I often get asked the question: “How do I become a CPA”? The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification is one that can open a lot of doors and opportunities for those wishing to pursue a career in Accounting. However, like all valuable certifications, it’s also one that requires a large commitment of time, energy and even money to accomplish.
In my own experience, it was quite the journey. I started studying for the exam at the beginning of my career in Public Accounting. Yet, due to the heavy working schedule as well as my initial lack of strategy and discipline, ended up giving up for a few years. It’s only after I got married and actually had kids that I set it as a goal to start over and get certified. The difference was, that time, I actually set a plan and a strategy to tackle the CPA monster.
It is possible to pass a monster of an exam such as the CPA exam in 12 months or less if you have a plan, a strategy and some serious faith in yourself too. Here are a few tips you can use if you’re considering attacking the CPA monster and actually winning:
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Start by strategizing your time
The CPA exam is a significant investment of time and energy. This means that if you don’t properly strategize your time, you might not be able to properly ingest and actually understand the material.
As a working mom of two, I had to be very intentional about my time. For me, it meant waking up by 5am every single morning to study before the rest of my household was up. I also decided to sacrifice any TV or entertainment time to studying after-hours and on the weekends. The recommended study time for the CPA is 20 hours per week. I worked it out by investing one hour every weekday morning for a total of five hours, as well as two hours in the evenings. I would also put in five hours on Saturdays, for a total of 20 hours per week. Any extra I could add in would be to my advantage.
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Plan for failures
Under its current format, the CPA exam is made up of four parts, including Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) and Regulation (REG). All parts have to be taken and passed within an eighteen-month window. When you have a full-time job and a couple of kids like I did, it may mean having to plan, at least mentally, for failures. This is not to say that you cannot pass it on your first try. Many are actually taking time off, or tackling the exam right in college, and achieve it on a first try.
However, it’s important to mentally prepare for the worst so it doesn’t derail you from completing the entire process. After failing my very first exams right out of college, I got discouraged and ended up giving up for a few years. It was only when I decided that failing wouldn’t stop me from doing my best to complete the exam that it actually happened for me.
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Find out and gather ALL the resources you will need
In order to take and pass the CPA exam, you will need a certain amount of resources. This includes study materials, classes if you would like to take some, and other resources you may be able to avail yourself of. If you work for a CPA firm or a company open to reimbursing the cost of your exam, most of these resources may come at no cost to you.
However, if you have to pay out of pocket for these resources, make sure to gather as much information as you can to help you make the best decision. I used a number of resources before investing in Becker. The live classes, videos and numerous practice exercises made a huge dfference for me, and ultimately helped me pass the exam.
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Use your professional experience if possible
If you’re working while studying for the exam, try to incorporate your professional experience as part of your study plan. Ask questions from your managers and colleagues, especially if they have taken and passed the exam first. You’ll be surprised how many tips and resources you can garner from the people around you.
Use your projects and work assignments in the accounting and finance sphere to understand how you can practically apply the principles you may be learning about. Seeing the practical side of what you’re studying will help deepen your understanding significantly.
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Find an accountability partner
The CPA exam is a long journey during which you will need all the perseverance you can get. Finding the right accountability partner for you can make the difference between passing the exam in no time, or repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
Ask around you, in and outside of work, for someone who can serve as a trustworthy accountability partner. It may not have to be someone who is also taking the exam, although it can help.
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Practice, practice, practice!
The key to passing the CPA exam is practicing over and over again! As you structure your study schedule, make sure to allocate more time to practice. You should aim to practice every set of questions for each chapter of study three times.
It may require a lot of time, but in the end, it will cement some of the key principles in your mind.
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If you can’t teach it, you don’t know it!
The best way to check if you’ve really grasped the concepts you’ve been studying for is to explain them to someone else. If you can’t teach it, you don’t really know it. Spend time working with a fellow student and attempt to explain the material to them as clearly as possible.
You may also ask for people around you to help you as you put the most complex concepts in simple terms for them to understand.
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Take care of yourself in the process
Did I mention the CPA exam is an exercise in perseverance and endurance? Which also means that you should strive to care for yourself in the meantime. Take breaks, observe non-study days, celebrate your progress as you go!
Don’t sacrifice your well-being for the exam, as you need your physical and mental energy to succeed!
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Celebrate the small wins!
Celebrating the small wins is essential to accomplishing such as long-term process as the CPA exam! If you’ve completed or exceeded your study goals for the week or month, don’t forget to congratulate yourself! Treat yourself to something nice, take some time off, and make sure to acknowledge the process you’re making!
This will help you cultivate the power and stamina you need to keep going.
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Enjoy the process!
Last but not least, don’t forget to enjoy the process. I realized that it wasn’t until I actually started liking what I was learning about that I passed all parts on my first try. I had to let go of pressuring myself to actually find peace in the process. The more I liked what I was doing, the more successful I was at it. And that works for pretty much anything in life.
Good luck on taking and passing your CPA exam!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
