The CPA Odyssey

First Attempt
In November of 2002, right out of college I signed up to take the CPA exam.  Times were changing, and they were adopting new rules including the switch to a computerized test and could be expanding the education requirements.  The test as it stood was a 2 day affair taking place in a convention center in Anaheim.  It could only be taken 2 times throughout the year.  It involved taking a 4.5 hour audit (AUD) exam, a 4.5 hour financial accounting and reporting (FARE) exam, a 3.5 hour accounting and reporting (ARE) exam, and a 3 hour business law and professional responsibilities (LPR) exam.  There were two basic things to keep in mind when taking the exam.

1) Passing score was a 75 and you needed to pass at least 2 to keep any credit
2) Scoring below 50 on any exam meant you got no credit regardless of your other scores

I started working for WTAS earlier than I had originally planned on starting at Arthur Andersen, and this meant that I didn't study nearly enough.  I went in to the exam mainly hoping that by the skin of my teeth I could get 2 75's and build on that.

My scores:
AUD - 56
LPR - 70
FARE - 69
ARE - 64

There you have it.  No credit means the odyssey has officially begun.

Second Attempt (I'm using the term liberally)
In June of 2005, I'm guessing through some prodding at work I was encouraged to get my CPA exam taken care of and under my belt.  It wasn't a requirement at my job, but it was a good thing to have since I didn't have a masters or other higher degree.  I remember buying some study books, reading through the text presented in the chapters, signing up for all 4 parts (once you've signed up and paid for them in advance a clock starts ticking until 9 months later when they expire), and ultimately only taking one.

The new test was now computerized and had I taken all 4 parts they would have translated to Audit & Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR), Regulation (REG), and Business Environment & Concepts (BEC).

I took Regulation because it is heavily tax focused and having been doing tax for a few years I thought that this was probably going to be my strongest test.  I remember getting a 1031 question in the simulation section that I single handedly attributed to my downfall because I felt like I fumbled it so badly. I took the test on 7/7/06 and got a 72.  The graph below didn't make it look so bad but... I didn't pass.

The 3 other tests I signed up for expired.

Third Attempt
Leap forward to May of 2009.  HCVT, where I now work is a CPA firm and they didn't think to ask me if I was a CPA or not.  They hired me as a manager which apparently they wouldn't have done had they known.  In either case, they now tell me I need to pass the exam.  I sign up for 4 parts.  Where will this go?

This time I have a better plan.  I signed up for the Roger Philipp CPA review course because I know I'm a more auditory learner than I am a book learner.  I watch courses during my spare time at work and I actually attend the tests.

I took FAR on 8/6/2009, 2 months after signing up and regularly studying.  I got a 90.  PASS!
I took BEC on 1/19/2009, taking a break from studying during the 10/15 work rush and finally getting back to studying in December.  I scored an 83.  PASS!
I took AUD on 4/5/2010.  Why did I take Audit right before 4/15?  Because the test was going to expire and I didn't have much of a choice.  I found out later (scores take a few months) that I scored a 74.  No Pass.  One point away from being done...
I took REG on 4/12/2010 (might as well I thought).  I scored an 89.  PASS!

So I hadn't studied sufficiently for Audit and I paid the price.  That seemed ok because I still had 3 exams under my belt.  But that ignored the other big event coming up.  6/12/2010 and we have Tira!

Fourth Attempt
I signed up to retake Audit 5/27/2010 (almost a year from attempt #3).  Exams expire 18 months after they are passed so my FAR score from 8/6/2009 would exist until 2/6/2011.  I studied audit, learned the mnemonics, thought I was in pretty good shape and took the test on 1/14/2011.  I scored a 60.  No Pass, and I just lost FAR. =(

Fifth Attempt
I signed up on 3/29/2011 to retake AUD and FAR.  It's getting scary because with the time that has elapsed now I have BEC ready to expire 7/19/2011!  I could be starting a vicious circle.  I signed up for AUD on 7/7/2011 and FAR on 7/12/2011.

AUD felt good.  I had gone over hundreds maybe even a thousand test questions.  I understood the organization of the 2011 version of the exam and how I could research some information during the Simulation section which now made up 40% of the exam.  I felt like there was a lot of truth to the idea that there are a lot of CPA candidates going into the Audit field that raise the curve on this exam.  On Monday, 9/19/2011 I went online.  81.  I now had AUD in my pocket and they weren't going to take that away from me.  But that still meant if I didn't pass FAR then my BEC would expire and I'd still have 2 tests to go.

FAR was scary.  For a test that I got a 90 on the previous attempt I felt like I not only forgot everything but that they also added a ridiculous amount of foreign reporting requirements for the 2011 version that were completely... foreign... to me.  On 9/20 there was a tweet that CA would be getting the scores around midnight and posting them early 9/21.  I get in to work, boot up my computer and I'm going right for the news, good or bad.  I log on and see my score.  89.  No more testing.  I'm in the clear.  What a relief!

Pictures of my score reports over the years coming in my next post.

Miracle Fruit Annual Update

I recently replanted my miracle fruit because I felt that it might have reached it's capacity within the original pot.  I must have been on to something because after the re-pot it took off!  For comparison first I'm posting my old photo from June 09 that shows March 09 when I got it and 3 months later.

The shadows might make it hard to make out details but the base is no longer a silly twig, it's several inches taller (currently 12'') and from a different angle it's spread is actually around 22'' so it's spreading more like a tree.  Also, there's new growth everywhere, from the inch segment on the top that sprung up over the weekend to new leaves at pretty much every intersection (new leaves are red so they stand out).  I'm still crossing my fingers for a little white flower to pop out somewhere, though I know that's very optimistic.

Lazy name change

Erik has brought to my attention that I was lazy with my choice of Loddie and I changing our last names.  The following are the rules:


Each party to the marriage may adopt any of the following last names:

• The current last name of the other spouse.
• The last name of either spouse given at birth.
• A name combining into a single last name all or a segment of the current last name or the last name of either spouse given at birth.
• A hyphenated combination of last names.

There are many possibilities given these rules, and obviously I'm only talking about the third rule.  Only a few minutes of brainstorming came up with Arse (ironic to go from foot to ass, right?), Ooaga, Oo, Goose, aGoose, aFoose, and then stretching it maybe Ooaa, Aooga, Shag, Hog...

Submissions in the comments are welcome!

Every choice is a winner...

Once I saw all my options I just started to consider the possibilities!

For my Mom

My mom says I don't blog enough (that sounds pretty strange all by itself) so here's one just for her:

The American Dream

"Seven out of 10 say it is harder to get rich in America today than it used to be, according to the most recent Bankrate.com survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International."


The article goes on with a gem like "Back in the Clinton era, everyone seemed to be getting rich" and lists the respondents self-perceived obstacles to achieving prosperity:


27% - too many bills, not enough income
27% - job loss or income reduction
11% - credit card debt
11% - Health problems or medical bills
8% - A setback in investments due to the market
4% - A family disruption
3% - Negative home equity
9% - Other or don't know


Like any survey there's ambiguity in the question which ultimately causes it's own problems.  For instance, what is rich and how are these people conceive of being rich?  If credit cards, bills, and job losses are on their list then they're not worried about being rich, they're just trying to break even and make ends meat as far as I'm concerned.  True wealth, the kind where you don't actually have to worry about money (though many rich people still do worry plenty) is just as hard to make as it ever has been, which is very.  That's why a very very small minority of people are actually rich by any standard I would hold out.  So if asked again, I wonder if 7 out of 10 people would actually say it's harder today than it was a decade ago just to scrape by, because that I'd believe.

The IRS doesn't play fair

I rarely get into work on this blog, but in case the average person was to ask me how often the IRS was fair in their audits or the adjustments that they propose, I'd like to point this out as an example:


"The Tax Court held that the IRS's determinations are arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. The court further held that T's comparable uncontrolled transaction method, with appropriate adjustments, is the best method to determine the requisite buy-in payment."

So in a nutshell, the IRS made a determination in this case, which goes beyond "we think" and actually means "pay up" and the taxpayer had to go to tax court, where tax court determined the IRS was "arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable" and the taxpayer's method was "the best method."

This is the mentality that I bring in every time I see an audit or proposed adjustment on a tax return because the IRS really does have a history of getting it completely wrong.