Bree is a new NINJA CPA Blogger.

Hi NINJAs!

I am Bree, and I am an international accountant for a tech company. My CPA journey has been long (over 3 years!) and painful. I have honestly never studied for something as hard as the CPA Exam and not passed the first time through. It was a reality check.

I first started my exam journey as a tax associate at a local firm. I took my first exam—BEC—in October of my first year working. I passed! Exhilarated, I prepared to tackle FAR the following February.

I didn’t dedicate the time I should have, and realized about two weeks before the test that there was virtually no way I would cover all of the material in time. Since my NTS was about to expire, I decided to take the exam anyway so I could at least get a feel for it. No surprise, I got a 62.

Fast forward two busy seasons, one job change, one big move, and my first year-end close, and I decided to take on REG and AUD in the same testing window. I was engaged, planning a wedding, and trying to pretend to have a life outside of work and studying (BIG mistake!), and failed with a 71 and 66, respectively.

At that point, I decided to give myself time off from the CPA Exam, and to just focus on my wedding and all of the chaos surrounding it. BEC was set to expire a month after the wedding, but I had come to realize that I was not going to pass the remaining parts without dedicating myself completely to the exam. Wasn’t really an option.

The following August, I had a rematch with FAR. 73. By far one of the most painful scores, second only to the dreaded 74 (which was my BEC score for my retake). At that point, I was feeling dejected, like a failure, wondering “Why do I want to be a CPA anyway?” and I happened on one of the best pieces of reading: Jeff’s section on “What to do if you don’t pass” in the free section of the NINJA Notes (Thanks Jeff!).

I’ve dug deep, and with the help of a friend who is just beginning her CPA exam journey, have decided to give this a real go. This is for real. Studying 2-3 hours in the morning with her, 1-2 hours on my own at night, and 8+ hours each weekend, I will do what it takes to pass this time! I have a rematch with FAR on Nov 1st. Wish me luck!