Officially approved to take the CPA Exam!

[PKL]

Yay, I'm pumped! Just got the email. California CPA here I come!!!!!!!

[Kroy]

Originally Posted by PKL

Yay, I'm pumped! Just got the email. California CPA here I come!!!!!!!

my friend was studying for those... aren't there like 6 tests or something? or is this after those tests?

[Seminole]

Wish I shared your enthusiam. I have FAR and BEC down and REG and AUD to go. But it's busy season right now so I'm miserable trying to work 60+ hours and study at the same time. If you haven't started a full time job yet, the best advice I can give you is get that shit done before you start. Once you start working it's a bitch.

[PKL]

Originally Posted by Seminole

Wish I shared your enthusiam. I have FAR and BEC down and REG and AUD to go. But it's busy season right now so I'm miserable trying to work 60+ hours and study at the same time. If you haven't started a full time job yet, the best advice I can give you is get that shit done before you start. Once you start working it's a bitch.

I will have at least half the test done before I start working, I agree EVERYONE says to try and finish the test before you work 50-70 hours a week.

[skinnycow]

congrats, i'm going to get my cpa as well, i just hope i pass the first time around. good luck!

[Georgeair]

Wimps. Whippersnappers. Getting to take a multiple choice test, one section at a time. Nothing like "back in the day!"

Yeah, this is what us old-timers tease folks about. The sheer volume of the material added on in the past 25 years is mind-boggling.

Best of luck to you all. Do NOT underestimate any section of this, it is not like any other test you've ever taken or ever will. Lord, I hated it......

[Buegie]

I didn't know it was possible to be excited about accounting

[vasaline]

I just got approved to sit for the CPA in California too. Haven't bought my study materials yet. Which ones are u guys using? Becker?

[PKL]

Originally Posted by Buegie

I didn't know it was possible to be excited about accounting

Originally Posted by vasaline

I just got approved to sit for the CPA in California too. Haven't bought my study materials yet. Which ones are u guys using? Becker?

Yep, Becker!

[vasaline]

I'm kind of hesitant to purchase Becker since it is so expensive and expires within a year. I looked into yaeger and it looks promising.
For those who are taking the CPA, are u working or have a job lined up already at a CPA firm?

[Cyrax91]

I have FAR left to go. The becker stuff really helps. I did self study and focused on the computer questions/homework. They definitely help. Good luck on your exams!

[BTM]

Congrats and GL! A friend recently passed it...it's intense!

[Georgeair]

Anyone who isn't sure about the value of a prep course like Becker either:

a) Already has the best study methods on the planet, all the material possibly to be covered and such a command of the material that was and was NOT covered in college that they smoked every test ever with between a 98 and 100% score. or;

b) Is dramatically underestimating the difficulty of the exam. See my earlier post....

a) is admirable, b) is recoverable after you get slapped around a few times. Just don't be so stubborn and cheap to keep trying on your own if it's not working.

Yes, I also have friends, family, peers and subordinates who have taken the exam in the past 1-10 years.

[Hawkeye]

CPA tests, pssht. You don't really have to study THAT much to pass those.

With good study materials it should be a breeze.

[JayKay335i]

I spread my DNA around LA

[double_j]

I used Becker and passed on the first sitting (back when the test was 4 sections over two days). Well worth the money.

Good luck with it and I fully agree - if there's any way for you to get the test out of the way before you start working, do it.

[RyanDe680]

Originally Posted by Kroy

my friend was studying for those... aren't there like 6 tests or something? or is this after those tests?

The 6 tests and then a 2-day cumulative exam is the CFP

Taking coursework and then getting approved to take a 1-day exam is the CPA

Taking coursework or studying on your own and taking 3 large tests is the CFA

CFP = financial planning
CPA = accounting
CFA = financial analysis

FWIW, I'm studying for the CFP right now....

[Seminole]

Some people at work sent me this. Pretty much sums up auditing:

I am an auditor (but I'm not bitter).
I don't wear a pocket protector.
I don't carry a calculator at all times, but I can use it without
looking at the numbers.
I get psyched for business casual.
I carry a laptop, not because I think it's cool, but because I have
to. It's certainly not cool when you have to carry it across town in
the middle of the summer...along with two other bags and a box of
workpapers.

I have lots of paper cuts...not from regular paper, but ones that hurt
from pockets and folders.
I have a desk, and I have a phone, but I'm never at either of them. I
sit at a table meant for 4 with 8 other people.
I work with people everyday, but everyone thinks I have no social
skills. They fail to realize that after talking to incompetent people
throughout the day the last thing I want to do is talk to anyone!

I dream about financial statement presentation and proper timing of
accruals.
I spend significant amounts of time waiting for others to do their
job; and when they're done, it's still not right, even though they've
been doing it for 10 years.

I know GAAP is crap...but it's the best thing we've got.
By God, if you ask me one more question about how to do your taxes, I
might just rip your head off!!!!
I work overtime six months out of the year, and then get told to watch
how much time I spend on my work. Then, I try not to spend too much
time on my work, only to get told my bonus is based on overtime. Oh
wait, we don't get bonuses!

I have an apartment, but it's really just a place to store my clothes
and old workpapers that the garbage men won't even take.

I can cook, but I can't remember the last time I came home and wanted to.
I'm just a person who went to school for way too long, who is
overworked, and underpaid, who gets no respect for my work, and has
finally realized that my entire career is based on providing
information no one understands, to people who couldn't care less.

I can drink better than anyone. Is it any wonder why? I've been
promoted six times in the last two years, not because I'm competent
but because all the competent people had the smarts to leave.


My name is xxxxxxxxx and I am.... an auditor!!!

[double_j]

^ so true but so sad.

Anybody who audits for more than 3-4 years has got some kind of self hatred thing going on.

[Sniz]

^ that does not sound like a job I want, ever.