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.
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