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Three Tips to Help Make Studying for the CPA Exam While Working Less Awful

Ed. note: This post is by Jeff Jardine, CMA®, CPA, PMP, Senior Consultant, Deloitte & Touche LLP and is republished from AccountingWEB.

During my summer internship at an accounting firm I noticed each night as I was heading out the door with my managers that two of our team members stayed behind and continued working.

I admired but internally questioned their dedication. After the pattern ensued for several days, I asked one of the individuals why she felt the need to stay behind every day when we had already reached our daily milestones. She explained that she was preparing to take portions of the CPA exam, and that there was no other available time besides weekends to study. I wished her well (she did eventually pass).

Her actions/dedication left an indelible impression on me, and as I entered my senior year in college I rearranged my class and personal schedules to allow myself time to study for the CPA exam so that I could take the test prior to beginning full-time employment.

Pursuing this and other certifications has made a positive impact on my career. I thus offer three tips for how to effectively study for professional accounting certifications while working:

Tip 1: Get Certified Prior to Starting Your Job
If I could pass along one piece of advice to young professionals considering an employer-required certification it would be this: If you have time between graduating college and beginning work, put 100 percent of your efforts into completing that certification prior to starting your job. Yes, it makes for a miserable summer wherein your best friends are exam prep instructors (Peter Olinto, anyone?), but in the end this method is the much preferred alternative to studying after a long day of work for months on end.

What should you do, however, if you have no such break between college and full-time work, or you are studying for an additional certification later in your career while working full-time? I fell into this latter category while working toward the CMA, which I had known since college that I wanted to take as soon as things settled down after beginning work at an accounting firm.

Tip 2: Gain Buy-in from Your Employer
After examining my schedule, I determined the most favorable times to study for and schedule the various sections of the CMA exam. Then, I spoke with my teams at work to gain their buy-in (my managers were fully supportive), and I scheduled my exams well in advance while keeping in mind client demands and team requirements. Saturdays always fill up first at testing centers, so schedule as far in advance as you can.

Tip 3: Build Studying Time Into Your Daily Schedule
Additionally, I took a day off from work prior to each exam date to have adequate time to study – though I didn’t plan on studying everything on that one day or just on Saturdays. I knew that I needed to study – at least a little bit – every day to most thoroughly prepare for the exam.

After considering my daily schedule, it was clear that the time I had the most control over was early in the morning. I decided to wake up an hour earlier each day for the three to four weeks prior to the exam to review material and churn through practice questions (which I believe is one of the most effective methods to prepare for these exams). Then on Saturdays I studied longer and more in-depth.

I took Sundays off from studying to allow things to settle in my mind while spending a day with my family. In the end, my efforts paid off. I passed each section and after finishing the experience requirement, I was a CMA.

CPA Exam Candidate Attempts to Stop Attempting and Actually Take the Exam

From the mailbag:

Hi Adrienne – I have been “attempting” to pass the CPA exam for a few years now – and I must say I’ve never taken the exam or the goal to pass the exam seriously…up until now.

Hold it. Before we get to the second half of this question, we need to address the quotation marks. Obviously OP is trying to make it clear that studying has not been high on the priority list and we recognize this tactic as a CPA exam candidate trying to repent for non-studying sins. This isn’t the confessional but we’ll accept the confession nonetheless; it shows a desire on the candidate’s part to acknowledge what they have done wrong up until this point, which is halfway toward fixing it.

Continuing:

I took BEC on 4/4/2011 and REG on 5/14/2011 (today). I am registered to take FAR on 7/9/2011. My question is: Should I start studying for FAR now and try to take in July, or should I wait until I get my BEC/REG scores and if I score below a passing grade, try to take those in the July/Aug testing window? What should be the plan of attack – retake a recent exam, or jump to the next section? Considering I wont be getting my BEC/REG scores until the end of June, I feel like precious study time will get wasted if I just wait around for those scores…

In a follow-up with OP, we discussed how he felt when he was done. “I can’t say I felt on top of the world when I left prometric – I had more of a numb feeling than anything else. The sims were ‘interesting,’ and the MCQs were pretty challenging too…I put a solid six/seven weeks for this exam following Bisk’s recommended study plan.”

With scoring a little jacked up through the end of this year, you should probably move on to the next section as if you passed. If you did, you made the right decision. If you didn’t, you’ll just have to go back and study it over. You don’t necessarily have to start from scratch but let’s not think about that, let’s assume you passed.

You don’t mention Audit so I don’t know what your 18 month timeline is but if you have the flexibility, you should usually try to plan for the strategy that costs you the least amount of time so you actually have the time if you need it.

You’re right not to wait and just go on to the next section.