My CPA Exam Journey – Never Give Up!

Hey everyone!  My name is Beth and I would like to tell you a little about myself and my CPA Exam Journey.

I graduated in 1990 with a BS in Marketing and a minor in Management.  I had originally majored in Accounting but during my junior year in college, after struggling with second intermediate, I decided to hang it up and change majors.  I worked mainly in management, some in retail, then onto hotels and casinos for a number of years.  I ended up working in sales at a newspaper before I decided to make the move into bookkeeping.  I became the office manager/bookkeeper for the paper I worked for and from there moved on to a medical laboratory as their staff bookkeeper.  I was given the opportunity to go back to school to finally get my accounting degree and after graduation I started taking the CPA exams.  That was two and a half years ago and here I am today, still trying to pass.

I was able to pass FAR on my first try in 2010. I then went on to fail Audit, then BEC, and Audit again.  I think that I initially thought, this wouldn’t be so hard after passing FAR first time around but I was wrong.

After failing three exams in a row I was devastated.  I decided I wasn’t cut out for this and I was thinking about giving up completely.   At the same time, I was given more responsibility at work and this was another reason (in my mind) to quit the exams.  After all, why keep putting myself through torture and why should I keep missing out on all the fun stuff with my family?

Nine months later I started thinking about how I am always telling my daughter that she can do anything she sets her mind to and to never give up.  Never quit.  But this is exactly what I was doing. In my mind, by quitting the exams I was telling my daughter that it was okay to quit.   This was the complete opposite of what I wanted her to learn.  I decided then and there that I had to make a change.  I wouldn’t let her think that it was okay to give up on her dreams.

I decided that I still had some time before my eighteen month window ended after passing FAR.  So, I would give it another shot.  I started studying again without telling anyone.  My other attempt at Audit ended in failure, as did REG.  These failures caused me to lose my credit for FAR.  But still, I was not giving up.  I had come close with my scores and all while dealing with two deaths in my family within a six week time frame.

Finally, I passed Audit and shortly after I passed REG.  I am now working on getting my credit back for FAR.   During my exam preparation, there are a few things that I have felt have been great study tools.  First and foremost, the Wiley Online Test Bank has been a great supplement.  I have used it for every exam.  I also have the test bank app for my iPad and absolutely love it.  I take it with me everywhere I go. I am able to work questions whenever I have a few minutes to spare, whether I am in my car at lunch, in the doctor’s office waiting on my appointment or while simply hanging out in the same room with my daughter while she does homework or watches television.

Throughout the last couple of years, I have learned a lot about myself and the torturous journey towards the CPA exam.  I know that I can do anything if I stick my mind to it and don’t give up.  Even while working full time, being a Girl Scout troop leader for my daughter, helping my husband start a new business and taking care of my home, I have been able to succeed.