CPA Exam Finished

I describe myself as a non-traditional CPA candidate. I am 38 years old and graduated from Kansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Animal Science. My first accounting position came in 1998 when I took a job as an accounting clerk for a small company. In 2000 I got a job with Hyatt Hotels as a payroll clerk and my interest and affinity for corporate accounting took off. My career progression with Hyatt required several moves and in 2007 I decided to settle down in Louisville, Kentucky. I left Hyatt and was fortunate to get a job in the hotel industry with a local company and decided to work on getting some accounting credentials. I opted for a post-baccalaureate certificate in accounting at Indiana University Southeast. This program allowed me to obtain the coursework I needed to meet the educational requirements for becoming a CPA if I decided to go that route. I graduated from IUSE in December 2009. After I started school it became obvious to me that becoming professionally licensed was a logical next step. I could not decide however if I should pursue a CMA or a CPA. I was leaning toward the CMA because I thought it seemed easier and I was tired of studying. Instead of taking what I perceived to be the easy way, I asked around and got some great advice from my first manager at Hyatt. She told me if I had the time to devote to studying for the CPA exams I would never regret doing it. It was the push I needed to pursue the CPA. I started studying in February 2010 for AUD. I enjoyed Audit in school and the material was fresh in my head so I thought it made sense to start here. I sat for the exam in April and scored a 92. I was very happy and immediately jumped into studying for FAR. My enthusiasm for FAR lasted all of 10 days. By then summer had arrived and I had absolutely zero motivation to study. I studied off and on through October but I soon realized there was no way I would be prepared for FAR before my NTS expired in November. I was so disgusted with myself for the money I wasted on the NTS that I decided I was going to take a break from everything until after Christmas. Christmas came and went. I realized I needed to get my passion back so I decided to change things up and take BEC next. On December 26th I drew up an aggressive study plan that left me feeling confident and motivated. It was the start of a new year and that helped me stay focused. I sat for BEC on January 26, 2011 and scored an 83. It was time to tackle FAR. I started studying immediately after testing for BEC. I sat for FAR in April and scored a 89. I ended up covering most of the FAR material twice (once in 2010 and once in 2011). I believe this helped my score a great deal. By the time I finally took the FAR exam I was feeling very confident. It was now summertime again and I was determined this time not to waste it. I only had REG remaining. My AUD score was set to expire on October 26th and this helped keep me motivated. I wanted to leave myself enough time to retake REG if necessary before my AUD scored expired. I felt nervous the whole time I studied REG. Tax classes were not my favorite in school and I don't have any practical tax experience other than preparing my own income tax returns. I stressed over this exam more than any of the others. I scheduled REG for August 22nd and scored a 77. It was finally over. I had achieved my goal of becoming a CPA. I discovered #twudygroup on Twitter early on in my CPA journey and I have to say this group of individuals kept me motivated. Their shared experiences gave me confidence and provided a wealth of practical information. If you are studying for the CPA exam I strongly encourage you to connect with other people going through the same thing. It really does make it easier. Lastly, I used Wiley materials for all four sections. Overall I was very pleased with Wiley. My lowest score was in REG. I am hesitant to attribute that 100% to Wiley materials because I know I had the least interest in the REG material. On the other hand, going into the REG exam I felt like I knew the Wiley material well. It just did not seem to mesh with the questions I got. I want to wish all my #twudygroup friends who are still studying the best of luck. You will reach your goal of becoming a CPA!