A few days ago, I wrote about how to handle failure on a CPA exam section. The gist of the article was that one should not beat oneself up, and I provided some tips on how to look at the situation in a positive light. The post became timely and handy when I learnt that I failed the REG section by one point, (yesterday). I didn’t actually read it, because … I had written it and I knew what its contents were. I also needed some time to just let it sink in. I think one of the things that I left out in that post, is that “grieving” for the lost time, dashed hopes, delayed plans, etc – is okay up to a point. So, I did that yesterday. I had bought some wine months ago to celebrate my finishing, I went ahead and drank a bit of it! I let the people who matter to me that I was a little bit down, and they were supportive, and then I did something that I have been wanting to do, and having been doing in bits and pieces, teaching myself HTML and CSS. I visited a few accounting blogs to encourage people to keep studying, and I congratulated a bunch of people who have passed a section or all four sections. For the most part, I did a lot better than I expected. I think it will be a little hard to tell people at work tomorrow that I am not done taking the exams. Everybody thought it was a done deal. Not yet!
Okay, now a day has passed (or a week, depending on how long you find necessary to feel sorry for yourself and the situation), and you have been down, and you have picked yourself up… you have fought the worry demons by proving to yourself that you are not alone, you have looked on the positive side of life, you have focused on things that cheer you up, you have forgotten yourself and focused on other things or other people. Point number 5 in the post is moving on. How do you move on? Why should you move on?
Why move on after failing a CPA exam section?
Two basic reasons. First, the goal of passing the section and progress towards becoming a CPA has not been met yet. Thus, one has to move on, towards that goal. Second, it is hard to move on when you let your past hold you back. So, the idea/goal/reason is to let go of the past [you cannot change it], embrace the present [it is what it is, and you have some control over it], and look to the future with hope [you can control what happens in the future by the steps you take now.]
How to move on after failing a CPA exam section
Now that you have your reasons for moving on. How do you move on? What is the point of moving on if you will do what you did before and you will experience the same result and be in the same situation? So, the logic behind moving on with hope is that we can do something now, that will result in a different situation or result in the future. For that to happen, somebody has to change, and/or something has to change.
Somebody has to change. I have to search within myself and see if there are things that I did that I should not have done, or things that I did not do that I should have done. How was my preparation in totality and in specific places. For example, was studying for about 2-3 weeks (that is, cramming) good enough? Apparently it was not. Was studying intensely while not exercising (that is, working out) good for my body/brain? Was doing simulations only the night/morning of the exam a good idea? Was going into the exam with just a familiarity, (not knowledge), of the core concepts in tax a good idea? Was I overconfident after passing the first three sections? How were my notes? Did I take a shortcut by not using the Gleim Testprep CD because it had too many multiple choice questions compared to Wiley? Why did I watch just one DVD of the Yaeger lectures? What did I do on the sections that I passed that I did not do in the section I have failed? What was my target score? Did I do enough to attain that score? From these questions and answers to them, I can learn about myself, and what I need to change so that I can be successful next time around. Similarly, I think others who have failed, may gain some insight from asking questions that are applicable to them. Some people may have done everything right, but other things outside themselves affected their performance. Thus, the next section may be relevant.
Something has to change. How did you like the material you were using? [I believe that all the main CPA Review vendors have quality material, you just have to put in the effort. However, if you were using old material, then you may have done something right, but still failed.] How was your “support group”? What time did you study, eat, relax, etc? Were those things, or times, optimal? You will notice that when addressing this question, the person is in control of most of these items. For example, one may not be able to change how long one works, but s/he can change how long s/he relaxes after getting home, or how long s/he goes without relaxing. Again, situations are different for individuals, so everyone will come up with unique or different sets of questions applicable to his or her situation. Honest answers to those questions and the correcting action taken may be the difference between passing the section next time around, and failing again.
Plans going forward. I like to have things in writing. It is like signing a contract with myself. [My current self with my future self]. So, here are my goals, and my dreams going forward.
- Apply to retake the CPA exam section (REG) as soon as possible. I already did this yesterday about an hour after I found out that I had not passed. I am just waiting to hear back from the Board, and then pay the NASBA to get the NTS, and thereafter schedule with Prometric.
- Set a score-goal for the CPA exam section. I set this at 100 (I hope the highest you can get is not 99! Whatever it is, I will go for the highest possible score.). I think it can be done. The times that I have studied well, paced myself, took time to understand things, I have done well in school. I don’t think the CPA exam is any different. In addition, aiming for a perfect score means that if you fall short, you will probably not be a point short of the passing grade!
- Set a time table to study and stick to it.
- Pray daily for courage, faith, and determination to pursue excellence in all that I do, especially the CPA exam.
- Blog about (or keep track of) my preparation and study progress.
- Exercise daily, even if it is for 5 minutes.
- Read my positive thinking note daily.
- Use a reward system for accomplishing my daily and weekly goals. (I will decide what this should be. For now, I think it will be blogging and getting on the Internet. If I don’t study enough, I will not blog or get on the Internet.)
Thank you for reading, and I hope you found that helpful.
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