Charisa is a new NINJA CPA Blogger.

Hi NINJAS!!

My name is Charisa and I am 24 years old from Vallejo, CA (the Bay Area, for those who have never heard of the city). However, about a week ago I made the official move back to Atlanta, where I lived for 5 years to attend school when I received my Bachelors and Masters in Accounting.

I graduated in 2011 and started working for a Big 4 Accounting Firm in San Francisco. Now 2 years later, I work for the same firm, just in Atlanta.

To date, I have passed BEC. Being that my BEC score will expire in February 2014, it’s a mad rush (or strategized study plan …whatever works) to pass the next three sections before then. I took AUD and got a 71 (yes, it still stings …especially since I’m an auditor).

Took REG twice and did not pass and took FAR once and did not pass. However, I am not deterred. I took a break from studying for the last month to sort everything out with this move. Since the move is now finalized, it is time to get back on the roll with studying.

In the next few weeks I will schedule FAR and AUD, both of which I plan to take in the next testing window (FAR first, then AUD). I have been studying for FAR for a while now before the move but now that the move is over with, and for the most part I’m settled in, it’s time to pick up the pace and try to get as much accomplished before busy season starts.

I am going into my third year with the Firm and being promoted to Senior Accountant, which just means that it will be that much more of a struggle to balance work and life …”life” meaning studying for the CPA exam.

Unfortunately, I’m not a morning person so the majority of my studying will be after work, averaging 3-4 hours a night and Saturdays and Sundays. The FAR NINJA Notes are super helpful and help me to focus on the important topics and drill them home into memory, especially when re-writing.

In addition, doing Wiley MCQs until I can no longer see straight tends to help as well …as painful as it sounds, the sweetest feeling is finally committing a concept to memory that has given you so much heartache and grief.

Hopefully, when I take FAR at the beginning of October, it will be the LAST time. I was told nothing worth having comes easy, and the journey to obtaining my CPA license has been the best example to date. I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you!