Make Study Work
How do you balance your career with the demands of sitting for the Uniform CPA Exam?
By Tamara E. Holmes
Ethics: The Fifth Element
WHEN SAMUEL DELGADO, A CHICAGO-BASED FINANCIAL ANALYST with Abbott Laboratories, was preparing for the Uniform CPA Exam two years ago, he would have done almost anything for just a few free hours to study. However, “I started working about two weeks after I started the CPA review course, so I basically had a whole four months of preparation time where I was working at my full-time job,” he recalls. The result was a period of intense study that was often overwhelming.
Delgado is not alone. Ideally, an accounting professional preparing for the CPA exam would be able to block out the world and focus entirely on review courses and study questions. However, with work responsibilities and personal obligations, that’s unrealistic for many CPA candidates.
But by using a few tried-and-true strategies, and taking advice from the people who have “been there and done that,” students can better manage the rigors of day-to-day work life versus the demands of arduous study.
Make completing the exam a priority, says Debra Hopkins, director of the Northern Illinois University CPA Review courses and author of Get Motivated: You Can Pass the CPA Exam (Wiley, 2005). “Design a realistic completion plan. Be honest with yourself. Match exam plans with your life. A plan to take all four sections during one testing window is dangerous if your work and family life is already loaded. Most candidates take two sections within a testing window.”
“Preparing for the CPA exam can be intimidating,” adds Elizabeth A. Murphy, a DePaul University professor who teaches in the University’s CPA Review course. “But if you’re going to go through the process of trying to become a CPA and take the CPA Exam, your best bet is to commit as much time as you possibly can, because those are the people who pass.”
Strategy 1: Don’t wait to sit Sit as soon as you meet the requirements of the jurisdiction in which you plan to practice. Don’t forget that, those who wait too long after graduating to sit for the exam quickly feel that they have lost the necessary grasp on current professional affairs and developments. Hopkins reminds candidates that today’s exam tests new and revised technical material within six months of release. For example, the revised stock option material, Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123R, is now eligible for testing. “Time becomes your enemy,” she says. “The longer you wait, the more dated your textbooks and classroom materials become.” [ ^Top ]
Strategy 2: Seek work flexibility. For those who are working while readying for the exam, there are strategies to employ to help find that elusive work-study balance. If switching to a part-time schedule isn’t an option, whether because of workload or financial demands, the majority of employers will allow you some degree of flexibility. “It’s important to sit down with your employer to make sure that they know what you’re doing,” says Murphy. “That might mean saying, ‘I will need some time off during a certain time period.’ People might be concerned about doing that, but I think it’s important to sit down and communicate with your bosses what your needs are.”
Efforts to educate employers about the challenges their employees face when studying for the exam are increasing, particularly in light of the rising number of Bachelor’s degrees in accounting versus the declining number of CPA exam candidates. According to a report by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), test-development company Prometric and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the number one reason CPA candidates give for not taking the CPA exam is a lack of time to prepare for it.
The AICPA is urging employers to stress the importance of the exam by tracking employees’ study progress and rewarding them for passing. But that’s not all. The organization is also urging employers to offer time off for studying. “The AICPA’s Private Company Practice Section (PCPS) is encouraging member firms to allow their employees to take the time to prepare for and take the CPA exam,” says Joel Allegretti, spokesman for the AICPA.
When Delgado told his managers about the upcoming exam, they were immediately supportive and allowed him to amend his work schedule. “I had to leave work at 3:30 three nights a week to go to my review class,” Delgado recalls. “My direct manager definitely made it a point to make sure I was able to get out by 3:30 on those three days, as long as I got what I needed to do done.”
Not all employers are supportive, however, says Hopkins. She reminds candidates: “Don’t waste time complaining about lack of support. Passing the exam is your goal. In the end, you—the CPA—receive the direct benefits. Passing the exam gives greater job mobility and flexibility, and a higher overall salary. Look at the time you spend preparing and paying for review materials as a debit to your investment in your future, rather than a debit to CPA exam expenses.” [ ^Top ]
Strategy 3: Maximize your time. And be creative in your study techniques. Do you have a long train commute during which to work? Can you find some quiet time over lunch? Sure, you want some of your day to be about downtime, but this arduous study won’t last forever. And the result—your CPA designation—makes it all well worth the effort and, in some cases, the sacrifice.
“Tape study items to your bathroom mirror,” Hopkins suggests. “Use every spare moment to learn. Brush your teeth and read your review materials. In three days, you’ll have the material down. Say key formulas and definitions out loud. Your brain loves to hear you speak. You will remember the material much longer. Divide the material up into bite-size chunks. You are likely to lose focus and waste time if you study for more than 3 hours at a time.”
“I had my books at my desk,” says Delgado. “When I would go to lunch, I would run downstairs to the cafeteria and grab some food, eat really quickly, and even if I could only get three questions in during that time, that was three questions I didn’t have to do later. I had a friend who literally would take some of his study materials to the gym with him, and while he was on the treadmill, he would do practice questions,” he recalls.
Murphy further notes that, “Candidates often ask how much time is needed to adequately prepare for the CPA exam. That will differ for each individual. As long as a candidate knows that he or she is doing their very best under their circumstances, the candidate will be less anxious at the time of testing and more likely to perform better on the exam.” [ ^Top ]
Strategy 4: Delegate and relegate. The opportunity to delegate personal day-to-day tasks should not be overlooked. CPA candidates who can’t lessen their workloads might be able to find time to study by asking for help at home. “Negotiate with family and friends about helping with meals, helping with cleaning, and helping with getting your stuff to the cleaners,” says Murphy. Groups of CPA candidates also can get together and divide duties, with each candidate taking a turn at organizing dinner and running errands so that other candidates can study.
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Strategy 5: Use the orderly approach. Organization is crucial in managing the preparation process. “Candidates need to set up a schedule of when they’re going to go through each part of a review module,” says Murphy. After that, candidates must follow through and actually complete the work. “If not, they’re going to have to revise their schedules if they get behind,” she says. [ ^Top ]
Strategy 6: Stay happy and healthy. The emotional toll of preparing for the CPA exam must be accounted for, too. “Being technically prepared for the exam is very important, but in order for that to happen, you’ve got to maintain your morale throughout the process so you don’t get down in the dumps and let the whole thing get the best of you,” says Murphy. [ ^Top ]
One way to keep morale up is to find other CPA candidates who are going through the same process, whether co-workers, classmates or friends. “I took part in little study groups,” says Delgado. “I basically spent the whole weekend with other people not only studying, but also venting at the same time. It definitely helped to have people that were supportive and knew what I was going through.”
Hopkins advises being careful when listening to others. “When you talk to CPAs about how they studied, most CPAs took the pencil-based exam. Their experience was very different than the new computer-based experience. Take the time to understand today’s exam by viewing the primary exam website at
www.cpa-exam.org and working the sample CPA exam before you sit for the real one.”
For most CPA candidates, the months spent preparing for the exam will be challenging at best. But by maximizing one’s time and making the most of work and personal relationships, that challenge can be a lot more manageable.
Ethics: The Fifth Element
Effective January 1, 2005, Illinois candidates are also required to pass a separate exam on the rules of professional conduct before they can be certified as CPAs. This is not a new section of the Uniform CPA Exam, but rather an additional course. Currently, the exam requirements are fulfilled by completing the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct Self-study Course, a “take-home” test that can be scheduled at your convenience. You have the choice of a CD-ROM or textbook study module. The course also can be taken to satisfy CPE credit for a number of states.
Hopkins recommends that candidates complete the Ethics exam before they sit for the Regulation exam section. “There is a great deal of overlap between the Ethics exam questions and some of the questions asked on the real CPA exam,” she explains. CPA candidates who have completed this course prior to passing the Uniform CPA exam may have their scores forwarded to the Illinois Board of Examiners office.
To access information about the course and purchase options, visitwww.cpa2biz.com and enter “732305” as your search word. Direct other inquiries to the Illinois Board of Examiners, 100 Trade Centre Drive, Suite 403, Champaign, IL 61820, telephone: 217.531.0950, fax: 217.531.0960, email:help@ilboa.org.
Special Membership Offer: For those individuals who join the Illinois CPA Society as Professional Affiliate members, and who have been approved by the Illinois Board of Examiners to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam, the Society will provide the AICPA ethics self-study exam needed to complete Illinois CPA certification free of charge (a value of $123.50).