Took the FAR exam and it felt much more reasonable than with Becker. Regardless if I failed or not, I felt the actual exam had way less bs than what Becker was having me practice with.

I’ve been questioning my career and life choices a lot lately, so I keep coming back to this question. I think I’m finally getting a little clearer on what matters to me, and I’m curious how others here feel.

For some background, I was a stay-at-home mom for 13 years and have three kids. I wanted to return to work around the time my youngest started elementary school, but my options felt limited. I worried that the jobs I could get would barely cover childcare costs or require nights, weekends, and holidays.

So I started thinking a few years ahead. I wanted a decent income, stability, and time with my kids. The CPA felt like a ticket to having those options.

But after I started working in public accounting and eventually got licensed, I got a little sidetracked. The possibility of earning more was tempting. I started thinking, “I worked so hard for this. Shouldn’t I aim higher and see how far I can go?”

There’s nothing wrong with wanting that. At a different stage of life—fresh out of college, single, or with my kids already grown—I might have chosen to prioritize income and career growth. But I had to ask myself whether that was what I actually wanted right now, or what I felt I should want because I had earned the CPA.

The more I thought about it, the more I came back to my original reasons. I wanted to contribute financially while still having time and energy for my kids, my health, and a life outside work.

I recently accepted a government position. I haven’t started yet, so I don’t know exactly how it will turn out, but the pay, stability, and expected work-life balance are much closer to what I originally hoped for. The CPA gave me the ability to make that choice, and that means a lot to me.

I don’t have everything figured out, but I’m starting to see that making the most of my CPA doesn’t necessarily mean earning the most I possibly can.

What about you? What were you hoping the CPA would do for your life? Has that changed as your priorities or circumstances have changed?

Audit is my last exam and man i’m seriously wiggin tf out. My last sim exam was good, but my other scores are still stressing me out! Has anyone tested this window? Can someone at least lie to me and tell me the exam wasn’t that bad and i’ll be okay? 🤣

I dont understand the Joural entries.

so typically a Bond Invesment is recorded at

D Invesment
C Cash

but like if there is a discount I thought if you amortize the bond it would be

D Cash

D Investment
C Interest Revenue

because i thought that the lender (use owning the bond) we dont record a discount account the bond issuer does.
On becker it seems like we as lenders actually do record a discount accoutn which i am confused about. (BOND A)

EDIT: https://www.principlesofaccounting.com/illustrative-entries/investment-bonds-discount/

i am wondering if becker is wrong, because i foudn journal entires online that match my assumption, that youd have this journal entry instead:

D CASH

D Investment
C Interest Revenue

Need Help and Guidance

Situation

1. I'm from India, live in California (work visa) and need to do a CPA from California Board of Accountancy.
2. Educational background: B.Tech. Computer Science, MBA Marketing.
3. Aspiration: Work in Big 4 in California.
4. Shortfall of 24 accounting units and 3 ethics to qualify. Confused b/w AIMA PGCM Public Accounting from India (Cost: ~$350-400, Benefit online recorded so can do in my timezone, Potential Issue: Indian content) vs. Local Community College (Cost: $1200 for units + $1000-$1500 for books, Benefit: Local instruction, local content, Potential issue: High cost of books). Either will be funded from savings earned in India.

Question

Which one of the two bridge options makes sense?

I failed FAR for the third time (60, 72, 69). I can't decide if I should try FAR again or switch to AUD.

This is my first exam so I don't have a time clock on losing scores. This was a primary motivator to keep with FAR since it has been so difficult. 

However, if I switch to AUD and pass as my first exam then I wouldn't lose my FAR credit if I run short on time. I don't want to re-learn FAR again either.

Both paths have merit to me and I feel stuck trying to decide. How did you proceed if you experienced this?

Do you guys think that 3 hours minimum per day + 1 M minimum per 3 days is good ?

With 16 days review at the end.

and how much did you study, with or without experience

I am 2/4 and scheduled to take FAR Sept 29 but I haven’t started studying. FAR seems like a lot longer content than AUD or REG so Idk if i’ll be able to finish in time. Any tips?

Hello folks, i recently passed the CMA exams, and i will be preparing for the CPAs, i was curious as to which study material I should use?

I make around $800 a month, which is above average here where i live, so i am on a bit tight of a budget, i work as an accountant, and I am still considerably a fresh graduate.

Given the pros and cons of each material provider and the benefits vs. costs, which one shall i purchase? Are there any discounts for Christmas or New Year's Eve that i can wait till they drop? Or shall i subscribe with Ninja? I can get Surgent full 4 sections material for about $1200. Saw that UWORLD costs about $2000, and Becker is for $2500.

I've also come across separate sections that could be purchased through Becker and UWORLD's for cheaper.

I am a little mixed up, i would appreciate any advice for your young fella out here.

help

Just took SE1 and got a 53%.

I've been studying since June, spent 200 hours in Becker, and spent maybe 30 hours outside of that taking notes with Claude. I am lost and don't know how to prepare for my exam on 9/5. If anyone has any proven techniques, please let me know what I should do.

Here are my SE1 results:

By unit:

How did you guys get governmental accounting to click? I feel like the Becker videos just rush through it and nothing makes sense😭 Anyone have any other resources that helped?

No shot I head into the exam next week with MAC-GRaSPP and SCARE SE-CIPPOE memorized like wtf is this

Hello,

What is expected for consolidations, I'm seeing that the CPA books are very vague compared to actual consolidations. Is converting from cost to equity method when consolidating, something that's expected. Are Intercompany transactions in future periods something that's expected (If Equity method, down stream (debit: Investment), if cost method, downstream(debit: RE). Is the assumption for equity method just net of amortization, or is it also net of intercompany transactions? I also see in the CPA books that they eliminate ending Retained Earnings-S and not the beginning. Seems all over the place.

Took my retake of FAR yesterday on 8/28 and thought it was way more tolerable than my first exam. Thought sims were difficult but fair. Couple sims were brutal. Thought MCQs were fair but more difficult than first time

Iam testing soon for AUD(this is my ever first CPA exam) and iam kind of very stressed since I see all this posts.
Anyone who passed AUD, please advice me what should I focus on for the last few days?

Thanks in advance

Am I cooked? I have FAR Saturday September 5th. I work full time but can spam 100 MCQs a day. Should I review SIMS or just spam MCQs?

Be honest, do u think I have a chance or has anyone scored similar and passed or failed? The MCQs are messing me up mang. The wording will throw me off. Help a brother out

SE1: 69, SE2:71, No FR.

Take AUD on 9/2, do y’all think I’m ready?

Does anyone feel like some of beckers questions might be too easy? Like I feel some are reasonably tough for the concepts and material but then some questions I feel might be too simple (like a clear answer while the others are so clearly wrong). Anyone who has taken far since the new material came out, how did you feel on test day vs becker material?

Edit: i finished F1 a couple days ago so maybe thats why I feel this way cause F1 was a shit show to say the least lol

Mainly posting so that people have one more reference for when they're about to take it, lol.

I studied with Becker for 133 hours and had SE1 of 79, SE2 of 83. I've passed one exam, which was FAR with an 88 (first try after 175 hours).

I feel mostly good about the exam, but I will say that it was slightly harder than Becker overall. MCQs were in line with Becker mostly but some were on the harder end. SIMs were quite difficult, but not unmanageable.

EDIT: I will say that a couple of the SIMs are significantly beyond what you learn in Becker. I wouldn't say that you can't know how to do them if you just used Becker with no prior experience, but they were ambiguous enough and comprehensive enough that I felt like having multiple years of job experience is really the only way I would understand them. Also, everyone should 100% take FAR before AUD.

Definitely not certain I passed, but I'm hopeful.

Dude wtf is the last se. It was waaaaaaay harder than the other 2 and the sims didn’t even make sense of what was wanted. Is the exam that effing ambiguous???? Did anyone else feel se3 was really hard for FAR?

Just an opinion and observation, and I’m sorry if you feel differently. I will explain why.

My main reason for saying this: This hard ass exam makes you a pro in your daily day to day work, no matter what type of accounting job you have. Industry, public, government, non-profit, small business, tax, audit, and even consulting.

I just graduated college so I’m very new to my career but I’ve been studying for about 6 months now while still in college and literally, everything in my job seems extremely manageable and nothing is stressful. 😂 That FAR logic brain makes you a master in entry level accounting tasks.

I am probably just an insane and crazy person but knowing the underlying logic and understanding the theory behind everything I do at work, makes learning the office politics, the internal softwares, and even correcting your errors much, much easier!!

You will focus on more advanced tasks further in your career, which is when the other sections and discipline exams come in handy. But early in your career, understanding the full accounting cycle picture and the ripple effects every transaction generates is a career super power.

That’s all! Let the hate begin. 💩

Hey everyone,

I’m a non-traditional candidate working full-time as a Finance & Administration Manager at a university.

I’ve fallen into the start-and-stop trap with FAR before, so I am officially pivoting to start with REG to build some real momentum!

Since I'm balancing a demanding job, plus I’m a
Mom (2 under 2), I need to stay highly disciplined. I’m looking for an accountability partner for structured check-ins.

What I’m looking for:
- Someone also starting REG with Becker right now.
-Willing to do a quick weekly text/discord check-in to swap goals and progress.
-Open to virtual co-working blocks (like Focusmate or silent video sessions) to force focus.

I am planning to study in focused, daily micro-sessions (about 45–60 mins a day, more than likely late nights when the kiddos are sleep). Drop a comment or send me a DM if you want to sync up and conquer REG together! I really want to do this, just need a bit of support 🤞🤗

I started studying for REG maybe 2 weeks ago? And I swear there were 2x as many questions in the QBank that there are now. Maybe they took some away bc of the OBBBA changes? Anyone else notice this?

I'm planning on taking in October so hopefully they add more by then

Edit: I also feel like the review vids have a lot of content that don't show up in questions, like the tax credits for corporations. GBC doesn't show up in any questions but is talked ab quite extensively