Kricket is a weekly Club 75 Blogger as she documents her journey through the CPA Exam. She has been a member of Another71.com's Club 75 since May 2009.

I have a special talent that, frankly, has absolutely no socially redeeming value what so ever. I have the ability to sing just about any song to the tune of the theme from Gilligan’s Island. I discovered this in high school when I had to sing Amazing Grace in music class. Somehow, and for some strange reason, I began singing Amazing Grace to the wrong music.

I tell you this embarrassing fact for a reason. I have not been able to memorize the standard audit report to save my life. I credit my three failures in Auditing to my inability to remember that report word for word. Yesterday I was telling my husband that I had done everything I could think of to remember the report to no avail. I’ve read it over and over, written it over and over and said it over and over. Thirty minutes later I get nothing. It’s like I haven’t seen it before in my life. He immediately suggested I sing it.

Just about everyone in my generation can sing the Preamble to the US Constitution thanks to a Saturday morning cartoon called School House Rock, so I thought it just might work. I tried the music from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star but that didn’t work. Finally, I went back to the old standard and can now sing the entire standard audit report to the theme from Gilligan’s Island. I managed this monumental task in one night. I’m sure I’ll look like a fool in the Prometric center humming that tune but I really don’t care how foolish I look. I will, however, never do this for an audience of any size.

I am to the point that I am sick of studying for Auditing. I have worked every problem in the Wiley CPA book several times. I have really only memorized the answers to the questions and not really learned the material. The thing is I know how to audit. That is my favorite part of accounting and the part of my job that I love the most. It drives me crazy that I haven’t passed this one exam.

My plan to use the CSO’s to study from seems to be helping. I have checked off each line item that I feel totally comfortable with the information required. I can write a page of facts on each line that is checked off. I’ve been doing a lot of talking to myself, explaining the topic to thin air. At first my husband thought I was crazy, sitting in the living room talking to myself. Then I explained what I was doing. He just walked out of the room shaking his head saying “Whatever you need to do”. I think he is just willing to do whatever it takes to get his wife back from the CPA exam.

I’m about half way through and time is running short. My exam is scheduled for May 26th. My usual test center didn’t have an opening so I’m going to have to test in Tyler, Texas. Instead of my typical 2 hour drive, I will have to make a 4 hour journey singing the standard audit report the whole way. If I make it out of this exam with any degree of sanity it will be a miracle.

Kricket