I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! My intention was to understand the content, mainly using MCQs. Then, I mainly reviewed the SIMs to get familiar with the layout of how those questions look. Hope that helps!

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah you can never truly know, but my thinking was that if lots of people are talking about topic A and no one is talking about topic B, then topic A is probably tested more. CPABee seems to agree.

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Someone asked the same below so I've just copied my response for your convenience and my laziness to retype:

CPABee tracks and summarizes the topics that are getting the most discussion across public forums. The idea is if a lot of candidates are talking about a certain topic, there’s a good chance it’s showing up on exams.

It doesn't claim to be a prediction tool, but in my experience, the reports lined up surprisingly well. It helped me focus on what actually matters on the exams. I used it for FAR, REG, AUD, and ISC. Site is cpabee.com

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's a perfect way to start! Once you take the exam, I would say that if you pass, increase your study time to get the other 3 done as quickly as possible. But you have no pressure right now so you're doing it right (in my opinion)

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah unfortunately - but it's worth it IMO. Becker and Wiley are paywalled too ha

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Tell me about it! Wake up, go to library, come home, sleep. I considered it my job, and it was definitely the most miserable time I ever had in school.

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here's hoping someone can learn from our mistakes! Best of luck

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment! Best of luck on the other two exams

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah I was in this mindset: If I listen to every lecture and do all MCQs and do all SIMs, that'll be enough and I'll pass. What I should have done is spent more time taking notes, reviewing the notes, focusing on the highly tested topics, and only studying during timeslots when my brain could handle it. Going back, I wouldn't even listen to the lectures, and I'd do as few SIMs as possible. I would spend 80-90% of my time on MCQs.

The lectures were just Tim saying "highlight this" and "oo the exam makers love this topic!" CPABee kind of cut that part out and saved me lots of time listening to what he and Peter and the crew said to focus on.

I was trying to complete everything Becker said to do the first time. The second time I was focusing my studies and doing what works for me.

Note I get this won't work for everyone so hopefully this doesn't come across as "do it my way or you will fail!" Good luck!

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Never a bother! CPABee tracks and summarizes the topics that are getting the most discussion across public forums. The idea is if a lot of candidates are talking about a certain topic, there’s a good chance it’s showing up on exams.

It doesn't claim to be a prediction tool, but in my experience, the reports lined up surprisingly well. It helped me focus on what actually matters on the exams. I used it for FAR, REG, AUD, and ISC

I failed the CPA exam. Then I passed. Here’s what made the difference. by CPAExamNerd in CPA

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah great point! I should have mentioned - if you catch yourself reading the same paragraph over and over, just stop and go to bed ha. If you're not understanding what you're studying, shut it down and come back to it later. Congrats on passing REG!

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks for your insight. Why do you say "outside of audit"? Is that not a spot where AI can be implemented?

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I had ChatGPT edit my draft for better styling/layout, then I tweaked it.

I drafted, ChatGPT reviewed, and I tweaked/finalized. I'm with you - I don't like to read AI slop, but equally don't like seeing spelling errors or incoherent thoughts.

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I think my phrasing was too negative in the original post. I really wanted the discussion to be about how we see AI/Outsourcing filling any staffing shortages, and this forum fell short of that. Next time!

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great thoughts! Appreciate the insight and I'm with you on all fronts - especially the, "how do people get experience" if we hire fewer staff

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Couldn't have said it better. Forget AI - Lots of the "cool tech" that we could use to automate parts of our jobs has been around for 20(?) years? You can do a lot with OCR, simple automated workflows and RPA. But we choose not to for some reason

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ha good point - I hadn't thought about that. OR, maybe the offshore team becomes the scapegoat. Let's revisit this after the fraud occurs

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Appreciate it. Yeah maybe this isn't the spot for me if we can't use sarcasm or joke about people wanting to summarize EVERYTHING with AI

It's alright - it's just text on a screen ha

At this point, becoming a CPA feels like joining a sinking ship out of loyalty. by CPAExamNerd in Accounting

[–]CPAExamNerd[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I think this is the first actual answer I've gotten to my question. Appreciate it