Sometimes people complain that the CPA exam is hard. Others ask about the minimum amount of time needed to pass the exam. Others say that getting more than the required 75 is a waste of time, effort, grades. Others just want to be familiar with the material to pass. I have been guilty of some of these things, explicitly or implicitly. For example, if I don’t study until two weeks before the exam while working full time, it is fair to say that even if I pass, my mastery of the material will not be as good as it would be if I had paced myself for 2 months, for example. The chances that I will retain the material for more than a few weeks or months are small. In a way, if I become a CPA, even if I don’t work in public accounting, I will be a weak CPA. Well, that’s what I think.
While I was thinking about the above, I considered Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, and other professionals… and I was wondering, if I were to hire a Doctor or Lawyer, or Engineer or Mechanic… how competent would I want them to be? I would probably want someone who did very well in school, scored high in his or her certification exams, and has decent experience in his field. One may argue that if somebody intends to practice in public, then he or she should excel. I would, however, argue that we all do public accounting of some sort. Even if we are in private practice or private sector, what we do finally finds its way to the public. Another argument is that once people know that you are certified, they think they can come to you for advice or opinions. These people can be friends, acquiantances, or family. They think that just because you are certified, you are an expert and you know your field inside out. In my world, that brings some ethical responsibility to know the subject matter really well, whether or not I am going to do public accounting. That’s a motivational tool for me. Of course, one has to strike a balance between spending time to master the material, and doing what needs to be done to pass the exam. As some CPA instructors say, “I am not teaching you to be an expert, I am teaching you to get you to pass the exam!” They are right, you can master the material after you pass, I guess!
Your thoughts and comments are welcome.
Thanks for reading and I hope you found that helpful.
Write down the score you want to get on the CPA exam! That's my goal, what's yours?
Yesterday I was studying during lunch (break at work). I was going over the notes I had taken when I was preparing for REG last window. Usually, when I study, I write down the time and date when I started on a particular page, and when I stopped. When I do my last minute study, it is motivating to see that I had put in some time and effort on different days, at different times, and I thought whatever I wrote down was important enough… anyway, I am digressing. So, I wanted to write dates and times as I was reviewing my “old” notes. I did, but it didn’t feel as great as the last time… so I thought for a minute, and it occurred to me that since I know the score I am shooting for, it may be motivating for me to write it on every page that I pass through… and before I turn the page over and write the score again, I stop to consider if my effort on this particular page, was good enough to get me that 99. I noticed that I covered a lot of ground during that 1 hour lunch break. I am not sure whether it had to do with the score writing and focus, or it was just because I was going over the notes one more time and I was familiar with most of the concepts.
Another benefit of writing down the score you want, (from a motivational point of view), is that you feel like you are in control of what you will get. Not only is your goal passing, but it is more focused on passing with a certain score. I am thinking that you can use “your number” as guide as you do multiple choice questions and simulations. Obviously, if you are shooting for a 75 and you are getting 75 as you practice, you may be in dangerous territory. Aim higher. Work harder. Shoot for the stars. When you only make it to the moon, you are still way up there, floating in the heavens!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found that helpful.
By passing the CPA exam, you could become the Inspiration Point
While I was driving to St. Louis, MO, on Thursday, I took a break from listening to the Gleim CDs for CPA Review (REG) and listened to Oasis Radio (I think). It is a Christian Radio network of stations. There was an interview with (I have to look up the name) and she (the interviewee) had written a book about ending a running curse in a family and in its place blessing it. Part of the curse may run like this, father is a thief, he teaches to son, who teaches his own son etc. They will all get in trouble or become misfits. Similarly, if father is a pastor, he teaches son, who teaches his own son etc. They will all stay on the right path and become blessed and share their blessings.
While I was listening to that, I remembered the many times that I wished I had close family members who were chartered accountants or medical doctors or lawyers or … you know, whatever people hold in “high esteem”. Sometimes, without really wanting to, I would find out that one of the brainiacs in my class was a daughter of a professor or a son of two PhDs or something like that. I had a ton of explanations. At one point, I thought it had to do with genes. At another, I thought it had to do with the structure in the family. [What would two PhDs in the family do for fun with their kids?! I know, I was wrong, too!] At yet another point, I thought it had to do with the kids looking up to their parents/relative and thinking, “I can be whatever I want, because, my dad, mom, uncle, or close relative is an Engineer, Chess Grandmaster, Music Virtuoso, Corporate CEO, Business-Owner, or … just rich – somehow”. It is this last point that I am trying to share with you.
By passing the CPA exams, who knows how many people you will inspire? Nephews, nieces, sons, daughters,… Just because they are related to you, and you did it, they may think… “I can be whatever I want” – and they will put in their best effort to realize that dream. All because you did it. You may never know it.
So, when times get tough, and you don’t feel like studying another minute or tackling an extra set of multiple choice questions, or watching another DVD or… Just remember that a whole generation’s success or inspiration may be depending on you.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found that helpful.
If somebody came to you and said, “the food that you have eaten is bigger than that mountain”, “you have walked from the Dallas, (TX, USA) to London (UK)”, “you have spoken more words than those all the USA Presidential speeches”, and finally, “your thoughts would require the memory of x computers to keep ‘em”. You may feel good about some of those things, and loathe the others, but it may take you a second to process that information and believe that you are capable of such feats.
The following questions may help the thinking process: How much food do you eat in a day, a week, a month, or a year? Probably a mountain of it! How many miles do you walk or drive in a day, week, month, or year? Probably a thousands! How many words to you speak in a day, week, month, or year? A lot! How many thoughts do you have in a day, week, month, or year? How many words to write or type in a day, week, or year? You get the idea? When you look at the volume of output that YOU already have in different aspects of your life, you will see that at the beginning, it does not look like much. A bite, a step, a yard or mile, a word, a thought… but when you repeat it over time (say, one year), you have a meal x3 x 365 (assuming you eat 3 meals a day), a yard x 50 x2 x 5 x 52 (assuming you walk to work only 50 yards to and from work, etc. Small deeds, done repeatedly over time produce results that seem to be impossible at first.
The CPA exam requires one to know a lot of material on Accounting and things that affect Accounting (business law, IT, Taxation, etc). If you went to a good school or schools, then you probably came across pretty much everything that gets tested on the CPA exam in one form or another. If you think back, you will remember that it took a while to cover that material when you were in school. (It was not done overnight.) When the CPA review material arrives, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the size of material that you need to “master. However, when you consider how you often do things (eating, talking, walking, thinking, etc), you will notice that if you approach the CPA exam the way you approach life, you will do just fine.
An example: You decide to study for 5 minutes before each meal, and you eat 3 times a day, [you will read 3 times a day at 5 minutes per session]. Assuming that you read an average 250 words per minute, you may end up reading at least 2 pages during a 5 minute-session, and 6 pages for the day. If your CPA review book has 800 pages, of which 600 is reading material, then in 100 days or a little over 3 months, you will have read every page in the book! If you decide to double your reading time, and read the book for 10 minutes before your meal, you can finish the book in 1 1/2 months [6 weeks]! This is not addressing comprehension, note-taking, or anything else. It is just showing you that small actions, repeated over time, will yield seemingly impossible yet attainable and impressive results. This can be applied to anything, 10 multiple choice questions before each meal, 1 simulation before going to bed, etc.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you found that helpful.
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.
- 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.
This post is to offer a shoulder to lean on to those who have failed the CPA exam. [The exams have started coming out. I saw a twit from Jeff[another71] that the AICPA had released BEC. [Shout out to Jeff: Good work, man! Keep up the good work!]]
First of all, to those who have passed any section, I would like to say Congratulations! It is a big achievement to pass any section of the CPA exam. I wish you lots of success and happiness!
To those who have failed. Sorry for not passing. Here is how I would go about handling or thinking about the situation. Actually, I have already thought about how I am going to handle it if I fail REG which will come out in the next day or so. It was in yesterday’s post: CPA exam results: How to Handle the Waiting. Okay, here we go:
1 – You are not alone. What do you understand from that sentence? I would suggest that you read it over, and even say it out loud a couple of times. “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” “I am not alone.” Now that you have said it at least 5 times, I ask you again, What do you understand from that sentence? It is important to answer that question. My personal answer is long, but I can give a brief version here. First, from a spiritual point of view, I believe I am not alone. The Bible tells me so. This poem tells me so:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
Footprints in the sand - You are not alone!
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
Mary Stevenson, 1936
Another way to look at it (it = that you are not alone), is that about half of the people who take the exam do not pass it. Please see below.
About 50% of CPA candidates pass (or fail) the CPA exam
So, spiritually, and “CPA-ally” , you are not alone! Knowing that I am not alone when I suffer gives me comfort. I will not explain how or why. May be in another post I will. I hope this knowledge gives comfort to those who have failed.
2 – Look on the positive side of life. Count your blessings. Even during the times that one thinks he or she has hit rock bottom, there is a silver lining. Let us count some of the ways. You are still alive. If you think your life is not worth it, those who love you or who depend on you for their happiness think your life is worth living. They could give anything to make sure you are still alive. Be thankful for life. You are healthy. You can read. You have access to this information. You may have a wonderful son, daughter, father, mother, wife, husband, friend, teacher, etc. You have food. You have transportation. You have money. You have a brain that is functioning properly. You are safe. You are in the top 30% of the most educated people in the USA (I am assuming that may be the level has gone up 4 points since 2003; I am assuming that you already have your Bachelors – i.e. condition for being allowed to take the exam – if not conditional-):
If this was 2003!! You would be in the top 26% of the most educated people in the USA
3 - Focus on things that cheer you up. A baby’s smile, a funny movie, loved ones, times when you achieved something, the compliments you have received in your life time. I would suggest that if you are alone and you do not have people who can cheer up, you write down all the compliments you have received in your life. If you don’t have pen and paper, you may type it up in the computer you are using! If you cannot do that, please find pen and paper! If not, think about it for 5-10 minutes. I think about the times I won Chess tournaments. I think about the many times I have been told I am cute I think about my girlfriend and her laughter! I think about the times I said something that was really funny and everybody cracked up – even though I cannot remember the specifics. Now I can think about all the good people out there, that I have not met, but are either linking to this blog, reading this blog, commenting on this blog, or just laughing at me for what I am writing! There are a lot of things I can do to feel better, only if I give myself a chance.
4 – Forget myself and focus on other people or other things. Self-absorption is one of the major causes of anxiety, unhappiness, low self-esteem,… (disclaimer: I am not a qualified psychologist, [I am serious!] think, I am also taking the CPA exams Anyway, on a serious note, I have found that when I am so busy or so involved in something, I have no time to think about myself. The other side of it is, when I think about myself so much, I have no time to think about other people or other things, and life passes me by.
5 – Move on. The past cannot be changed. Now, why should I lose my present (and my future which is quickly turning into my present with every passing moment) by focusing on things I cannot change. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey talked about Circle of Influence and Circle of Concern. The more you focus on your circle of Influence (i.e. the things you have control over), the larger it gets, and small the Circle of Concern gets. You can read more about that at the link below.
Focusing on things you can control grows your Circle of Influence
http://cpastories.com - positive thinking for the cpa exam - moleskine notebook pic
Where do you get the motivation to study at all? How do you keep studying when you don’t think you are getting it? How do you overcome the possibility of failure despite your best efforts? How do you overcome all the negative self-talk that might take place more often that you would like? How do you overcome the thoughts that something that you remember now may escape your brain during the exam? How do you stay motivated, minute in minute out, hour in hour out, day in day out, week in week out, month in month out? Actually, on this last question, all you need to do is keep yourself motivated minute in minute out, rinse and repeat!
For me, I find the POWER (to overcome and accomplish) in POSITIVE THINKING. It comes in all sorts of ways. Some people call it the Secret, other people call it Intention, others call it Will, Mind over Matter,… I prefer POSITIVE THINKING because that’s what Norman Vincent Pearle called it when he wrote his wonderful book, THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING. I read it probably 12 years ago, [I wish I had read it sooner,] and it is one of the best books I have ever read. It is one of the best things I have ever done. One way to look at it is this, since you self-talk any way, why not keep the self-talk positive? Once you decide to try positive thinking, or positive self-talk, or auto-suggestion, or the secret, or whatever you call it, you have several ways to do it. Some people record themselves and listen to it. Others just read wholesome quotes and books and that affects the way they behave or act.
I look at it as having goals. I believe everybody has to have goals and track them. One way to track where you are with respect to accomplishing your goals is to review them often. Thus, you can have your positive thoughts, wishes, goals, meditations as your goals and review them often.
I think about my girlfriend and her laughter! I think about the times I said something that was really funny and everybody cracked up – even though I cannot remember the specifics. Now I can think about all the good people out there, that I have not met, but are either linking to this blog, reading this blog, commenting on this blog, or just laughing at me for what I am writing! There are a lot of things I can do to feel better, only if I give myself a chance.
