In case you forgot, I’m still…uh, studying for the CPA Exam.
I took and passed two parts of the 4-part exam this year. That means…2 more to go.
However, while I was very disciplined about studying daily over the spring and summer for the first two tests, this fall my studying has dwindled significantly. Several personal and family related things have come up that have taken up a lot of my time and energy. Plus, since I was sick all week, my head felt like a hot-air balloon which doesn’t help studying along too much.
But it’s not just that, the section I’m studying now – Regulation (tax & law) – is kicking my behind. I’ve been working on Chapter 1 for like a month. Partly because I’m not on a disciplined study schedule and partly because I’m not picking up the material as quickly as I did for the parts I’ve already passed. Who knew Capital Gains & Losses were so confusing! No wonder people hire CPAs to do their taxes!
It was my original goal to take Regulation by the end of November, and clearly that’s not gonna happen. No one can sit for the exam in December, so my next date is the first week of January. That means I’ve got 41 days to get my little butt into gear and hit the books.
Another thing that is really holding me back is section 4. It is looming over my head like a huge black storm cloud. I decided to take the hardest and biggest part of the exam last. That beast goes by the name of Financial Accounting & Reporting. I am deathly afraid of it. CPAs who made it out alive from that particular test recommend a good 3 months of studying for it. *shiver*
All I’ve wanted to do for the past 2 months is have fun and not think about studying…AKA procrastinate. But, the longer I push back the CPA, the longer my life is put on hold. Did I mention that I have to pass the next two tests by next November? So that means if I fail a test, I have to re-take it and pass the other by then. It sounds easy, but many people have missed the deadline before, and I don’t want to be one of them.
Wish me good luck, willpower, and the discipline to study! I’ll need it!
Blonde & Balanced 
GOOD LUCK! YOU CAN DO IT!! 😀
I’m in the same boat. I started off strong, studying for the CFA, and now that the Level I exam is less than THREE WEEKS away, I am dying… (There are three levels, each significantly harder than the prior one.)
The most difficult and largest portion of the Level I exam is (get this!)… Financial Statement Reporting & Analysis. All accounting, since accounting & finance go hand-in-hand!
(Btw, if I don’t pass Level I now, I can take it again in June. But I don’t even want to think about that!)
It’s so easy to start off strong & be super motivated….and then get distracted by, well, life! 🙂 Hang in there! That’s so funny that part of your test is Accounting!! I guess it overlaps, huh?
Ohh, I know what you mean – I was SO paranoid about failing the first two. I about had a heart attack each time I was waiting for my score! Not only because I didn’t want to put more time into studying for the tests (again!), but I also didn’t want to shell out hundreds more dollars for each test! That would get expensive!! 🙂
You can do it! You go girl!
That is so funny that you wrote about this because I was looking at your sidebar and noticed that the next exam date was November 2009.
That said just buckle down and you’ll do it. I’m not studying for any beasts such as the CFA or the CPA (God Bless You Both!), but I do have a bully called the GMAT to conquer in March.
I’ll keep tabs on you and you keep tabs on me.
Hi there! Good luck with your exam, I am also studying for cpa exam. It is hard in fact I failed bec with 74! can you believe it?