CPA Exam Sections: What's the Best Order to Take Them?

Usually, some of the first and most frequently asked questions CPA Exam candidates ask include:

• In what order should I take the sections of the CPA Exam?
• Which section should I start with?
• Which section is the easiest (hardest)?

This is all relative and depends on how comfortable you are with the materials, when you last learned the subjects in school, and if you encounter these subjects at work regularly (such as tax or audit). You can start with your toughest subjects to get them over with and to not let your credits expire. Or, you can build confidence and momentum by taking and passing your easiest part first.

One of the most popular recommended orders used to be: BEC-AUD-REG-FAR or B-A-R-F (get it, barf?). The idea behind this sequence is that your knowledge of the subject matter for each section builds and leads into the next section. You are more likely to remember what you studied on the last part and it would reduce your study time for the next parts.

It looks like that theory is less popular these days, as both Wiley and Becker recommend the order: FAR-AUD-REG-BEC or F-A-R-B. According to them, the research shows that FAR is the hardest part because it covers the most material. They also feel that the subject matter of BEC is the easiest to handle for most candidates.

My original plan this go-round was to take what I THOUGHT would be my hardest to easiest sections in the order: BEC-REG-FAR-AUD. After taking the Exam, I found the ACTUAL order of hardest to easiest sections for me was: REG-FAR-BEC-AUD. Surprisingly, I had to study an excessive amount to pass REG (and I failed it once). And funny enough, I ended up passing them in the order of B-A-R-F.

Here is how I studied for each part, and the reasons why I took them in this order:

BEC: Passed.

I took BEC first since that is the section I always seemed to have a hard time with. I watched all the Wiley videos and did all the knowledge check questions (true/false) at the end and the multiple-choice questions for each part. Then, I did the Task-Based Simulations (TBSs) when I got to the end of each section. I used the app's flashcards and flashcard quiz, and the paper flashcards. Even though I had work experience with budgets and cost accounting, I still looked up any concepts that I needed to reinforce or could not remember from school. I used Wiley’s Focus Notes to review the concepts throughout my studying and as a final review the day before the Exam.

REG: Failed.

I took REG next because I wanted to get it done before the TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017) went into effect. I usually like the Law sections but found studying it this time to be tedious. The result was not great.

AUD: Passed.

I took AUD next because I needed a confidence boost. I have always loved Audit, worked as an auditor, and understood the concepts (maybe there is something wrong with me??). I took a similar approach to BEC (above) but with much less studying. I was glad I did not need to study that much.

REG: Passed.

Studying for REG was like studying for BEC (above), but with even more study effort. This time, to make sure I passed, I also used Wiley's Mentoring feature (where the professors explain the answers to student questions) and their Virtual Class Sessions. And I went through the flashcards to try to memorize many of the concepts. I think these study aids helped a lot and made a huge difference.

FAR: Passed.

Like BEC (above), but I did not have as much time to study. I was forced to take this part before I lost credit for BEC, and this was while Covid-19 was getting started here in NY. Like REG (above), I used the Mentoring feature, but I did not have enough time to watch the Virtual Classes. I used the app a lot to do questions and review flashcards. I even purchased a new GAAP textbook and referred to it for many of the modules. I highly recommend reviewing the GAAP hierarchy, so you are familiar with the layout (either in your CPA Review software, review text, online or in a reference book).  

Which CPA Exam section did you start with or hope to start with? Hopefully, my experience can help you with your studying for the CPA Exam. Good luck!

CPA Exam Study Progress so FAR: Feeling Out of Touch with the Material and a Cram Course to the Rescue

I am not one to complain about feeling old and out of touch since I usually feel young at heart (I wore Hello Kitty and Star Wars bandages this week). And I know that it’s perfectly normal for financial accounting rules to change over the years. But when the fundamentals change, it can cause some fright and panic. Even scarier, it can make you feel out of touch with the material.

If you haven’t taken FAR yet this year and you are like me (more than 10 years out of school and haven’t worked in public accounting for a few years), here are some changes you will notice while studying for FAR in 2011:

• Forget SFAS 109 Accounting for Income Taxes; it is now known as ASC Topic 740 – Income Taxes (check out this link explaining the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC))
• You have to know the rules for IFRS vs. US GAAP
• You also have to note the differences between the FASB Conceptual Framework and the IASB Framework

As I am slowly progressing through my FAR studies (I’m working on Financial Statements this week), I can’t help but feel a bit out of the loop on certain rules. Things I had learned in school, as an auditor or while preparing financials for a public company have all changed. It’s like the ground has shifted underneath me. I am getting through the material, but I just need some reinforcement.

In order to kick things up a notch, I decided to order the Roger CPA Review Cram Course to supplement the Yaeger course that I have been using for FAR. I have used a Roger Cram Course for REG before and he did a good job explaining difficult concepts, so hopefully, this will help. I expect to receive the Cram later this week and will be sure to write something about it.

What has helped you get back in touch with the material when you’ve felt lost studying new or significantly changed topics?

It’s Been a Long Time

It’s been a long time…
I shouldn’t have left you
Without a strong post to read through


Okay, okay. I’m not Eric B & Rakim but that song (“I Know you Got Soul”) immediately came to mind while I was typing the title of this post.

As you know, I took a break from this blog several months ago.

What you don’t know are the reasons why.

You might have considered that my absence was due to failing BEC and as a result losing FAR. That alone is not the reason I stopped writing. I still had credit for Regulation and Audit so I took some time off and then continued to take the exam. I ended up taking BEC again in August which I failed with a 69, and then again in October which I also failed but with a 74 (bangs head against brick wall).

At that time, a few non-CPA Exam-related things took place in my life. Work hours became crazy (and I mean more so than usual), then a series of bad events transpired which I will not get into here, followed by my sustaining an injury which made mobility difficult. I concentrated on work, the people in my life and my health.

Things seem to have settled down for now and to summarize where I am today CPA Exam-wise: I lost my FAR and AUD credits, I can’t pass BEC for anything (seriously I’ve taken it half a dozen times), but at least I retain my REG credit until this fall.

I still have a number of draft posts I wrote while/after taking my BEC exams but did not get a chance to post. I plan to post them to share my test-taking experiences with you.

I have also signed up to re-take FAR in July. So that means some studying this month which I will have to write about.

As for new meals, my injury prevented me from standing for long periods of time. However, I have been able to start cooking again and now have more time to rediscover my love of cooking. This summer I want to make some more creative and healthy meals which I hope you will like.

Which Will I have to Buy – a CPA Review Book or a Picture Frame for my CPA License?

This is where I am now - waiting for my BEC grade.

This grade is a pivotal factor - if I pass BEC, I will have finally passed the CPA exam after taking it 10 years on and off (yes, it took that long!). If I fail BEC, I lose my FAR credit (noooo!) and will have to re-take both BEC and FAR. It took me multiple tries to pass FAR so it would be devastating to lose it. I can't imagine having to go through that again, especially at this point in my career.

My words of advice – try to pass the CPA Exam as soon as you get out of school. Become one of those "slackers" who sit in the office unassigned studying instead of asking to help on clients. I used to think they were goofing off - you're being paid to work, not to study. But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Those of my colleagues who studied passed in a year or two (with some exceptions, of course), while I increased my billable hours. They may or may not be doing as well as me now, but at least they are done with the CPA Exam.

I haven't posted anything in a while because my energy has been zapped between work, studying, work, life, work and work. I like my job and am happy to have it, but the hours have been long the past few months. Instead of writing for my blog, I end up going to sleep early or napping during my commute (I am actually typing this draft into my phone while fighting sleep during my morning commute). Must get ideas out before eyes close.

A few really cool things have happened that I would like to tell you about:

- My blog was mentioned in CGA Magazine in a piece called Blogging by Numbers by Mindy Abramowitz! I am under the category “Accountants-to-be Who Blog” (although I am more of a CPA-to-be since I am an accountant) I am so honored! CGA Magazine is published by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada. I want to say hi to all my Canadian readers!

- My blog is one year old :) Yay! It all started when I was looking for an outlet while unemployed and trying to pass the CPA Exam. Here are my first few posts.

- My garden is thriving. There were a few casualties though (peppers and eggplant plants) due to too much water collecting in one of the containers. I planted my vegetable plants in pots since the soil in my yard was too hard to dig. The lesson here: Make sure all your pots have drainage holes! I will write more about my garden in other posts.

- I passed REG! I was surprised because I had a really bad experience at the test center even before the test started. I had written a draft about it and will post it soon.

How are you doing? Let me know in the comments! Let me know if you are waiting for your grade in Wave 2 of this April-May testing window as well. Hopefully, we will all receive some good news this week!

A Cold Saturday Night

On this cold Saturday night in February, I am coming back to my blog.

New York was spared from major snowfall today. We just received a light dusting where I live. But it is still frigid outside, so I figure I will take this opportunity to get back to my favorite but recently neglected hobby.

I had taken some time off from posting for personal reasons. It is so sad that the thing that brings me the most joy was the easiest to drop when I needed to find more time for other things important at the time. I feel like my creativity has suffered and I lost touch with the blogging community as I haven’t kept up with my favorite blogs. (I will try to catch up ASAP!)

I am taking REG at the end of the month and have been trying to study. Unfortunately, as I am sure some of you have found, this is not an easy time to study. Calendar year-end close, reporting deadlines, auditors, January month-end close… there were so many things going on at work. Hopefully, next week I can start leaving work at a normal hour so I can have enough time to study in the evening.

I am using my Wiley book and plan to start with Business Law tomorrow. I want to get through a decent amount of material and leave the multiple choice questions to answer during my commute to and from work.

Is anyone else sitting (or have you sat) for a CPA Exam part in Jan-Feb? Have you found it difficult to find the time to study?

Why Can’t I Pass BEC?

***2016 Update is here***

Last night, it was windy and rainy here in NY, so we had a nice dinner at home. I made salmon steaks with rice pilaf. We paired the meal with a delicious Greek dry white wine – Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko-Athiri Santorini 2007.

After a very satisfying dinner and plenty of wine, I wasn't quite ready to jump back in to studying for REG. I checked my e-mails instead and was excited to see an e-mail from Another 71's site announcing that BEC grades were released! I sat for BEC in October and have been anxiously waiting for my grade. I know with BEC it can go either way (that is one deceptive test).

After entering the required info on the NASBA score page, I saw what I thought was a joke - a 68.

Wasn’t that my grade the last time I took it? I re-checked my NTS and I had entered the correct Section ID. Hmm... I checked my grades spreadsheet and saw I had scored a 67 the last time I took BEC. OK so this is definitely my score. Not just a failing grade, but only a 1 point increase.

Was I disappointed? Of course. I was hoping to print out a screen shot of a passing score to hang on my fridge door under the FAR and AUD score screen shots. Was I upset or crying (like the last time I failed a part)? Surprisingly, no. I was confused and wondered what sections I bombed. Nevertheless, the analysis will have to wait until the Candidate Performance Report arrives in the mail next week. What was my reaction then? I calmly logged onto Prometric's site and moved my REG exam from next Sunday to the end of January.

Want to know the reason why I didn't pass BEC?

I don't give myself enough time to study. I always start out strong and end up either procrastinating or something happens to me that moves studying to the back burner (working crazy hours, sustaining an injury). I want to do it right with REG; extra time but no procrastination. I will resume my studying today.

Interestingly enough, this clarity came after several glasses of wine, something that should impair this type of thinking.

Every time I fail, I wonder if this is for me. It’s perfectly logical to question yourself. If you keep trying and failing, you wonder if it's something you should stop pursuing.

I think like this for a few minutes and then I became angry. I am good at what I do. I may not be able to pass this stupid test but I'm not giving up. Why shouldn't I be a CPA? What makes someone who passed the exam any better than me at my job? Nothing! I don't care what anyone says. I will be a CPA in 2010!

Anyone else receive a failing CPA Exam score from this Oct-Nov score release? Feel free to vent in the comments. You are not alone! We can do it next time!

I’m Back!

I want to apologize to my readers because I haven’t posted in a while.

For a little more than a month, I put in long hours at work due to a special project, severely limiting the amount of free time I had. I dedicated any extra time to studying for REG, but it was really difficult. Those hours weren't quality study hours since they were first thing in the morning while I was half asleep or late at night when I should be sleeping.

Two weeks before the CPA Exam, I was so frustrated that I began to debate whether I should even bother taking REG and wrote:

As I am sitting on an evening train home from work on Friday night, I am having a difficult time focusing on REG. I am so frustrated that I’m using the loose leaf scratch paper I was solving REG questions on to write this post to vent.

I never got a chance to post it, but it was good to let the frustration out through writing. I decided to commit to studying so I could pass REG. I started doing more questions and made a lot of progress.

I was on a roll, so of course something had to happen to derail my efforts. I sustained an eye injury at the worst possible time for studying but the best for work. It prevented me from making that final push to study at the end and from sitting for the Exam. The timing was fine at work because I was helping lead training sessions so I had a nice break from the computer.

I am fine now and since that project at work has wound down (at least for the time being), my work hours are more normal. Hopefully, my brain will resume thinking creatively so I can write more often.

What Happened to Studying for REG?

You may recall that at the end of April, after taking Audit, I was ready to start studying to re-take Regulation. I had planned to sit for REG near the end of May, giving me approximately 4 weeks to study. Of course, nothing goes as intended (especially within such a tight timetable). I got sick (severe sinus issues) and had interviews, and as a result, I didn't get much studying done.

I rescheduled the exam for mid-July, which seems so far away. That’s why I have been procrastinating! It also doesn't help that I didn't receive my Audit grade yet – it has been 1.5 months already!

Since I will be starting my new job soon (some good news!), I have to get as much studying done as I can in the next couple of weeks. I have access to the Roger Online Cram (I watched 2 classes and they were really engaging!). I hope it will be give me those extra points I need to pass (I failed by 9 points last time). I also have the Yaeger Home Study course from when I last took REG in January. I will use it as an in depth review for areas I am not as confident with. I have the 2009 Wiley book as well.

I have to stop delaying and start studying!

I always seem to have problems getting and staying motivated to study. How is everyone else doing with their studying (CPA Exam, GMATs, anything)? Let me know!

Preparing to Re-take REG

I am going to start studying for REG on Tuesday night (3 days after taking AUD). I have my new Wiley book, my Yaeger Home Study DVDs (from last time), and my Wiley Software all ready to go.

Since I used the Yaeger Cram DVD for AUD, I want to purchase a Cram for REG. I used Yaeger’s Home Study but no Cram the last time I took REG. I was 9 points away from passing, so maybe something new can shake things up a bit and make a difference in my performance. I don’t want to spend the money for another course right now since I’m unemployed, so I am looking for a Cram.

I went online to check out Roger CPA Review’s Cram since I keep reading that CPA Candidates like his energy and enthusiasm. The price for the online version is more than the Yaeger unlimited-use DVD. I watched a 7 min demo for Roger’s regular Tax course and I was really impressed. The instructor possessed a great deal of energy and emphasized key points. I recommend checking out the 7 min demo to see his mnemonic for Adjustments To/From AGI (Roger Demos). *10/21/16 update: The demo is no longer up, but you can check out Roger's Cram course here.*

Like I said I was really impressed with the demo, so I am seriously thinking of trying out the Cram. Has anyone used the Roger Cram? Let me know what you think of it. Any info would be helpful! Thanks!

REG in May

I’m psyched but nervous!
I just got my NTS for Regulation and set up my Prometric appointment right away.

So, I have 6 weeks to study after Audit. Plenty of time; well, it should be as long as I don’t procrastinate after taking Audit.

REG – you’re going down!

Signing Up to Re-take REG

I just cleared the first hurdle – I purchased the NTS to re-take Regulation.

I just couldn't motivate myself to do this, but now I’m over it. I am so determined to stop this seemingly never-ending cycle of test-taking.

When I receive my NTS in a few days, I will schedule the test for May. I thought I could be a CPA before June, but it looks like it will take a little longer.

I am on my way!

Have you ever felt discouraged at re-taking a part of the CPA Exam that you thought you would have been done with? Please share.

Analyzing the Candidate Performance Report

The Candidate Performance Report is printed on the back of the Score Notice. It compares your performance with the performance of passing candidates for each Content Area. It also evaluates your overall performance in Multiple Choice, Simulations and Written Communications compared to passing candidates. Here's a link to the AICPA's FAQ for Candidate Performance Reports: http://www.cpa-exam.org/cpa/diagnostic_report_faqs.html. It also has a link to a sample report (PDF).

I understand that the Candidate Performance Report isn't a precise or completely reliable measurement (it even states that on the bottom of the page), but it’s the best tool we are given to analyze our performance and come up with a plan of action for passing the next time around.

I received my Candidate Performance Report for REG the other day and was very eager to analyze my grade per section compared with the last time I sat for this part. I received the same grade both times, despite additional studying, so I wondered what went wrong.

The result was rather shocking.

Business Law and Property Transactions remained relatively unchanged; this I expected. However, Ethics & Responsibilities was a surprise because my performance declined significantly. Maybe I didn't take that section as seriously since I did very well on it last time. On the other hand, I was happy to see that my extra study efforts for the Entity Taxation segment were well worth it; increasing my grade for that area considerably.

From this data, I realize that concentrating on weak areas at the expense of stronger areas is not the way to pass. I was close to a passing grade (9 points away), so the strategy made sense. But I don’t want to risk failing again, so I plan to study and do questions on all areas equally (and do questions at least twice for all sections) when I re-take REG in May.

Do you use your Candidate Performance Report to analyze your performance? Do you base your study plan on this report? Or do you just throw it in a drawer and start from scratch? Let me know what you do.

The Madness of the CPA Exam

Have you ever taken a part CPA Exam and thought you passed but ended up failing?

It happened to me on Monday.

I was anxiously waiting to check my grade on Monday morning. I expected to have cleared 2 out of 4 parts. I thought with FAR and REG out of the way (and I took BEC last week), I only have AUD to go in April. I would be a CPA in May. I was so happy and thought finally this test is going my way.

But instead I wanted to cry (and I did) when I saw my failing grade.

What made it a hundred times worse is that it was the SAME EXACT grade I had the last time I took it!

How could it be? I studied many more hours and understood the material so much better this time. How is it possible that you could know so much after studying and taking an exam - I mean enough to believe you can teach it to someone - and end up failing? When other people ask me this I say "Welcome to the CPA Exam." When I say it, I think "There must be something wrong here. Did I enter the wrong NTS?"

Nope. The NTS number was correct. It is what it is, so I am going to have to get over it and start studying for the next part in April. This part I will re-take in May.

Have you had a similar, frustrating experience taking the Exam? Please leave a comment!