUD - 59
• BEC - 63

It was absolutely crushing. At the time I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered if all these years I had somehow overestimated things like my professional acumen, intelligence, and ability to succeed in the career. You may experience all of these soul crushing thoughts as you go through your exam experience as I did or you may not. If you do experience failure in this process, please remember this exam is absolutely designed to weed out the "weak willed" and unprepared mercilessly. The CPA exam is not an IQ test and it is certainly not an indicator of success or we'd many more Elijah Watt Sells award winners in the ranks of partner and CFO. The exam definitely will challenge those who may have poor study habits and does so completely unapologetically.

In summary, the good, the bad, and the ugly I learned later from this attempt:

The Good

• Watching the entire video from the review course in one sitting instead of wasting time watching videos, then doing work, and then proceeding to each chapter and forgetting what you did earlier. Definitely get the videos out of the way or for some, you can skip them entirely. Nothing yielded the lowest return on time investment than watching CPA videos for me. For what it is worth, my strongest learning style is derived from reading. If you are a highly visual and auditory learner - you might get more out of it.
• Failing all 4 sections taught me that there is no "winging" this exam. I had lifelong bad study habits even since high school since I relied on natural intelligence and my ability to reason logically. Have you sat for REG? Is there anything innately logical about AMT adjustments (MS PANIC TIME)? You will have to invest an incredible amount of energy into memorization which was one of my weakest abilities.

The Bad

• I still did not learn how to effectively assimilate information that needed to be memorized. I realized I had very poor study habits that needed to be drastically changed in order to be successful on a professional exam process.
• My Becker CPA Review expired and I would have to get another course and spend money potentially! Good grief!
• I actually found out (already after I passed ) in 2018 I had diagnosed mild sleep apnea for almost 10+ years since 2009. I had a sleep study done in 2009 which produced the same AHI score, but 10 years ago the standards were much less aggressive regarding the treatment and reduction of AHI. A score of 13 and 14 is borderline to moderate. I am amazed to this day with the fatigue and memory issue related to poor sleep that I passed, but this is proof you can pass. The body may be weak, but the willpower is stronger if truly want it. I wanted it real bad. The good news is that I got my sleep issues treated now and I have more energy in my mid 30s than I did in my early 20s! If you aren't getting the sleep you need to be a successful student - get yourself tested! It has changed my life. Health and having optimal healthy habits while you are doing this intense test is incredibly important as well as being efficient! Don't let your health slip while you're under the CPA exam crunch.

The Ugly

• I let failure derail me for the next several years and discourage me from trying again for a long period of time. I knew I was going to eventually pass, but I kept making excuses for myself based on my failures. I kept convincing myself - I "couldn't pass" while working.
• I was so mad I even considered a career change and for a short period of time had a completely unrelated non-accounting job after the Franchise Tax Board. I let my negativity influence me into thinking I was too dumb to handle this.

CPA Exam Journey - Stumble & Fall

Failing every single section of the CPA after what I felt was a "good effort" (it wasn't) and "good study habits" my frustration resulted in resigning from the Franchise Tax Board for another job that was completely out of the accounting field. I took up a tool belt and actually became an apprentice electrician for IBEW 332 in San Jose for a while. Working in the trades was extremely rewarding and helped me see another world we take for granted in the construction sites of America. It was humbling to struggle with tasks and skills that many of the journeymen had perfected over a lifetime of expert craftsmanship. It was not without it's toil, as a nagging college rugby ankle injury started bothering me in the many miles I walked around the construction site. I knew eventually, I should get behind a desk or I would wear myself out like my father had done from a lifetime of very physical blue collar work.

A series of interesting events eventually led me to an internship with the firm Rothstein Kass that merged directly into KPMG. I got my first taste of public accounting and audit. Many had no idea that I had just put down my tool belt and Kleins and traded it back for a computer screen and Excel seamlessly like I never left. When the internship ended, I had made some great connections and got some great experience to leverage in the future. I went backpacking in Thailand after busy season and landed with a smaller local CPA firm full-time that helped position me to get my first big career break as an experienced hire with KPMG. During this time, I just never felt I had the I was in a comfortable permanent role with enough time to study. Given also my undiagnosed sleep apnea, the busy season hours at KPMG felt especially hard on me about halfway through the long hours. At the time, I just believed my feelings were normal for the career. Take care of your body, go to the doctor, and get checked!

The good news at that time for my CPA journey was that I got CPA Excel from KPMG which allowed me to have access to a review course that didn't expire until you passed - and is what I relied on for the remainder of my journey. I think that is an incredible benefit and boost from Wiley CPA Excel that the other courses don't offer if you are on a "extended" pass schedule. Hopefully you won't need that extra time like I did.

It wasn't until after more temporary jobs including a stint at PwC and some companies as a senior accountant that I landed a full-time job as a senior audit consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton. I ended up marrying my current wife and made the decision - it was time to get serious about the CPA for my wife and my future kids. This isn't about me anymore!

Towards the end of that job, I sat twice for FAR. I scored a 60 on my first attempt. I didn't let it get me down this time. Instead, I doubled down and swore I would not rest until I felt I put my ALL into studying. I also swore that no matter how many times I fail, I will see the process to the end and be a CPA. I sunk in every free moment into FAR on that next attempt. My wife could definitely see the extra effort I put in and I put any and all excuses aside, including my possible sleep troubles. In my mind - nothing was going to stop me from being a CPA and my feelings of "being tired" I dismissed as purely being "mental". To some extent, the human body is capable of amazing things through sheer force of will power.

This attempt, I put more time in, skipped the videos, and went straight to the MCQ and SIM questions for my restudy. I made flashcards of questions I missed. I later stopped doing this as the marginal return didn't seem worth the effort of making flash card. Instead, if I got MCQ and SIM questions wrong - I would copy and paste them into a Google Doc to circle back on and study in depth after testlet attempt of questions. The concept of questions I tended to get wrong more often, I would include in a little notebook I'd carry everywhere I went. If I was on BART, MUNI, or sitting idle this darn little notebook followed me. I lived, breathed, ate, slept, and struggled through that testing window with all my might.

My new found resolve and better study habits rewarded me with a 76 during 2016. It wasn't the most glamorous pass, but I now had a hard deadline - I had to finish the exams in 18 months to be a CPA!

CPA Exam Journey - The Sprint To The Finish Line

The rest of the exams comparatively came very quickly and easily to me than the beast known as FAR. I had a very supportive boss and work environment at my next full-time job as an accounting manager at HotChalk, Inc. Much of the challenges of the role was a direct line feed to my motivation to become a full CPA. I was finally in charge of subordinates and really being a key member of driving the company to success. The responsibility and new challenges were addicting. All the while, I kept driving my CPA forward and keeping my eyes on the prize. My coworkers knew how important it was to me and could see I was pushing myself across the finish line. I couldn't have achieved my goal and dream without the CFO Alberto Chullen standing behind me, the direct daily support of my senior accountant Nick Lazar, the enthusiasm of Casey Bryant our AP Lead, the short term help of Jesus Rosales who is now a big shot at PwC, the assistance of Kevin Crowley our CCNY CPA back east, the rest of the finance and accounting team (Alex, Anna, Rizza, and the rest of the gang) who executed so incredibly which gave me the solid foundation I needed to finish all the rest of the exams. The company is still a special time in my life of incredible personal and professional growth.

Below is my final score breakdowns. I did successfully fail one exam every single window because I would often try to squeeze in two exams a window to pass faster. This strategy seemed to never pay off because I would pass one section and fail the other. My first attempt on REG was a devastating 56. I dedicated the next full window to passing and scored a 75, while attempting to squeeze AUD in the final weeks of the testing window and barely missing it with a 73. The same thing happened when I sat for AUD in October of 2017 and BEC in November of 2017. I missed BEC by 1 unfortunate point. I sat the earliest I could in January at got a 85. I was done!

• FAR  - 67, 60, 76
• REG - 55, 56, 75
• AUD - 59, 73, 85
• BEC - 63, 74, 85
• Ethics - 92

The ethics exam and all the other requirements I wrapped up while I was waiting for my passing score notice during the blackout month. I was able to get my live scan fingerprints and application out April, not too shortly after seeing from the California Board of Accountancy website that I had in fact, passed BEC.

CPA Exam Journey - "Postmortem"

It was overall an exhausting two years from when I got really serious about the exam, but I am so glad I did it. With all the free time I had this year in 2018, I was overjoyed being able to simply chill out and enjoy my hobbies again. I could finally watch NFL Football on Sunday now guilt free without feeling like I was sabotaging myself!

My keys to success and test taking advice to those who have been out of school like I had for several years or longer:

• The CPA journey can be a marathon and not a sprint. Do not get discouraged by stories of people finishing the test in two windows while working busy season at the Big 4 and winning a Guinness World Record at the same time as their Elijah Watt Sells award. There are truly some incredible people out there, but how you score on the CPA is no measure of what your future will hold or how good of a CPA you will ultimately be. The CPA exam is your "entrance pace" to the club. 75s make CPAs! You can do it!
• Be scientific and personalize your study plan to what works for you! I've had friends who used Becker, Roger, CPA Excel, and even just Wiley Books alone all to pass. What is the primary conclusion from that? If you have a course and a system of study, it probably doesn't matter as much as the marketing wants you to believe what course you have. The end result is it takes elbow grease. I used both Becker and CPA Excel at various times in my journey. Becker is a proven, industry leading course. CPA Excel is an up-and-coming competitor product with an emphasis on "bite sized" learning that some love and do not. Roger is also a well known and liked course for his personality and comedy - a good option for those who struggle to pay attention to dry lectures. The point is that you simply need a course and you need to commit to the process!
• Plan to put in the time - drill MCQ and drill SIMS. In all of the attempts at exams were successful - I noticed if I had done at least 80% of the test bank questions in CPA Excel, I would pass. I definitely made sure in the days leading up to the exam to do simulated exams. My scores in the simulated exams would always range from 70-78% at best even when I scored well above 80 on the actual exam. There is a similar dynamic to this on Becker and there is even a Google Sheet or spreadsheet floating around on the internet I think through Another71 that tracks your practice exam scores vs your actual scores. There is a trend of 5-10 points higher. The point is that even if you did as bad as 65% on the a practice exam - it might still be worth a short. My 73 and 74 scores on AUD and BEC were when I had scored anywhere from 65-70% on the practice final exams. When it's a matter of a few questions, it's worth taking it.
• Embrace failure and learn. Know that the person you are today or the exam fail you received now does not represent the CPA or accountant or person you will become in the future! "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan
• If you've been out of school for more than a few years, prepare to spend incrementally more time on FAR and REG especially than newer students. I've noticed colleges and university gearing the curriculum more to be "CPA friendly". This wasn't really the case when I went to school so when I jumped on my journey - I definitely had to "reinvest" learning a lot of concepts I had not touched in years or not at all. Give yourself a few more weeks than the average test taker to build in some fluff room.
• That said, do not give yourself too much time. For the times I failed, I was giving myself 10-12 weeks before sitting for an exam. Frankly, this is just too much time and sets you up for failure. You will not be giving yourself enough condensed and intense study sessions to jam all that information in your brain. The human brain is only capable of so much retention. 8 weeks is probably just about "right" for a bulky section like FAR or REG. The crowd says "6-12 weeks" for those dense sections and "4-8" weeks for AUD and BEC. I say put yourself right in the middle. 8 for FAR and REG, 6 for AUD and BEC. Truthfully, I was able to get by BEC with 4-5 weeks study.
• Register for ONE NTS for ONE or TWO sections tops and if you fail, immediately plan to retake the same section next window. I can't emphasize this enough. This seems like very common sense advice, but some people get confused about how the test scheduling and NTS work. You can have as many NTS as you want with the same test section registered. You simply can not sit for the same section in the same window - it's one per window. I always had a blank ATT ready to submit the sections I wanted to pay for right before scores dropped so I could get a NTS and schedule me retake ASAP after a blackout month.
• Reduce distractions. Say "no" to events constantly. Streamline your personal habits like meal prepping, consolidate laundry to one day, and maximize your study time. During busier times, I had some of my meals prepped by a company that would deliver healthy food in containers I could just microwave at work. Get plenty of sleep. Hydrate. Eat Healthy. Exercise when you can squeeze it in. Those small things add up to test success.

I hope this article is helpful to somebody out there who is taking the CPA exam as somebody out of school for a while. Good luck to all my aspiring CPAs and to my fellow CPAs - I'm finally "in the club"! *Mic drop*!