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Hate the CPA Exam? I've Been There.
Do you ever feel like no one “gets” how hard it is to study for the CPA Exam and balance all of life's other demands?
Have you ever dreaded telling a boss/spouse/father/nosy co-worker that you failed yet again?
Are you sick and tired of the CPA Exam and ready to either pass this thing or quit?
If you answered “YES” to any of these, My Story might resonate with you.
Family & Background
I am Jeff Elliott, CPA, creator of Another71 (this site) and NINJA CPA Review.
I am surrounded by an awesome team of NINJA Dan, NINJA Bobby, NINJA Mike, and numerous NINJAs behind the scenes who make everything happen.
More importantly, I am married with ten children.
Yes – we know how that happens.
Yes – they're all with my wife (after 22 years, we still got it!) 😀
Yes – we get weird/judgmental looks in restaurants (especially when the 3-year-old is melting down).
Yes – our life is blessedly chaotic at times (we would be a reality show disaster).
I passed the CPA Exam when I was 30 and had “only” three kids at home at the time:
Two kids under the age of 5 and a newborn baby.
I know what it's like to study for the CPA Exam while trying to balance…
…a full-time job…
…a marriage…
…a family…
…church commitments…
…a mortgage…
…little league…
…LIFE!
Whatever your circumstances, I can probably identify with them.
Newborn? Yep.
Three-year-old that's into everything? Check.
Six-year-old that spray-painted the garage floor? Yes.
Teenagers going through the “teenage years” (and driving/wrecking things)? Absolutely.
Kids in college? Affirmative.
I'm doing all of these parenting stages all at once 🙂
I was once in your shoes, however.
I began my long (too long) journey toward the CPA designation in late 2005.
I wanted to be a CPA, but I didn't really want to be a CPA enough to study like I needed to.
I wasn't fully committed to studying (who wants to go home and study after a full day of public accounting?), and I would try to “cram” for two weeks before my exam and was coming up short.
Maybe you can relate?
Everything changed, however, in February 2008.
I said, “Enough is enough,” and created a new approach, which I would later dub “N.I.N.J.A.” Then, by the end of the year, I passed all four sections of the CPA Exam—each exam on my next attempt.
In 2008, I was a desperate CPA Candidate on the verge of throwing in the towel.
My CPA Exam Scores:
FAR 4x (70,71,76*,76)
BEC 4x (71,71,71,80)
REG 4x (69,74,74, 92)
AUD 2x (69,79)
AICPA Ethics (89,92)
* = I lost my credit due to the “18-month rule”
By the way, did you catch that I scored back-to-back 74s on REG?
It was brutal.
It also cost me my FAR credit.
Today, I am a Licensed CPA (KS) and an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (yeah, I think they changed their name, but I don't get it, so AICPA will always mean that to me).
If you're struggling with the CPA Exam, this site is for you.
Lost Credit? Been there.
74? Been there twice.
Think the AICPA personally hates you? Been there as well.
Right now, you might find yourself in similar shoes – a desperate CPA Candidate on the verge of throwing in the towel.
There was hope for me, and there's certainly hope for you.
If you stick with it and follow my NINJA Study Framework, you'll be adding those three letters after your name faster than you can say “HIYA.”
If you're already finding success with the CPA Exam, this site is still for you.
Maybe you find yourself in the enviable territory of kicking butt and taking names on the CPA Exam. This site is for you as well. You're firmly on the path to passing, and I can help you get there a little faster, and you can taste freedom a little earlier. Imagine extra months of doing whatever you want instead of having to study.
Have a CPA Study Question? Ask Me.
Work Experience and Education
Education: Undergraduate degree in Accounting from Kansas State University and some graduate classes (for my 150 hours).
Work Experience: I've been in the accounting profession since 2001 and have worked in public accounting (two tax seasons were enough for me), private accounting, and industry for two public SEC Registrants.
I've been self-employed (i.e., it's always “busy” season), running another71.com, and helping people Pass the CPA Exam full-time since 2010.
I don't do taxes (except for my sweet mother-in-law).
I don't have accounting or audit clients.
The “CPA Exam” is all I do, and it's been that way for 12+ years (that's a lot of score releases, btw) 😀
Licenses: Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Kansas since 2009
Memberships: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Another71.com (2008 – Present)
In 2008, when I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, I started a blog about failing the CPA Exam and called it “Another71.” This was pre-social media, and the site blew up. Some blog posts had 3,000+ comments.
I had no intention of it being a business. Otherwise, I would have named it something other than a failing score on the CPA Exam. 🙂
In 2009, I added the CPA Exam Forum, which is now archived, but has 600,000+ posts, so there's something for everyone. CPA candidate discussions have shifted to social media platforms, so the CPA forum's best days are probably behind it, but it's still a great resource.
In 2010, I left my job in industry with a public company (and health benefits!) to do Another71/NINJA full-time. Since then, I have been 100% self-employed, doing only CPA Exam Review.
In 2010/2011-ish, I launched the Another71 Podcast, the first CPA Exam podcast and one of the first Accounting podcasts anywhere.
NINJA CPA Review (2011 – Present)
In this section, I'm going to link to a lot of stuff. Your forgiveness in advance, please 😀
In 2011, Seeing a need in the CPA prep world, I also created NINJA CPA Review with the NINJA Notes and the NINJA Audio, which quickly became the #1 CPA Exam Supplement.
In 2014, NINJA released the NINJA Book and NINJA MCQ, which became the #1 CPA Test Bank supplement, and also turned NINJA into a full CPA Review course.
In 2016, NINJA had its first of several Elijah Watt Sells Award winners (They passed on the first attempt with a 95.5 average. These results are not typical. Only 1 in 1,000 CPA candidates win the EWS Award.)
Investopedia
The Best CPA Prep Courses of 2024
“Why We Chose It (Best Price): NINJA CPA Review works nicely as an inexpensive supplement to an online course. This is an efficient studying tool that can be used as your main course but serves best as an auxiliary study aid with an excellent online support community.”
Olga Timirgalieva (Roger + NINJA)
Elijah Watt Sells Award Winner
“NINJA MCQ – A must! With the NINJA Notes, I printed out the notes and used as a knowledge check closer to the exam. NINJA Audio is nice to use during the commute or if you are an auditory learner.”
Brian Wright (Becker + NINJA)
Elijah Watt Sells Award Winner
“The questions and practice tests were extremely useful, they helped me find some weak spots I didn’t even know I had and gave me the extra practice I needed to get my best score of any of the exams.”
Matt Durette (Becker + NINJA)
Elijah Watt Sells Award Winner
“I used NINJA MCQ for each of the exams as a supplement to Becker, which was provided by my work. I asked advice from my brother, who had passed the exams a few years prior, and he suggested to work through as many MCQs as I could, so I did just that. I worked through all the Becker MCQs, then did about 50-60% of the NINJA MCQs. I thought the NINJA ones were more difficult than the Becker questions, which was a good thing. I was trending about 7-10 points below my actual exam scores for each of the sections. The NINJA product was great because it showed me where I was weakest, and I was able to focus on that section until I felt really comfortable with it. I would say the NINJA MCQ were essential to my success.”
Shulem Rosenbaum (Wiley + NINJA)
Elijah Watt Sells Award Winner
“I used the NINJA Notes to summarize my notes and eliminate topics that aren’t tested heavily. I owe it to the NINJA Community. You have been my rock, and I hope to contribute the way you contributed to my success.”
Stephanie Ng (Becker + NINJA)
iPass The CPA Exam
“For just $67 a month, you really can’t go wrong with NINJA.”
In 2018, we launched NINJA Monthly. It's like financing but without the commitment. (Other companies have tried to copy it but can't let go of the commitment part) 😀
In 2020, NINJA added live CPA Exam tutoring four nights a week (NINJA Sparring) with full replay access if you missed the live session.
(See – something good came out of 2020).
We also released our new NINJA Flashcard interface.
In 2021, we added the NINJA CRAM, which, like the NINJA Notes, has become popular as a final review before Exam Day.
Our NINJA CPA Alumni were specifically asking for two things:
- NINJA CMA Review Course
- NINJA CPE (Continuing Professional Education – the fun stuff you have to do once you get your CPA license)
So, we launched NINJA CMA & NINJA CPE.
In 2022, Investopedia named NINJA CPA Review a Top-5 CPA Review Course and has held the title of “Best Price” since.
In 2024, we completely redesigned NINJA and incorporated the “CPA Evolution” materials (BAR, TCP, ISC) into it.
We also revamped FAR, AUD, and REG to meet the new 2024 CPA Exam layout.
2025 and beyond? We're open to suggestions (other than the CFA®) 😀
In closing, thank you for visiting Another71.com and reading My Story!
As you can see, God/Jesus has blessed me immensely.
To Your Success,
Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
