Alex is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

Hello NINJAs! I am happily writing you after passing my second attempt at the Audit Exam and now it is time to move on and prepare for REG.

I have a new found confidence after passing my first exam and now I look to hitting the books and hopefully passing regulation on the first try.

A little recap on my audit exam experience: I went into the exam much more confident than I had the first go around, as I fully utilized my study materials and was consistently getting matching grades on my progress tests and practice exams.

I also was able to leave work a couple of hours early this time before my noon examination and study my review notebook and tough multiple-choice notes to keep everything fresh. I also decided to run through some multiple choice questions the day of the exam to get my mind up and running and practice. (I am a big basketball fan and I compared it to warming up with a shoot around before the game).

During the exam I decided to re-check all of my multiple choice questions which took up more time than I realized and although I felt good about the first 3 testlets, I found out when I got to the Sims, I was running out of time and forced to rush through the last 2 Sims.

Needless to say, I felt a little disappointed in my time management, which I usually never have a problem with taking exams, and I was now feeling nervous after leaving the testing center. I decided to accept my fate, and enjoy my time off from 8 weeks of studying and relax with my friends whom I had previously been neglecting for study time.

When the score release date came around, I was expecting a score in the 70’s and ended up accepting that I probably would get a 73 or 74 since I was rushed at the end of the exam and that it was ok, I would do fine next time.

So as I not so eagerly checked the scores, I logged on and found out that I received a passing score of 84 and I was elated! I checked and double-checked to make sure that this score was for me, and I didn’t somehow get a score mix-up.

Then a couple of days later I got that beautiful piece of paper in the mail from the state board of accountancy stating that I did indeed pass, and I couldn’t have been much happier.

For all you NINJAs who haven’t passed your first exam yet, stay focused, put in the time, and put in more time, and more time. And it will pay off. Go in with confidence to the exam, and I recommend doing the pre-exam warm-up similar to what I used and you should be fine. Good luck!

You can Follow me on twitter @AlexCcats