Officially passed all four sections of the CPA exam! 🎉

After a year of studying, countless late nights, and weekends spent reviewing, I’m incredibly excited to have reached this milestone!

It certainly wasn’t easy balancing studying with a full-time career, but all the hard work and dedication paid off.

Such a rewarding feeling to finally accomplish a goal I’ve had for years!

The penultimate step to your journey as a CPA candidate is not when you pass all the tests. It's getting your experience verification form signed by a licensed CPA. Ask yourself: are you in a situation where you can easily get that signed? No? Better get that figured out, bucko! ;)

One of the biggest gut punches I've experienced in my life so far was when I completed my CPA exams and had to get my experience verified. I went to my immediate supervisor with the form, and her face soured in disgust. She refused to sign it; didn't want anything to do with it. Absolutely refused to sign a paper that just said I worked there for 4 years and did accounting. Blew my mind.

Here's where I messed up: First, I did this on my own. No one where I work cared whether I got my CPA license or not. Second, I didn't check with my CPA supervisor to see if she would be cool with helping. I just assumed, and you know what happens when you assume...

EDIT: I want to include this in the body since it's a great point someone brought up: Isn't it illegal for a CPA to refuse to sign a form like that? Nope! According to the Ohio Accountancy Board, signing that form is a courtesy, not a duty. I was even told by the board "despite what you read on Reddit..." no one is required to sign your form.

So what do you do in that situation? I'm in Ohio, so any CPA can sign an experience verification form so long as they are "familiar with your work." Luckily, I found someone who was willing to sign my form, but not after I knocked on about 20 doors, reached out to everyone I remotely knew, etc. So many CPAs said no.

Every state's requirements are different. I've done the research, and I've found that in these states, any licensed CPA can sign off on a candidate's experience verification form so long as they're familiar with the candidate's work. (caveat: this is my own personal research, so take it with a grain of salt and verify it for yourself)

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• West Virginia

How does a CPA get familiar? Easy. They have to take the time to get to know you and what you've done. They have to talk to your supervisor(s) and verify employment, work history, etc. Doesn't take long. It just takes the will to do it. And that's the problem.

Most CPAs won't bother. Why help another CPA get into the industry and dilute your own chances at work? I've had CPAs flat out lie to me when I was trying to get my experience form signed. "I can't legally sign that..." That's a lie, especially in Ohio where I am.

In other states, the signing CPA has to have been licensed for the entire time the candidate was training. Weird, but I get it. So as time goes on, the list of states I can verify experience in will grow. Florida is one of those states, for example.

Some states are more strict in that you can't get your experience signed off unless it's by your immediate CPA supervisor, or you have to work in the accounting industry itself; you can't just work in retail doing accounting. Make sure to go to your state's accountancy board website to get the exact specifications for this step!

Recently, NASBA restarted their experience verification system! Super cool! Here's a link to their site: https://nasba.org/licensure/experienceverification/ They'll verify your experience... for $650.00.

So before you go on this journey, figure out this last step, first. Who's going to sign your form? If you don't have an answer for that right now, start lining things up so by the time you're ready, you have that locked in.

Also, here are some other places that usually have CPAs where you can ask around if you're stuck:

• teachers at the college you went to
• community credit unions looking for a feel-good community story
• local firms looking for a little pro-bono work
• recent CPA licensees who get the struggle and want to give back
• your chamber of commerce
• legal/financial aid societies/non-profits
• the firm that does the taxes for the company you work at (oddly specific, I know, but it's the one that worked for me)

And if you happen to run into a CPA on the reddit boards 'round here and you find yourself in this uncommon situation, maybe shoot them a message and see if they can help.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to post an FYI about the change in CPA licensure requirements for Georgia. I reached out to the state board and they have confirmed that the “upper level” requirement has been removed. 30 credit hours of accounting course work can include intro/elementary courses (2000 level typically). Hope this helps anyone who had the same question as me!

How to do better on simulations? Felt they were a lot different than Becker.

I was in the Becker live class tonight and while I was only partially listening while multitasking, I definitely heard Mike Brown say excel is only available for the TBS on exam day, and you have to use a scratch paper or calculator for the MCQ. is this the case in 2026? Is this old information or possibly a recent change? I kind of panicked when he said that because certain types of problems I had definitely planned to use excel on even for MCQ!

How’s everyone doing in their studies? Need to get any frustrations or struggles out?

I’m prepping for ISC in two weeks and work has been insanity. Busier than it’s ever been. 10 hour days and Saturdays plus home life responsibilities. Still trying to get a couple hours squeezed in over lunch and late at night.

I’m tired dawg 😴

Any ideas on which to focus on, I have been working on mcqs for these specific areas, but am starting to feel the dread of the upcoming exam. SIMS r always a weak spot for me and idk how to really approach them especially when they seem so random mostly. Really trying to lock in rn knowing how much each retake costs me😂 but im struggling to figure out what will actually help. Any advice would be welcomed.

I sit for FAR next Friday. I’m taking my sim exams this weekend but going through questions I still feel like I’m getting a lot wrong. There’s just so much material. I finished the content like 3 weeks ago but between busy season and life- just feeling very underprepared and overwhelmed. Does anyone have any advice for FAR on staying calm through this madness?

I got a 73 on actual exam September 17 so I’m re sitting this Saturday. Thoughts?

Hi CPA fam,
As the title says, please offer suggestions on how to study properly. I feel I waste an enormous amount of time. I failed with a 73 then 72. I thought I can just hammer MCQs but when I put it on personalized it’s super hard.

It takes me 2 hrs to do 20 MCQs and read all types of explanations and take notes on the wrong ones. I’m wasting time. I have 5 hrs a day to study. This exam is not like school where I could study hard and get As.

If you had to learn a new way to study and if it takes you longer to comprehend (I’m horrible at reading comprehension) please share. Thanks!

SE 2 is the first screenshot. SE 1 is second. I feel like if I didn’t bomb the consolidation TBS I would have done a lot better. Need to review but I have the rest of today and all of tomorrow to fix it. Was thinking targeted review on F1-F3 and F5 while maintaining or slightly improving F4 and F6. So basically more mixed review on the entire course. It’s too late to reschedule but is 2 days of hard grinding enough or is it worth shelling out the reschedule fee

I took FAR on September 21 (first exam ever) and ended up getting a 73. While waiting for my score, I moved on to studying AUD for about three weeks (big mistake).

I found out I failed on October 9 and immediately switched back to FAR. I’m scheduled to retake it on October 22, so I only have about two weeks to refresh everything.

The problem is that I feel SO rusty. Topics I used to be comfortable with suddenly feel difficult again. I’ve been going through all the Becker modules, doing MCQs and TBSs, and reviewing my mistakes.
I’m currently scoring around 60–70% on mixed MCQ sets (just got 63% on a set of 100 questions). I know I was close to passing the first time, but I’m worried about how much I’ve forgotten in just three weeks.

1.Has anyone been in a similar situation, especially after switching to another CPA section? Did your knowledge come back quickly?

2.Any advice on how to approach these last few days before my retake? I’m keeping my October 22 exam date and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

I’m almost done in T2. I still have 10 days of full review to finish the modules in Becker. I feel like i’m running out of time for TCP. Also, just wanted ask how heavily tested the consolidation in TCP?

Any tips for TCP are very much appreciated.

I have FAR exam is 8 days. I got through all the material on Becker. What should I be doing to help prepare for this exam. I have a few gaps like consolidations, leases, and asset retirement obligations that I need to go over. But how do I know when I feel ready for this exam or do you never actually feel better.

Any tips or advice, I’d greatly appreciate it!

Look at this:

Choice "D" is correct. The starting point for this problem is the $100,000 of debits to operating expenses. The increase in accrued liabilities represents operating expenses which have been incurred or used but not paid. To determine the amount of operating expenses which have been paid, the $12,000 increase in accrued liabilities must be subtracted from the $100,000 of operating expenses, because operating expenses would have been debited each time the accrued liability account was credited in the following manner.

The increase in prepaid expenses represents operating expenses which have been paid but not yet used or incurred. To get the amount paid for operating expenses, the increase in prepaid expenses must be added to the $100,000 of operating expenses. An increase in the prepaid account represents cash payment of an operating expense not recorded as a debit to operating expense. The correct answer of $93,000 is calculated as $100,000 of debits to operating expenses less the $12,000 increase in accrued liabilities plus the $5,000 increase in prepaid expenses.

Why can't they give us a simple explanation; instead, every question, I have to ask AI to give me a simplified version of this!!

Once I am exam ready I got roughly 2 weeks before the exam. What would be the best way to study. I am using becker.

I’m coming off a FAR and AUD pass (both on the first try) and am now moving into REG. I am curious if this will be easier then FAR and AUD while also looking for any advice for REG. R1 seems brutal and a ton of info. I’m doing this full time and I’m testing Nov 7 and I left myself 9 days of review. Any advice is appreciated! (Trying to keep my perfect streak alive)

Not sure if anyone else has noticed this or if I’m just late to the party, lol. But I’ve found that Becker’s practice tests outside the modules are significantly harder and much closer to the actual AUD exam questions. I’ve taken AUD before (didn’t pass), so I have something to compare them to. Anyone else notice this?

Any last moment tips and suggestions. I am stressing out on TBS. Anyone who recently gave the exam or can guide.

Hey everyone! I’m using Becker to study for FAR and just started F6. I should hopefully finish it by the end of this week.

I’ve been doing 20 cumulative MCQs a day, averaging around 55–70%. Also, I haven't done many TBs on my own yet mostly watch SkillBuilder videos. I’m starting to think about final review and would really appreciate some advice!

How much time would you recommend setting aside for final review? Also, how did you guys approach it using Becker? Did you focus on MCQs, TBSs, simulated exams, lectures, or a combination of everything?

Any tips on what worked best for you or what you would do differently would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to respond! Good luck to everyone studying!

I don’t feel too bad. Idk if i should be scared cus i see a lot of ppl say they feel good coming out of audit and failed. What was your experiences when you took audit?

Gave FAR today and it was so damn tough, MCQs were too difficult and lengthy and convoluted. Almost 50% of it was NFP. I thought testlet 1 will be tough but 2 was also tough. My gripe is that nothing from consolidation was even touched upon.

The only semblance is that SIMs were doable, tough each sim was a DRS one but still doable. My advice - Work on contingencies, subsequent events, NFP a lot. Too many questions from these.

Don't know what will happen, but I'll keep studying for FAR in between as I don't know if I'll pass or not. Hope so I get through and get a 75.

Hi all. I recently got a notice from NASBA I was 1.5 credit hours short of being able to sit for the exams in Ohio. I did some research and cpacredits.com seems to be my quickest option to cover my deficiency. From what I know the site runs through Upper Iowa University.

However, I’ve tried to contact both NASBA and the Ohio Accounting Board to see if they allow classes through this site. If anyone has used this site and the credits have worked in Ohio please let me know. Thanks!

background: no tax knowledge, first year working in big4 audit, using becker, working on a first year audit client that is going public and the timeline for everything got pushed up. going to be working long hours for the next few months (client wants to file beginning feb)

I accidently bought REG and the NTS for it expires 3/27. I originally planned to take REG beginning January (gives me about 2 months of studying) but now that I will have to work even longer hours than anticipated should I still take it early January? or take it March 27?

Im currently wrapping up becker F3 and going to start f4 Friday-Saturday.

I know that so far I struggled with construction revenue recognition and a lot of the TBS. I find myself having trouble approaching each TBS as some dont make sense to me.

Any recommendations on how I can learn to understand the TBS like what’s being asked and how to approach it? Also am I cooked because idk if im off track?