I Thought This Day Would Never Arrive

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From the Desk of Luke Sonnier, CPA

It is finally over. I passed the final part of the CPA Exam. I took Financial Accounting and Reporting on August 29th and got the score today. I passed with an 84.

I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me through this process. Constant studying and sacrifice was only possible with the support I received from everyone out there.

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No News is Painful News

Oh I'm dying over here. I found out that at least three states (Illinois, Virginia and California) have released scores for the Financial Accounting and Reporting section of the CPA exam, which is the section that I took for the third time on August 29th, and for which I have yet to receive a score.

Louisiana hasn't released scores yet, so now instead of checking the website for my score every hour and a half I'm checking every five minutes.

Good luck getting any work done today, Luke.

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Back in the Saddle Again

Well I finally got the score back from the exam I took three weeks ago on May 29th, and I didn't pass. As always it takes a score of 75 to pass and I scored a 73.

So it's back to the grindstone for me. I went ahead and ordered new study materials. I've been studying with the 2006 version of the Becker books and CD-ROMs. Those did the trick on all three other parts of the exam, but for this section it just isn't cutting the mustard.

This time around I'm going to try the Wiley 2008 materials. Maybe a fresh set of study materials will be beneficial.

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Daydreaming the Summer Away

I am having a rough go of it right now. I can't seem to concentrate on anything at work! Between constantly thinking about my pending CPA exam results, and constantly waiting for the phone to ring with news of Lindsey going into labor, my mind is completely fried. Not to mention that fact that other than time off to study I haven't really taken any vacation time since tax season ended.


If I wasn't planning to take a week or two off after the birth I would use some of my banked overtime to just stay home and relax a little bit, but I really want to maximize my time home with Sam.

Also, I was able to ignore it a bit during tax season because I was so busy, and then again when I was studying because I need to focus, but now my desire to sit down and play Guitar Hero (any version) until my eyes bleed is back with renewed vigor. This has not been made any easier by the fact that I got to play Rock Band for the first time recently and I freaking LOVED it.

At first I thought that singing as part of a video game would be ridiculous, but it turns out that my years and years of sitting alone in my room as a kid, and later driving alone in my car singing along with song after song after song were just the right practice for Rock Band. I think I've been in training to play this game my whole life. It is so much fun.

Try singing along to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" at the absolute top of your lungs, making sure to scream out the jam part at the end and tell me you aren't having fun. Or singing along to Radiohead's "Creep" as loud as you possibly can, being sure to sing the unedited album version as opposed to the radio-friendly alternate version with no curse words. It's hard not to enjoy it in my opinion.

The good news is that it is only a matter of time in each case.

Lindsey is due on June 19th, which is a week from tomorrow. See my next post for the most recent update about the pregnancy.

And I think the CPA exam results should start being released next week. Historically I've gotten my result in roughly three weeks, which would be next week.

Wouldn't it be wild to find out that I passed the exam and have my son born on the same day! It might just be too much in day, but in such a good way.

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Can You Feel It?

Happy Holidays indeed! Check out this score on the Regulation portion of the CPA exam, which I took on November 30th:





How do you love that? It takes a 75 to pass. I'm walking on air right now.

I've now got three parts complete, with only one left. I am going to try to take the final part, Financial Accounting and Reporting in the middle of February I think. I've already taken that one once and didn't do well because I didn't study properly. But I think I can manage this time.

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Hallelujah!

As if the news I shared with you guys yesterday wasn't spectacular enough, check this out.





That "76" you see in the lower right corner is my score on the BEC section of the CPA exam, which if you remember I took on October 1st. The required score to pass is a 75, so that means I PASSED!!!! Woot-Woot!!!

I have to say, I wish I'd blown it out of the water a little bit rather than passing by one point, but passing is passing in the end. Also, the simple fact that I passed it on the first try without any retakes is pretty awesome. Only 10% of candidates typically pass these exams on the first try.

Today is a very exciting day indeed.

Next up is Regulation, which I take on November 30th. That section includes Individual, Partnership and Corporate tax, and business law. Wish me luck!

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Holla If You Hear Me

I finally got the results back from the two portions of the exam that I took in July and August.

If you recall, on July 13th I took Financial Accounting and Reporting. This test was a total monster, and was bigger and harder than I anticipated. Unfortunately I was pretty burned out on studying when I was supposed to be preparing for the test, and I only covered five of the nine chapters in the book. I guess I just ran out of time. Needless to say, I did not do well on this one. Again, the required score to pass is a 75 and I got a 64. Not very good, but I pretty much expected that, having not studied. No worries, I'll get it next time I guess.

Today I got the results from the August 3rd test that I took. That was my second go-round on the Auditing section of the exam (the one that I did not pass back in May), and let me tell you guys, I knocked it out of the park. With a required score to pass of 75, I got an 86! I cannot explain how good this feels.

Now I think I know the right way to study and I think I should be able to use that to my advantage on future exams. The pressure is on now however: once a candidate has passed one part of the exam, the other three parts have to be passed within 18 months. I think I can handle it however.

Next up I take Business Environment Concepts (This section covers knowledge of business structures, economic concepts, financial management, information technology, and planning and measurement (via Wiki)) on October 1st. I begin studying tonight.

Then on November 30th I take Regulation (This section covers knowledge of ethics and professional responsibility, business law, Federal tax procedures and accounting issues, Federal taxation of property transactions, Federal taxation – individuals, and Federal taxation – entities (via Wiki))

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Bad Day

Ugh.

So anyway, I got my score from the Auditing portion of the CPA exam today. The one I took last month. You need 75 points to pass. I got a 71.

I allowed myself one hour (my lunch break today) to wallow in my own misery, but then I resolved to improve the situation rather than mope about it. After lunch I applied to take the exam a second time.

I am still scheduled to take another section (Financial Accounting) on July 13th (which I am trying to study for currently), but I think when I'm done with that one, I will aim to re-take Auditing on July 31st. I figure that because I've already studied for it, I can take three weeks (almost) to really cram and study hard and hopefully knock Auditing out of the park.

Let's hope I do. Its expensive as hell to keep taking these tests.

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