r/CPA

Did the exam get harder or is everyone on here just a tax professional. I have tax experience as well but This exam was way harder than I expected. If you’re studying don’t fall victim to the low studying hours. I’d say put in 100% of effort.

Hi all,

I feel I should have passed my second attempt last month but I didn’t have time to study because my job required 60 hrs of work plus I had to drive there and back 1 hr and 10 minutes each way.

I felt ready before starting the job. I quit the job and now i’m studying again and it’s like I forgot everything.. I got a 63 and 68.

Now I feel I’m as good as someone who’d get a 40.

I’m trying to push myself to study but I’m not retaining anything.

I don’t want to give up but I’m really frustrated and need advice. I took the day off studying for the weekend but nothing has changed. I’m getting everything wrong and my critical thinking has been shit.

Hi everyone - I’m looking for advice from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.

I graduated with an accounting degree 15 years ago and have been working in corporate accounting/finance (FP&A, month-end close, sales tax, project accounting). I also have an MBA. I finally decided to go for the CPA and I’m finishing my last class for CPA licensing in May. Now I’m trying to figure out which study path I should take.

My situation:

- Don’t remember much of the academic/theory side

- Some real-world experience

- Work full-time and have a family (spouse + 3 young kids)

- A good mobile app would be helpful

I’m considering UWorld, Becker, and Surgent.

For those out of school for a while:

- What course worked best for you and why?

- Did you need more teaching or just practice questions?

- How important was the mobile app?

- Anything you wish you did differently starting out?

Any insight is appreciated - especially from those balancing work and family. Thanks!

I was planning to take REG and then TCP after due to the high test scores, but I am hearing that a big reason everyone does well in both of those sections is because a larger portion of test takers work in tax compared to audit. I worked in audit for 3 busy seasons ending in 2024 and have worked in private since. I am going for my CPA to help my chances of moving up to a controller/manager type role. Anyways, with my work experience would I be better off taking the ISC or BAR then banking on an easy pass with TCP? I also recently took the audit exam and was thinking maybe I should knock out my discipline exam first before moving onto REG. I have already passed FAR.

I’d love to hear any recommendations or suggested guidance.

Rumours are somewhat true.. Becker helps you get familiar.. But a lot of mcqs were unseen and new to me.

On the other hand, there wasn't as much SOC as I'd read other candidates' stories.

I'd say MCQs were trickier than SIMS

4/6 were easy.

1 was 50-50 tricky and for the remaining one omg... I'd hadn't heard of the concept.. What's UML?

Wondering if there were others who felt the same?

Complex returns you know going in. You allocate time, you expect surprises, you plan for review. It's the W-2 only client who somehow has a cost basis issue, an HSA contribution problem, and a state residency question buried in there that gets me. Looks like a 20 minute return, turns into 90.

The harder part is there's no reliable way to screen for it upfront. Nothing in the document list flags it. You only find out once you're already in the return and by then the time is gone. Curious how others handle the gap between what a return looks like at intake and what it actually turns into.

Anybody else can’t wait for 4/9 to come sooner. I took AUD on 3/30 and can’t help fight the feeling I failed and just wanna know now. I have so many things coming up in April/May studying after a fail would be close to impossible until June which would completely push my cpa timeline.

I scored 74 and 79 on Becker sim exams but the real exam was so different and had some stuff I’d never seen I don’t know what to expect now.

I guess the only thing to do now is wait and see…

Just wondering if anyone has any tips or areas to focus studying on? Took SE1 and got a 56% so I need all the help I can get

Just wondering if anyone has any tips or areas to focus studying on? Took SE1 and got a 56% so I need all the help I can get

Who else is counting down to doomsday? Score release in 3 days. What is everyone doing to keep their mind off of it? For context I have young toddlers, work full time, and am studying for Reg. My hands are full as is but yet I can’t stop thinking about the score release date. 3 days feel like 3 months! This sucks I feel like we are in 2026 and scores should be released within 1 week of taking the test.

I’ve been hammering mcqs ATLEAST 39 a day. I’m averaging about 60% on the practice tests I take. I’ve been slowing going back over each section as well. I am in public so trying to study as much as can during busy season. I’m halfway through going over M3 again. I just feel like I should be scoring higher on my practice tests. There are some i’ve gotten 70-80s but most i’m getting 56-62

Hello, I got a 74 on audit way back in January and haven’t touched the content since due to busy season. Now that I have freed up a bit what is the best course of action to get me over 75. I want to retake asap

Hey everyone,

I studied pretty seriously for FAR for about 3 months straight, almost daily. However, I didn’t practice with Simulated Exams (SE), and unfortunately, I ended up failing with a 49. That was back in September.

After that, I took a break for a while, and now I’m getting back into studying. I just scheduled my FAR exam for May 5th, which gives me about a month.

Now I’m wondering — is one month enough, or should I reschedule it to May 24th?

For context:

•	I can study 1.5 hours per day, 5 days a week

•	And 3 hours per day on weekends

So overall, my study time is somewhat limited.

Do you think May 5th is realistic, or would May 24th be a safer choice?

Also, what would be the best study strategy in my situation?

Appreciate any advice

I ve been using miles and cleared far and Aud exam But wondering if MILES is enough for Reg also ? Views and opinions please ?

Hi everyone,

I just received an “Ineligible” status for the Montana CPA exam today after my NIES evaluation, and I’m trying to understand what went wrong. While I don’t have a detailed report yet, I’m starting to think it might be due to insufficient accounting credits.

Here is my background:

- College Diploma in International Business from Canada
- Additional accounting coursework completed separately from my college program

I completed Accounting I at College, and all of my other accounting courses were taken separately outside of my college program. These are accounting-related courses I took below:

https://preview.redd.it/evsrmxhhfltg1.png?width=382&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f127db0d747fac3cdb9a4ee6b011c9dc2fa4058

However, I was still found ineligible. I have already contacted NIES, and I am waiting their reply.

At this point, I’m starting to think that some of my courses may not have been counted as accounting credits. I’m starting to think that taking a couple more accounting courses might be the most realistic option, but I feel anxious about the delay, so I wanted to ask for advice.

So I have a few questions:

1. Has anyone had a similar experience where some accounting courses were not counted?
2. How strict is NIES in classifying courses like Tax, Accounting Theory, or AIS?
3. Did submitting course descriptions/syllabi help in getting additional credits recognized?
4. Is it more realistic to just take a couple more accounting courses instead of trying to dispute the evaluation?

I’d really appreciate any insight or similar experiences. This process is more confusing than I expected.

Thanks in advance.

Hi all,

I received a notice from the CBA that I was in violation of CCR section 87(a)(1) – "Basic Requirements “(a)(1) A licensee renewing a license in an active status, shall complete a minimum of 20 hours in each year of the two-year license renewal period, with a minimum of 12 hours of the required 20 hours in technical subject areas as described in subsection (a)(2).”

They want to fine me $150. This was my first renewal and I heard from a co-worker that the 20 hour minimum requirement wasn't applicable for for first-time renewals, which is why I completed all of the hours my second year.

If anyone has been in a similar situation and has appeal, what's your situation and is it likely for a successful appeal? Or should I just pay the $150.

I’m starting TCP studying today. Going to take my exam at the end of the month (30th). This is will be the first exam I don’t have a significant amount of time to study for so I’m wondering what are the best tips for studying quickly. I’m thinking no/light notes. Complete one section a day. Hammering MCQS and TBS. Review in the last week. How does this sound? What work for you guys?

I pretty much specialized in large corporate tax compliance & provision 90% of my tax life.

I was so confident going in TCP thinking i pretty much mastered c corp and 1231 1245 crap.

Boy i was wrong. all these basis and distribution crap is something that I've never really cared at work, and it is getting to me now.

I blame US government for making so complicated tax law.