Perfect score on Audit. Passed all sections on the first try with an average score of 96.5. Eligible for the Elijah Watt Sells Award. When I started studying in January 2018, I didn’t expect these statements to describe me. My goal was to pass within a year, before I graduated with my Master of Accounting from William & Mary in December and started as an audit associate at BKD CPAs & Advisors in January 2019. I planned to give it my best effort, but also planned on needing to retake a section or two. I’ve had a few people ask me about my strategy so I wanted to write this to share with anyone interested. There are many good strategies to pass the CPA exam. This is what worked for me, but it probably wouldn’t work for everyone. Find what works for you, stick with it, and you can pass this exam.
Timeline & Scores
Total exam study time: approx. 400 hours
AUD (Auditing & Attestation) | 99
Started studying: January 22
Exam date: March 5
Study time: 85 hours over 6 weeks, 2 days/week, 1 Becker module/week, 12 hours/week
Final review: 3 days, 13 hours total, 2 mock exams
Mock exam 1 score: 79% (78% MCQs, 81% SIMs)
Mock exam 2 score: 72% (84% MCQs, 57% SIMs – I was interrupted halfway through the sims and accidentally closed out of the window, so I was not able to attempt 3 of the 6 sims which accounted for 20 of the 63 total points available)
Becker study time estimate: 90 hours
Time used on actual exam: 2.5 hours
BEC (Business Environment & Concepts) | 97
Started studying: March 11
Exam date: April 28
Study time: 85 hours over 7 weeks, 2 days/week, 1 Becker module/week, 12 hours/week
Final review: 3 days, 13 hours total, 2 mock exams
Mock exam 1 score: 69% (82% MCQs, 56% SIMs)
Mock exam 2 score: 78% (82% MCQs, 73% SIMs)
Becker study time estimate: 90 hours
Time used on actual exam: approx. 3.5 hours
FAR (Financial Accounting & Reporting) | 93
Started studying: May 8
Exam date: June 7
Study time: 110 hours over 4 weeks, 3-4 days/week, 2 Becker modules/week, 21-28 hours/week
Final review: 3 days, 12 hours total, 2 mock exams
Mock exam 1 score: 79% (82% MCQs, 77% SIMs)
Mock exam 2 score: 86% (71% MCQs, 92% SIMs)
Becker study time estimate: 150 hours
Time used on actual exam: 4 hours
REG (Regulation) | 96
Started studying: June 11
Exam date: July 18
Study time: 120 hours over 5 weeks, 3-4 days/week, 2 Becker modules/week, 21-28 hours/week
Final review: 5 days, 22 hours total, 3 mock exams
Mock exam 1 score: 62% (75% MCQs, 48% SIMs)
Mock exam 2 score: 63% (77% MCQs, 46% SIMs)
Mock exam 3 score: 77% (88% MCQs, 65% SIMs)
Becker study time estimate: 120 hours
Time used on actual exam: approx. 3.75 hours
Mock exam scores vs. actual scores: why are they so different?
Clearly, there is a significant difference between my mock exam scores and actual scores. Understanding the basics of how the CPA exam is scored is important for gauging your performance on mock exams and keeping your cool on exam day. Each section of the exam is scored on a scale from 0-99 points, with a score of 75 points required to pass. This is not a percentage scale, but a points-based scale. So scoring a 75 does not mean that you correctly answered 75% of questions. Mock exam scores are simply the percentage of questions answered correctly. Another factor to consider: some of the questions in the Becker mock exams are rejected test questions that the AICPA decided were not suitable for testing. This would also make the mock exam scores lower and the difficulty higher than the actual exam.
CPA Exam Test Operation and Scoring
The CPA exam weights questions, so each question is worth different points depending on the difficulty of the question. In the multiple choice testlets, your performance on the first testlet will determine the difficulty level of the second testlet. If you do well on the first testlet, you will get a hard difficulty second testlet. However, if you don’t do as well, you may get a medium difficulty testlet. The examiners say that there is no advantage to getting a certain level of difficulty. This adaptive method of testing gauges your understanding of the material with fewer questions.
The real exam also has test questions that are being evaluated by the AICPA for potential use in future exams and will not count towards your score. Unfortunately, you won’t know which questions are test questions, but if a question seems like it is coming out of left field, something that you have never seen before, there is a good chance that it is a test question. There is no way to know for sure, so you should still give it your best shot.
CPA exam scores are not curved, meaning that the performance of other test takers does not affect your score. According to the AICPA, the exam is scored and scaled so that the exam is not easier or more difficult to pass at different times. A 75 today should mean the same as a 75 earned 10 years ago.
My Background
I’m one of those people who genuinely enjoys learning. This is one of the reasons that I am excited about joining this profession. Learning doesn’t stop at graduation. As a CPA, you are learning and growing professionally every day. I took a long-term view and wanted to prepare myself for full-time practice after graduation rather than solely focusing on passing the test. When it comes to tests, I’m generally a decent test-taker who doesn’t struggle with test anxiety. However, I’m not great at memorization. Test-taking is a skill and each type of test is different. So as you progress in the CPA exam, you’re going to improve this skill.
My previous experience and education were helpful in preparing for the exam. I had a busy season internship in the audit practice of BKD, a national CPA and advisory firm. This was extremely helpful on AUD as the simulations are very similar to some of the fieldwork I did during my internship. It was great working for a firm where the engagement staff, in-charges, directors, and partners took the time to invest in me as an intern, helping me understand the work I was doing, while contextualizing it in the big picture. They also gave me the opportunity to work on most of the financial statement accounts and many other parts of the engagements.
At University of Louisville, I had some excellent professors like Dr. Elizabeth Payne (audit), Prof. Lisa Blum (commercial law, intro tax, and advance tax), Dr. Karcher (intermediate accounting I & II), and Dr. Fu (corporate finance), which were key in helping me build a foundation in accounting upon which I could prepare for the CPA exam.
I have also had excellent professors in the master of accounting program at William & Mary. Prof. Elizabeth Foster’s Governmental & NFP Accounting class and Prof. William Stauffer’s Business Law class were key to my performance on FAR and REG respectively, as both topics are heavily tested. Dr. Alex Woods’ Driving Organizational Performance class was also extremely helpful in devloping a better understanding of cost accounting for BEC.
I am very thankful for the support of my firm and these talented professors. They were critical to my success.
Exam Strategy
Study Materials
I used Becker online self-study, which I highly recommend. The Becker team is great about keeping materials up-to-date, adding additional materials, and designing the materials to use your time efficiently. I cannot say enough great things about the team at Becker, especially the national instructors Peter Olinto, Tim Gearty, Mike Brown, and Angie Brown. They are engaging and encouraging, which is really helpful when you’re covering complex, challenging topics. I give a lot of credit to Becker for my success. I only had a limited amount of time to study and Becker allowed me to make the most of that time, preparing me for exam day. The national instructors give guidance in where to focus your studies and do a great job explaining complex topics. Many firms provide Becker or one of the other major study programs, but if you don’t have that option, do some research and find one that will work for your needs.
Strategy Overview
Here’s the bottom-line of my strategy: develop a solid understanding of the critical material and only memorize when required. Since I truly understood the critical material, it didn’t matter how they asked the question or what they threw at me in the sims, I could figure out the answer. Notice that I said “critical” material. There is an overwhelming amount of material that is fair game on the CPA exam. Becker focuses in on certain topics and gives the 30,000-foot view on others based on their research and understanding of the exam blueprint issued by the AICPA, but it is still an overwhelming amount of material. Don’t let that get to you! It is impossible to know every detail of every topic, especially when you get to REG and start studying tax. Realize that the examiners only have a limited number of questions and sims, so they will most likely focus on this critical material.
How do you determine what is critical information for the exam?
Sometimes the Becker instructors will mention when something has been heavily tested in the past, but it’s also helpful to look at the number of multiple choice questions Becker gives to a module. If a module only has 5 MCQs, then it probably isn’t critical. On the other hand, if Becker gives 50 MCQs in a module, then make sure you have a good grasp on that material. It’s probably critical.
So what did my strategy look like in practice?
For each module, I watched the lecture to build a base level understanding. For most of the lectures, I watched at 2x speed. However, I did not have a strong background in finance or cost accounting, so I had to watch those lectures at normal speed. Don’t be afraid to do this if you don’t have a strong background in an area. It’s more important to struggle with the material to develop an understanding rather than relying on memorization. Then I did the skills practice, which is a guided problem that resembles a sim. Most of the time, I would skip the video explanations in the skills practice unless I was having trouble with the problem.
Then, even if I didn’t understand everything, I would go through the MCQs shooting for 40-60 seconds per question with answer review. If I got a question wrong or if I got it right but didn’t know why, then I would take the time to read the explanations and understand why. After the first run though, I would retry the ones I got wrong and repeat again until I got 100% on the MCQs.
My Approach to Simulations
For AUD and BEC, I went through most of the sims at the end of each unit. However, about halfway through studying for FAR, I stopped doing the sims and I did not do any of the sims in REG. In studying for FAR, I was running out of time and needed to pick up my study pace. After finding out that I did well on FAR without doing most of the sims, I decided against doing any of the sims in REG except for the ones in the mock exams. This gave me more time to focus on understanding the lectures and going through the MCQs which I found to me more helpful. At this point after passing 3 sections, I had a handle on the structure of the sims, so understanding the material was most important for me. I still did the sims on the mock exams in all of the sections, which I found helpful.
Most Important: The Final Review
In my final week before the exam, I would begin my final review. I would usually take a day to go back through all of the lectures, not watching the videos, but skimming the pre-annotated book. If there was a concept that I was still shaky on, I would watch the lecture at 2x speed and maybe do a couple of practice problems.
Then, I would take my first mock exam. I almost always studied in coffee shops, so usually, I would listen to classical music, but for the mock exam, I put on some white noise which blocked out everything. I would take the mock exams seriously and treat them like the real exam: no notes, no phone, no talking to anyone, and only taking a break after the third testlet when the timer stops.
After taking the mock exam, I would review every question, even the ones I got correct. I would make a review sheet with notes on the correct answers for the questions I got wrong and the questions where I guessed the correct answer (but didn’t really know the correct answer). Then, I would go back to the lectures and pre-annotated book, review the topics where I was weak, and make notes on key concepts. Before this point, I did not make any notes, even during the lectures. I wanted to be completely engaged with the lectures and maximize the number of MCQs, so I decided not to make any notes until my final review.
I would repeat this process with the second mock exam (and again for the third mock exam in REG - Becker did not have a third mock exam until around the time I started studying for REG). I would review all of my notes the day before and the morning of my exam. This final review was critical to my performance because my studying was spread out over many weeks. I would begin to forget material and, sometimes, I would not spend enough time on my weak areas. The final review was an opportunity to recall everything I knew and shore up weak areas.
Exam Day!
I would always schedule afternoon exams, usually around 12:30 or 1. This gave me plenty of time to prepare and get to the exam center. During the semester, I had to drive 45-75 minutes to get to an exam center from Williamsburg, where I only had to drive 15 minutes in Louisville. When I was in Williamsburg, I would leave 3.5 hours early, giving myself plenty of time to make it through any major traffic, get lunch, and look over my final review notes one last time. I never hit terrible traffic, so I always ended up spending a lot of time at Chick-fil-a, which was completely fine with me.
Pre-Exam Traditions
I have a couple traditions whenever I take a major exam like this. Starting with the last time I took the ACT, I drink a 5hr energy right before going into the testing center to help me stay focused – I don’t know if its placebo or if caffeine (in an amount equivalent to a cup of coffee) really has that much of an effect on me, but it works. I also take time to pray and read the Bible, continuing whatever study I am currently in. This helps me stay calm, cool, and collected, reminding me of my purpose in life, my purpose in taking this exam, and the reality that, in the big picture of life (and eternity), this exam is not a big deal.
In the Exam Center
Security is tight. Make sure you are familiar with the procedures beforehand, not only so you have everything that you need to be admitted, but also so the process doesn’t throw you off or add to any nervousness you might be feeling.
I used the noise-cancelling headphones provided by Prometric during the exam, which were great. The AICPA has enabled use of Excel throughout all sections of the exam, which is a game-changer. It was especially helpful for BEC where you are doing a lot of calculations, including time value of money. I think it is much easier to organize your work and do calculations in Excel than trying to use a dry erase board that can’t be erased and a calculator. For each of the four sections, the only break I would take is the one where the timer stops between the third and fourth testlet. I liked taking the break even if I didn’t need to use the restroom because four hours is a long time to be sitting in intense concentration.
After the Exam
I walked out of my first exam (AUD) feeling okay, but honestly unsure if I had passed. Many people feel this way and many more are sure they failed. However, it is really impossible to accurately gauge your performance because of the way the exam is scored. I think it is easy as you look back on your exam to focus on the most difficult questions where you felt completely unprepared, when, in reality, those were probably test questions that won’t be included in your score.
Stopping to Celebrate: Post-Exam Traditions
After I got out of the exam, I would always go to one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. I went to Carrabba’s twice, Texas Roadhouse once, and McAllister’s once. I would also celebrate on score release days by going out to dinner with friends or family. I’m a fan of Rhett and Link, internetainers, comedians, and hosts of Good Mythical Morning. They are always encouraging their audience to be Mythical. One of the tenants of Mythicality is stopping to celebrate. I am a firm believer in stopping to celebrate, even though I’m not great at this. It is all too easy to immediately move on to the next thing, the next CPA exam section, the next certification, the next report, the next year, the next job. I am also a firm believer in working hard, playing hard. You’ve worked hard studying for this exam. Now that it’s over, celebrate! It will help motivate you to get back into it and work hard on the next section.
What would I do differently?
After taking AUD, I learned to take my time on the sims and use the authoritative literature for some of the non-research sims. For AUD, I had 1.5 hours left on the clock when I finished. I know that I got a couple of answers incorrect on a sim, answers that would have been really easy to look up in the authoritative literature. Even though I had plenty of time, I just didn’t think to look at the authoritative literature since it wasn’t a research sim. Even though I got a perfect score on AUD, I am sure that I got those answers incorrect meaning that it was either a test sim that didn’t count toward my score or I had earned enough points on other questions to scale my score to a 99.
The CPA Exam: Your National Championship
I played a variety of sports when I was young and, starting in middle school through junior year of high school, I was the video specialist for the boys basketball team. I think it is really helpful to think about this exam like a sport. Our basketball team would spend hours practicing, honing in on their weaknesses, developing their strengths, reviewing game footage that I filmed, and scrimmaging with other teams. Eventually, game day would come. The team would wear business professional attire to school, eat dinner together, quietly ride to the game, get changed, have pre-game coaching and a team prayer, do warm-ups, and, before we knew it, it was tipoff. At that point, each guy was falling back on his training, keeping his eye on the ball, his teammates, and his surroundings. Each guy was doing his best and leaving everything on the court. Sometimes it was enough and sometimes it wasn’t, but there was always another game and another season.
You can extend this analogy using performance arts and various other competitions like concert band, choir, art, theater, speech team, academic team, business competitions, etc. Treat the CPA exam like you would treat any of these activities. Be disciplined in your studies. Stick to your study schedule. The only way you will be ready for game day is through persistent, engaged practice. Learn your weaknesses and work to improve. Then on game day, develop your own traditions that help calm your nerves and get you in the zone. When you get to tipoff and click “start exam,” take a deep breath and leave it all on the court. At this point, all you can do is fall back on your practice and give it your best shot. If it is not good enough, there is always round two. If you put in the work, you can and will pass the CPA exam.
Remember What’s Important in Life
Treat the exam like a sport, give it your all, but don’t make it your all. There are much more important things in life than the CPA exam. As you enter into this process, especially if you are balancing studying for the exam with work or school, you will need to make some sacrifices. You can’t do it all. You’ll probably have to reduce the amount of time you spend with friends and carve out time away from your family to study. However, that doesn’t mean you should never spend time with family and friends. Build that into your study schedule.
I spent 110 hours over 4 weeks studying for FAR and over those 4 weeks, I went to Michigan for the wedding of my good friends John and MacKenzie, went to the Newport Aquarium with friends, celebrated Mother’s Day in Bowling Green with my family, went to Grad Night at Churchill Downs, had dinner catching up with several friends, saw my niece Rachel graduate 8th grade, celebrated a friend’s birthday, worked at Kentucky Kingdom as a senior supervisor in Internal Audit, went to church every week, and did a 4-day trip to Disney/Universal. So it’s doable! You don’t have to completely drop off the map for six months to pass the CPA exam, nor should you.
The CPA exam is important for your career, required if you want to stay in public accounting for more than a few years, so don’t procrastinate. However, don’t let it consume your life either. Make time for your faith, exercise, taking care of yourself, spending time with your loved ones, and unwinding. The key is to be disciplined and build this into your schedule, realizing that you may need to be flexible and roll with the punches when things change.
Like I said before, there are many good strategies for passing the CPA exam. This is what worked for me. Put in the time and you too can pass the CPA exam. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or reach out directly!
