Phillip is a NINJA CPA blogger.

Hey NINJAs,

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on the blog. Things as usual have been chaotic, but I am still on the CPA journey. I have a renewed sense of purpose and still have the goal of being in the CPA Class of 2014. I will catch you up on what has being going in my life since my last post.

October 7, 2013 was my first attempt at FAR. Going into that exam, I was less than optimistic about a positive outcome. Despite my best studying efforts, I could not consistently score higher than 60% on my Wiley MCQs.

As discouraging as this was to me, I was able to find plenty of inspiration in the Another71 Forum, which changed my perspective and led to entering into the test with confidence. I was convinced by the outstanding support I received that passing FAR would be possible even with my practice test scores because others before me had done the same thing.

After taking the test, I did my best to think positive thoughts. I felt that I had performed well on the MCQs and passing would come down to the simulations. Then my results came … and I got a 60! I was weaker in everything except Not for Profit, for that I was comparable.

I tried to fight through all the negative emotions that go with failing, but I couldn’t really get through them. At the time I got my FAR score, I was half way through preparing for Audit and was performing well. I consistently got 80-90s on my practice exams. Surprisingly, I’ve never worked in Audit a day in my life. I’ve been in corporate accounting most of my career and had a cup of coffee in corporate finance about four years ago … lol.

Mentally, after getting over my FAR score, my new plan of attack was supposed to be 3 months of intensive study from Jan 14 – March 14 and re-take FAR at the beginning of April. Well, that’s when what usually happens in my life as it relates to this test happens.

At work, we had mandatory 10-hour days Monday through Friday and 4 to 6 hours on Saturday and Sunday from the beginning of January to the middle of February. That left me way too tired and angry to study. I resolved to begin again in February using a modified version of the NINJA method.

So, now here I am again within thirty days of my FAR rematch. I feel way more confident with the material than I did with the first go-round. My plan in these last four weeks is to answer at least 90 MCQs a day, 4 days per week, review notes 2 days, and rest 1 day so that I can refresh. I am confident that with a second chance, I will slay the beast that is FAR on May 12, 2014.

See you at the swearing in ceremony!