CPA Exam
The CPA exam was a wild and crazy ride. When I set out to take and pass the exams I thought 18 months was plenty of time to get the job done. For some, it probably is plenty of time, but not for this girl. The exam taking journey began in August of 2009 and ended in January 2012. I took 3 exams in 2009, 4 exams in 2010, 7 exams in 2011 (this is where the determination really kicked in), and 1 exam in 2012. 15 attempts at the exam to have 4 passing scores, now that is crazy. In my case I had 5 passing scores because BEC was the first exam I passed and lost.
Final Passing Moments
November 2009 – BEC *Lost credit
November 2010 – FAR
October 2011 – AUD
November 2011 – REG
January 2012 – BEC
Study Material
I began studying with Gleim material. This study material has everything you need in it. Each exam is broken out into 20 study units, and they are jam packed with information. So much information at the beginning that I put the study material away and moved to Becker. My job purchased Becker for me and I had heard really great things about it. I started out with the class attendance, but quickly realized that I wasn’t going to continue driving two hours to sit in a classroom while someone played a DVD for me. I switched to self study and passed BEC & FAR with Becker. AUD was my nightmare section, it seems everyone has one of those. Thanks to all my friends on twitter and in #twudygroup I changed my study material once again. This time I moved back to Gleim and supplemented with Roger CPA Review. The combination of these two study materials, for me, got me passed the finish line. Everyone learns and studies differently so in the end I had to figure out what would work for me.
The Final Exam Score
February 3, 2012 score release day and the day before GAAP Baby’s baby shower, was the most nerve raking day of my entire life!!! Hitting the refresh button umpteen times in hopes of a score returning & it being a passing score was torture. I was the only one sitting in our home office, everyone else was in my bedroom. When I say the passing score flash up on the screen I screamed like never before. I scared the living daylights out of my poor family, running to get them while screaming, jumping up and down, and then crying like a crazy woman. It’s a miracle the baby didn’t decide to make an early entrance because of the scene I had made. We decided to announce to our families at the baby shower that I had passed, and I let my husband have the honors of telling the good, no GREAT, news to everyone.
Never give up
After almost three years of exam taking, I am living proof that it is possible to pass the CPA exam. I passed three sections while pregnant, working full time & helping raise three other children. It is really important to remain confident in yourself and your abilities while studying for the exam, those failing scores can be demoralizing. Especially after all the time you have dedicated to studying and sacrifices made. My kids couldn’t understand why mommy wasn’t going to watch Saturday morning cartoons or join them at their cousins birthday party, but at the end of the day they understand and are very proud of my accomplishments. My oldest daughter is already talking about taking the exam when she gets older. So not only did I accomplish my high school dream, I started a spark for her dreams. She may never actually take the exam, but at eight years old, she knows she can do anything she sets her mind to!!
So never give up, keep on moving forward for one day you will be looking back at where you were and realize that ANYTHING is possible!!!
You are a living proof that it’s possible to pass a CPA exam while being a mom, having a job and still enjoying your life (although I’m sure that the study weeks weren’t that enjoyable though). I took the last part of the CPA exam last week, and now I’m waiting for the score. My journey started in June 2010. I took the exam a combined 9 times so far.