YESSSSS!!!!! I survived the CPA exam. I can't believe it is over. I don't really feel the great relief that I thought I might. Perhaps I don't yet realize that I have completed a five-year mission, to graduate with an accounting degree, and the letters CPA behind my name. Not a really exciting goal, but quite a long and arduous task nonetheless. Here's the scoop on the exam:
Gento and I arrived at the Holiday Inn in Peoria without any problems. It started raining shortly after check-in and didn't really clear up until after we left. Our room was pretty comfy, so we were able to do some last-minute reviewing Tuesday night.
Everyone was pretty nervous Monday morning. It is a pretty weighty exam, if not because of the importance, and the limited chances of taking it (twice a year), then just because of the time and money invested in it. However, everyone is pretty tired by the time it comes to the exam, so there isn't energy to be nervous. At least that was my case. We were all there about one hour before the exam began. We sat down and waited for over thirty minutes. Over 800 people sitting in neatly spaced rows of tables in Halls A,B, and C of the Peoria Civic Center. After filling out the proper release forms and whatever, we just waited. at exactly 9am, the guy announces, "You may begin."
My worst performances were in the mornings. I wasn't terribly tired, as I thought I would be. Instead, just the material itself was tough for me: Business Law on Wednesday and Tax on Thursday. Plus, the morning exams are shorter. The amount of material (60 multiple choice, a couple matching, and a couple essays for law-easy, huh?) seemed about the same for all of the exams. However, the morning exams were three hours and 3.5 hours respectively, while the afternoons were both 4.5 hours. The result is that I had to rush in the morning.
Anyway, so after ten minutes or so, the excitement wears off and it just becomes a long exam. Because you are keeping busy the whole time, the time really flies. I would go to the bathroom and get up for some water now and then, but basically you sit and work for three or four hours straight.
The material is everything that we reviewed for. The books that people like Convisor Duffy and Wiley sell are pretty good. The problem is that the exam doesn't test everything. For instance, I practiced over 800 questions for the audit part of the exam. However, the exam itself only had about 80 questions. This means that I memorized a lot of stuff that I didn't need, and I forgot some stuff that was actually tested. Very frustrating.
I PASSED! (I wish). The real problem with the exam, is that even a well-prepared person only scored about 70% on each part. That means that you really feel like crap after finishing. It is hard to guess how they will grade the essays and what sort of curve will result. Supposed they curve each part so that about 30% of the people will pass any one section. That somehow works out so that about 15% pass the entire exam nationwide. I am hoping for a decent curve on the law section, because I can remember at least fifteen to twenty points that I missed.
So nobody really knows if they passed. I feel like I got at least two parts. That was the goal, I guess. If you get at least two, then you don't need to retake those next time. I think I may have gotten all parts, but I won't know until the beginning of August when the results come out. If I have to retake tax or law, I will probably try that in November. I will post my results some time in September after I get back from Europe.
Moving on to more exciting things... I now have time to work on some QTVR and other random internet stuff. Gene and I can work out the final details for our trip. I can send one last email to everyone before I leave for the world beyond. Later!