After spending the better part of 20 years in school and graduating with a masters, I still have more to finish. To be a certified CPA I will have to take the CPA Exam. The exam consists of 4 parts; financial accounting and report (FARS); auditing and attestation (AUD); regulation (REG); and business environment and concepts (BEC). From what I hear the CPA is the hardest test out there, even when comparing it to the BAR exam. My goal though, is that by this time next year I will have successfully completed all four parts and become a certified CPA.
Even though I have not completed my Masters, I’m still eligible to take the exam. I will have to get Dr. Marsh write a letter to the CPA board stating that I have earned what is equivalent to a degree and will be graduating in the spring. Due to the extremely long process my application will have to go through, I plan on submitting it in October. I will try to get everything in as soon as possible, so that by the time I do graduate I will be taking my last exam.
I’ve chosen Becker study tools to help prepare me for the exam. It is an expensive training guide, especially for a college student. I recently signed with Grant Thorton though, so they will cover the cost of the study materials as well as the exam. All I will have to do is contact them, tell them I’m ready and they will have the Becker representative send me all the necessary materials. I plan on notifying them in November, so that I can start studying for the exam immediately.
The average student spends at least 100 hours per section studying for the exam, so this means the majority of my winter and spring will consist of me having my nose in a book. Studying will be no walk in the park even though most of the material will be a review over what I have learned already. The review is not what worries me, it’s the parts on the exam that I have never seen nor been taught before. I will spend most of my study time teaching myself these new concepts.
There is no required order when taking the 4 exams. However Beckers recommends that you take the FARS first, REG second, AUD third and the BEC last. I plan on starting with the FARS at the end of February and alternating one test every other month. This strategy should give me ample study time between test and still have me finishing about the time I’ll graduate.
The CPA exam requires a lot of hard work, effort and dedication. There is an upside though, not only will I become a certified CPA. As an added perk Grant Thornton will give me a bonus for passing the exams and another bonus for scoring in the top percentile. This test will probably be one of the hardest things I’ll have to do but I’ll be ready for it. I will complete it and then all that’s left is taking on the real world.
5 comments:
Just reading this blog gave a little anxiety thinking about all we had to do, I'll be right there with you!
I'm with Camille on this one. I too will be taking the exam in the future. Very intimidating.
It is very intimidating, but we have had excellent professor that have prepared us for the CPA. I'm sure we all will do very well!
Do you already have the 150 hours required to sit for the exam? That's the part that is holding me back. I guess I should have taken a few electives after all.
I hear some of the firms will actually pay for the program up front! I think that offered a little more encouragement for a college student to start on the exam early.
Brittany - Yes I will have 150 hours in December. Grant Thornton is paying for Becker and the exams.
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