Reflections on the CPA exam: FAR Round 1

Status: Fire

After my less than inspired study performance on audit, I was determined to make up for it on FAR. The first two chapters in Becker went great. I was able to do all of the multiple choice questions multiple times, and the material itself didn’t seem that difficult. Unfortunately for me, however, FAR didn’t have two chapters. It had nine, and the material only got more difficult to master in chapters 3 – 9. There were many more calculation problems which would  take up to five minutes to solve sometimes. In comparison, I averaged about 30 seconds a problem in audit. By the time I got to chapter 5, I felt that the GAAP (pun intended) between AUD and FAR was akin to taking a 5 mile jog vs. climbing Mount Everest, respectively. The following diagram illustrates this.

This might not be the best comparison, since I couldn’t really do either of these activities considering the shape I’m in. 

Things only got worse after chapter 5, as I came down with a slight case of pneumonia that lasted 4 weeks. The funny thing is, I was still studying a massive amount during the time. It didn’t help much though, as I have a hard enough time retaining this information when I’m completely healthy. When I’m sick? Forget about it.

After two months, I finally got through all the chapters and was ready to take the test (well, not so much ready, more forced to take it). I had fully recovered by the time the test came around, but my confidence level was not high. I had struggled with pensions, leases, and the cash flow section of FAR, and wasn’t able to go over many of the MPC’s multiple times.

As I started taking the test, it turned out my fears were right. It felt like I literally knew nothing. Question after question I kept drawing blanks. After the longest four hours of my life, the test was over. I knew with certainty I had failed. The score: 63. Once again my instincts turned out to be right. This was my most crushing defeat during the CPA Exam. Mainly because I put in close to 160 hours studying for this one, and the result wasn’t even close. It felt like an anvil dropping on my head when I saw the result. I knew it was unlikely that I would pass every part on the first try, but I hoped.

Lesson Learned. Hope doesn’t get you very far on the CPA Exam.

Get out of Jail Free

 Status: Fluff

One of my favorite things about monopoly is the” get out of jail free card”. Not so much for the game itself, since usually it just sits there, and if you do get a chance to use it, you forget you have it. I just really like the concept of a get out of jail free card, and how it applies to everyday life.

 A good example of this happened last Sunday. As my wife woke up and started her routine, I sat down at the computer and noticed it was father’s day. Knowing that she had already forgot, I decided to have a little fun with her and started dropping cryptic hints. Later that morning she finally realized what day it was (after I had made us all breakfast) and was effusive in her apology. Now I could have acted like my feelings were hurt, or I could have been a little bit angry, but I chose to shower her with unconditional understanding. I let her know I wasn’t mad and that it could happen to anyone. It will happen to everyone, and it will definitely happen to me in the future.

That is where the concept of the get out of Jail free card comes in. By being extraordinary and nice about this, it ensures that I can remind her of this when I forget some holiday in the future. To me that is much more fulfilling than being angry. As of right now I have two or three of these tucked away at the edge of the board known as life.  Hopefully I won’t have to use them anytime soon, but you never know.

Reflections on the CPA exam: AUD

Status: Fire

The CPA exam was one of the most difficult things I’ve undertaken in my life. It’s been nearly a year since I passed the final section, and I wanted to write about my experiences before the sands of time cleanse my mind. I was hired at my current firm on 09/1/09, and immediately started attacking the exam. I had considered waiting a while before taking on the exam, but my wife had just had our first child, and I knew it would get harder to study as he got older. It also helped that my new boss made it seem like I would get fired after a year if I didn’t have the exam passed. Having these as motivating factors, I hit the audit section with reckless abandon.

My study tool was Becker, mainly because they promoted so heavily through my university. After I grudgingly borrowed $3000 from my father in law, I ordered Becker and received it three weeks after I was supposed to. Even luckier for me, I had signed up for all four tests in a sixth month period, and for those of you that have experienced the CPA exam, you know that missing three weeks of study time can make a huge difference. I finally received my materials, and scheduled a date for a month and a half out.

Luckily the topics in audit were not foreign to me. I had taken an audit class my senior year, and it was very much geared toward the CPA exam. I decided I would do two chapters a week (5 chapters in all) and then have two weeks for final review. I started off very strong, and scored well on the sample questions. I noticed right away that practice simulations didn’t help me at all. I know that they do help some people, but you just have follow whatever study pattern you’re comfortable with.

After three weeks, I had finished with the videos of the droll Becker instructors. I have to tell you right now that I absolutely hate Peter Olinto. If I ever have to hear “You’re on your way to be a CPA” again in his dumb jersey accent, I might just have to kill myself.  With the dumb videos behind me, I commenced operation final review. This is where I started losing steam. In retrospect, I should have only left a week for the final review. I started getting cocky, and thought  that I knew all the topics and that I didn’t even need to study much more during the last week. This was incredibly Foolish, because I still had many, many weaknesses.

When test day arrived, my cockiness turned to fear as I realized too late that I didn’t study enough. I couldn’t stop shaking as I walked into the prometric testing center, and I’m sure the proctor probably thought that I was a crack head. I was slightly shocked at how shabby and rundown the testing center was. I mean seriously, this is the F’n CPA exam, and it looked like a kindergarten class. At least the initial room I walked into did. I was then pleasantly surprised to find out that I would actually take the exam in a room the size of closet that reached right around 100 degrees. And through all this, the little voice in the back at my head was screaming that I wasn’t ready. But there was nothing else to do, so I put my thumb print down and started the test.

My anxiety only worsened during the test as it seemed that all the questions were either very vague, or seemed like I had seen nothing like them before. This seemed to culminate on the simulations, and I walked out of the exam feeling very confused. I had no Idea how I did, and figured it would come down to a coin flip. After three agonizing weeks, I found out my gut had been right. My score: 77. I was pretty shocked I passed, and now I know that I didn’t really deserve to. That’s the breaks with the CPA exam. You just have to accept what you get and move on.

With AUD down, I moved onto my next challenge, FAR.

Mars and Venus; what’s more to understand?

Status: Fluff

Once again another school term wraps up and the summer begins. My wife, Amy, has waited anxiously the last couple days for her grades to be posted.  As I indulged myself in a usually unhealthy snack yesterday, she walked out of the office looking just a bit frustrated. I asked if her grades were posted, and she responds “yes”, and states that she “did all right”. I go in and sit at the computer and quickly see that “alright” is three A’s and a B. If those had been my spring term grades, I would have thought them a bit better then alright.

It was not an unusual occurrence for me to be in the 3.00 – 3.40 range for spring terms. I was also much lazier (especially during spring terms) in school then she is. Even now that I’m older and more mature (well, sort of), I still think her conviction for what she’s doing still outweighs mine. Is it because she’s female? I don’t know, but it has been my general observation that women are harder workers than men.  Even the guys that were at the top of my class in college still seemed to rely more on natural talent rather than work ethic.

In sum, I want to congratulate Amy for being better at everything I’m good at. Except for board games, at which I’m still king, and no one is going to take that away from me!

Battle Royal at the Crown Royal

Status: Fluff

All Certified Public Accountants are required to have 80 hours of Continuing  Professional Education (CPE) every two years.  With my firm being very invested in government audits, I tend to take a lot of government CPE. Now I know that these classes might sound incredibly exciting, but let me assure you that they are not. I had to take one of these classes last week, “Government Auditing: putting it all together”. I know, you’re jealous, but please, let me continue. This lively event was held at the Crown Royal Hotel in Lake Oswego Oregon.

I started off the conference well, my veins full of caffeine and complimentary pastries. But as time lapsed, so did my concentration. I have a theory that as we become more relaxed in public settings where we’re supposed to pay attention (be it class, church, or a government auditing conference) we tend to fall into reoccurring fantasies. I know that’s how it is for me. What is my fantasy you ask? I wish I could tell you it was sitting on a beach sipping mai tai’s with Sandra Bullock (I know, she’s old but she still has it going on). Nope, my fantasy is a zombie apocalypse.

I start by thinking, “if my neighbor suddenly turns into a flesh eating monster, how would I get to an exit?” I then start wondering what weapons I could use (pens, chairs, and government auditing manuals), and usually finish with what route I would take to get out of town, and what survivors, if any, I would take with me.

I have constructed this crude drawing as a visual interpretation:

Why do I have this fantasy? I’m not quite sure, but I guess I can blame movies and video games like everyone else. Still, at least I’ll be well prepared if a zombie apocalypse does happen.  Especially since I go to accounting conferences.  50+, balding, and overweight Zombies aren’t the most intimidating monsters in the world. I’d be screwed if I was a policeman or a firefighter.

What about you? let me know what your fantasies are in these situations.

A bad day

Status: Fire

I only just started this blog and wasn’t expecting a fire event for quite some time, but as always life serves to demolish expectations. The senior CPA at our office had a heart attack yesterday, and passed away this morning.  I’ve only worked with Bill for a couple years, but he’s the kind of person that you like and respect the hell out of as soon as you meet him. That’s a rare trait to have these days. He was a no-nonsense, no bullshit man who always said what he meant, and meant what he said. Everyone respected him, but he also gave everyone the proper respect in return.  I will miss his guidance and wisdom when it comes to everything tax and my lingering regret will be having not taken the time to get to know him better. I feel his death will alter the course of my life, though in what direction, I’m not sure.

R.I.P Bill, may your wisdom live on through those you've touched.

In the beginning

Welcome to Fire and Fluff, if you haven’t come here on purpose, then you may have just made the best mistake of your life. My name is Adam, and I’m a Certified Public Accountant that works at a small firm, in a small city, in Oregon. I have a delightful (when he’s not physically hurting me) 22 month old son, and a fantastic (also when she’s not physically hurting me) wife of three years. You’ll learn more about both as time progresses.

I’ve always believed that %90 of our lives are made up fluff. Just the work grind and funny situations that we find ourselves in every day. The other %10 of our lives are made of fire. These are the events (both good and bad) that alter our lives in more meaningful ways.  It’s these events that forge who we really are, and the path that we take in life. I will write about both fire and fluff in regards to myself in this blog, and I would love it if you left comments about the “fire” events that have really impacted you, be it good or bad.

I’ll leave it at that for this first post. The topics that I’ll write about will vary, so check back often.