How I Passed The CPA Exam & Is The CPA Worth It?

[adeyemiolaogun]

Took me 9 months. Worked full-time had no life. Need about 20-25 hours a week to study. I passed all four parts on the first try. FAR-89 BEC-85 REG-84 AUD-81.

[PaulDeLeo]

Same here: lived in mom's basement and made studying for the CPA exam my full-time job for 6 months. I had a 2.2 accounting GPA and passed all 4 parts on the first try. Back in 1995, it was only offered twice a year. it was a 2 day, 16 hour exam (4 hours per part) conducted with pencil and paper in a conference room with 100's other people.

[yimb]

Took it 3 times, starting in 1999. Failed all 3 times. Only have a 4 year BA. Work in Corporate Tax for a Fortune 50. Hours aren't bad. Money is great ($150k + pension + LTIs + great healthcare). Moral of the story? You rarely "need" a CPA in the corporate world, with the one exception maybe being a department head. They prize experience and skill set over everything else.

[NathanLeeCFP]

I agree. The CPA letters, along with other hard to get designations really do help you stand out and shows that you have a level of professional understanding a cut above most.

[PerryWarjiyo-zbil]

Passing the CPA exams is when you study hard, if you can't study or you don't have time for your studies I'd advise you get yourself a help like Mr Willard.

[testadelcomputer]

I am a CPA in Italy (Dottore Commercialista).
The exam is very hard and the program is extremely wide.
At the oral exam i was lucky because the examinator asked me what i have been doing at job and i have explained that i don't work in taxes but i do company valuations and he was very kind to ask me field related questions plus some theorical tax principles that i knew. I have thanked him a lot.

[manoftomorrow]

Saying that having the CPA gets you higher paying jobs and in the same sentence saying that getting the CPA isn’t necessary is madness. Figure out your goals…if you want to get the high paying accounting jobs in life, you NEED a CPA. Do not play yourself…experience is key but those certificates give you the cut above the rest. I didn’t have to do my Masters after getting the ACCA (British CPA), but it has opened me to the CFO roles that I now currently hold.

[yaratzedalamosantiago]

I have 7 years in experience on public accounting. No cpa… now I’m thinking on getting it

[jerrie_CPA]

Just subscribed! I remember watching a couple of your videos about a year ago as I was starting my career switch from a lab tech to an accountant (studying for the CPA exams right now!). All your videos are professionally made and highly underrated. Keep up the amazing work, Logan!

[stevenbartell]

When i took the CPA exam over 40 years ago, the exam was 20 hours long. The financial section was 8 hours, and i scored an 86. The theory, audit, and tax sections were 4 hours each, and my scores were 75, 75, and 77 respectively. The CPA designation is worth it. It opens the door to more opportunities during your career than you can imagine.

[LuisPerez-fcxr]

Congrats on being shouted out in the Accounting Today journal! 🎉

[Liam]

Great insight on the EA. Just my experience, the EAs I have worked with have been less full of themselves than the CPAs. They also have more knowledge in the areas of Quickbooks and what to worry about in bookkeeping and what not to worry about. CPAs, in my experience, have missed deadlines, just don't seem to have the knowledge base of the EAs, and are HORRIBLE communicators. Sorry to pee in anyone's cheerios, but this is just what I have experienced in my three companies over the years. There was a time when a CPA told me there was a huge problem in my books and then ghosted me for three weeks while I stressed out about it trying to figure out what I did wrong. When I finally got hold of him, there was no problem. I have NEVER had that experience with the EA's.

[wannabedal-adx]

It's nice to see more professionals seeing that skills are more important than education. With that, I think CPA's are important and needed if you want to do audit and attestation work. Otherwise, the EA cert is easier (but not easy), give you the same practice rights as a CPA, but is more transferable. Good stuff. I do want to see your view on AI replacing accountants or how to develop jr accountants with the heavy use of AI in accounting.

[seananderson]

damn boutta be halfway thru community college to transferring to instate university for accounting to become a cpa one day. path doesn’t sound easy but glad i found your channel

[pearlivory]

I graduated in 2012, didn’t have enough credits so I did a masters program while working and started studying in 2015. I passed BEC and AUD but life just took over….. now it’s 2024. I’ve been a manager and started my own side practice… looking to try again… I don’t need it necessarily, I’ve been able to make $130k without it… and I tend to stand out with my work compared to those who have CPAs but horrible people skills… my goal is to start a family and switch over to part time consulting and work at a high billing rate. Think the CPA would help me achieve that. And I’d probably want to become an accounting professor later later.

[anthonysampson]

Great Video Logan! The Audit function is definitely worth the CPA! Also there are certain services that a CPA can license is needed. Especially in my state when it comes to film credits. CPA can review Financials for a movie and write a comfort letter stating that these expenses were incurred in the GA. This will save the film company substantial time in obtaining there film credits.

[Fundzter]

Thanks for this video man cause it’s kicking my ass

[set]

agree - I blame the decline of the license on AICPA and TXCPA

[stacy]

The CPA exam is like the final boss of test taking ..and conquering test taking is the ultimate factor of obtaining and retaining knowledge….

[michellehall]

New sub here! I’m studying for FAR now. Congratulations on completing you exams and getting your license!