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How to Create a CPA Exam Study Schedule That Guarantees Failure

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

As we have told you since the dawn of time, those of you with a tendency to procrastinate need a solid CPA exam study schedule to stay on track. Simply leaving your FAR book on the coffee table while you binge watch Orange Is the New Black isn't going to work.

A basic study schedule outlines your entire day, from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. You can plan about 400 hours of studying total between all four parts, give or take depending on how familiar you are with the material.

On average, you should study no more than 3 hours at a time, as your brain tends to turn off if you cram any longer than that. On weekends, you can squeeze in more than 3 hours but only if you take a nap, watch a movie, or go outside and play between sessions.

For those of you who prefer to spend most of your time napping, watching movies, and playing outside, we've created a pretty solid study schedule that will guarantee your total failure. This schedule assumes you work a "normal" day and spend a lot of time on social media talking about the exam because that's almost as good as studying, right?

7:00am: press snooze four times

7:40am: take a long shower, using up all the hot water if possible

8:00am: get ready for work (change outfits 5 – 10 times if needed)

8:30am: commute to work, get in political arguments on Facebook from your smartphone

9:00am: arrive at work, check in on your Facebook political arguments

9:30am: look at cat photos on the Internet

10:30am: do some work

11:15am: plan lunch

11:30am: return to Facebook political arguments, block any jerks who disagree with you and post multiple passive aggressive status updates about how stupid people are

11:45am: check to see how many likes your passive aggressive statuses have

12:15pm: order and eat lunch, use this time to catch up with coworkers and tell them about your Facebook drama

1:30pm: do some work

2:30pm: Instagram stack of CPA review flashcards your firm paid for and bemoan how hard studying is

3:00pm: check to see how many likes your CPA review flashcards have, add every person who comments so you can complain about the CPA exam together

3:40pm: do some work

5:30pm: invite coworker who is taking FAR next week out for drinks so you can complain about the CPA exam together

7:00pm: arrive home, prepare to study

7:30pm: Instagram stack of CPA review books

7:45pm: check #CPAexam hashtag on Twitter

8:15pm: clean up your DVR because you can't concentrate until you've gotten through the last three episodes of Game of Thrones you missed

2:15am: wake up in a pool of your own drool after passing out on the couch mid GoT binge

A few more weeks of this, and you're sure to fail miserably at the exam! Next time around, be sure to pencil in time to spend on CPA exam forums for complaining about how hard the exam is and getting advice on how to pass this time.

In all seriousness, we are looking for input from you guys on what study schedules have worked for you. If you would like to share yours with the class, get in touch. In the meantime, here's a guide from Crush the CPA Exam on how to reduce your CPA exam study time and some basic sample study planners from CPA Exam Club by way of Roger CPA Review.

 

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A 5 Step Plan to Passing the CPA Exam for Total Idiots

Disclaimer: I was going to use “for Dummies” in that headline but John Wiley & Sons owns that term. Since they’re also Going Concern advertisers, I figured it would be best not to tick them off. So don’t take my headline personally, call it creative license.

So, you want to pass the CPA exam eh? Here is your 5 step plan to get it done. Pay attention, kids, we’re only goince.

1. Apply early As soon as you are eligible to sit for the CPA exam (or even before if you are trying to bypass some state boards’ long application processing times), get your application, fees and fingerprint cards in. Assuming your accounting program did not prepare you for the exam, check with NASBA’s Accounting Licensing Library or your state board to find out everything you need to know about requirements to sit in your state. Remember the CPA exam is uniform meaning you can sit for any state’s exam in any other state as long as you meet their requirements so if you don’t qualify at home, check out other states to see if you can sit there. Point being, you don’t want to have to juggle the exam, work AND a family so get this thing out of the way before you get engaged, promoted and/or knocked up. Trust us on that one.


2. Study OK, I shouldn’t even have to list this as a step but, uh, I’ve had the fortune of working with some of you for years so I feel it necessary to point out that unless you are some freak with a photographic memory, you are going to have to do some studying to pass. The entire exam can take anywhere between 200 and 1000 hours to study for (based on your familiarity with exam topics going into it) so be prepared to put in plenty of hours with your nose buried in your review books. We’re not suggesting you should develop a sick fascination for Peter Olinto but get comfortable with your CPA review instructor(s), you’re going to get awfully cozy for the next couple months.

3. Make some temporary sacrifices Sure there are the odd cases of CPA exam candidates who managed to pass with just a few hours of studying but for most of you, you’re going to have to accept that your life must change to accommodate the CPA exam process. If this means cutting off your needy girlfriend for a few months, grow a pair and tell her to stop bugging you when you’re focused on the exam. Your friends will be there when you’re done and if they aren’t, maybe you should stick to hanging out with other accountants (oh come on, it’s not so bad). Keep in mind the CPA exam torture is temporary and once you pass, you can drink all you want. In fact, you’re probably going to want to once you start nailing those promotions and putting in 80 hour workweeks. Deal.

4. Learn to plan but learn to accept that sometimes things do not go according to plan Shit happens. If you’re studying for the CPA exam, lots of shit happens. Some things are out of your control (busy season, for one) but plenty of things are completely under your control so worry about those and try not to get too upset about the rest. Learn to create a study plan that includes sufficient study time without sacrificing your own sanity (3 hours a day is plenty). Plan your exams well in advance and schedule in some kind of final review 2 – 3 weeks before exam day to be sure you are ready.

5. If you fall off the horse, get back up and kick the horse in the shins A 74 could be the most devastating CPA exam result of all but the reality is that this exam isn’t a cakewalk and you aren’t a failure just because you’ve failed. You’re only a failure if you allow it to keep you from pursuing your goal of CPA licensure. Get up, dust yourself off, learn from your mistakes (your score report is a huge clue into where you need more work) and schedule a retake as soon as possible. It’s entirely reasonable to feel defeated but no reason to pout so knock it off and suck it up. There’s a reason only 40%+/- of candidates pass on the first attempt, this thing isn’t easy on purpose. If it were easy, any idiot with half a brain would be a CPA.

But you aren’t just any idiot, are you? Go get ’em, killer!

FYI – This Is the Last CPA Exam Window To Blow Off Research Tabs

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know that as is, research isn’t very important and if you’re running out of time on a simulation you should completely ignore it. It might be worth a point and let’s be real about it, no one uses it unless they need words for a written communication. Shame on you guys.

Starting January 1, 2011, however, you’re going to have to start giving a shit about the research. I know, lame. They want you to know how to search the code because that’s what you have to look forward to once you get those three letters after your name. Awesome, right? Figure it out.


Research problems will make up one simlet tab in REG, AUD and FAR. FAR and REG are fairly easy in that you only have three databases to search through; in REG, you’ll have to look through the Internal Revenue Code and Tax Services code while in FAR you only have the ASCs to worry about. AUD, however, is littered with 10 different sets of code so you better get familiar with research by A) using the research problems you already have in CPA review textbooks and software and B) playing with the actual functionality of the 2011 CPA exam format if you are sitting for the first time after January 1.

For those sitting for the first time in this coming window, you’ll still have the old research format (unless the AICPA Board of Examiners is trying out their new simlets one last time as pretest questions before the CBT-e beast goes live next year) so you can always feel welcome to ignore it if you are halfway through your simulation with only a quarter of it bubbled in. You can still find that tutorial on the AICPA’s website as well and it is advised that you try it out before you show up at Prometric and waste a bunch of time figuring out how to work the controls. It’s fairly straight-forward but you might as well give it a test drive as you can’t waste 5 minutes to pee let alone try to puzzle your way through an unfamiliar exam format.

I hope to hear that all of you blow research off all the way up until November 30, 2010 (you know, to show your solidarity and commitment to the collective experience of taking this damn exam)… Yes, November 30th, the day most of you are sitting for one last part. Any update on Prometric blackouts in your area? So far I’ve heard the Bay Area is getting completely booked up for the last week of November (shock) but not much else. Any of you having trouble getting in at the last possible minute or more?

This is why we always tell you to schedule early but why listen to us?

If you’d like to know something about the exam (don’t ask where the tutorial is, I just gave it to you), get in touch.