Guest blogger Megan: What CPA Means to Me

Megan shares with us the trials and triumphs of CPA Exam preparation, all from the perspective of a non-accounting major. She currently resides in Pennsylvania, and is loving Roger CPA Review’s acclaimed review course to prepare for the BEC Exam.

I was out of town this weekend for an event and had the opportunity to talk to a few friends and relatives about my CPA journey. It was encouraging to hear how people outside the industry view the accomplishment of passing the CPA exam. At times, we forget why we put ourselves through such an ordeal; the time commitment, the memorization, the sacrifices. This weekend I was reminded why accountants choose to achieve the designation of CPA.

I’ve heard this before, but again I was told that passing the CPA exam is more difficult than passing the Bar exam. This opinion comes from someone who took both exams. I was curious, so I decided to look up the pass rate of each exam in my home state of Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, the pass rate for candidates who took the Bar exam in February 2012 was 60%. The PICPA website had the most recent data I could find and states that the CPA exam pass rate for the year 2011 was 38.8%.

Make of it what you will, it feels good to know I’ll someday join the ranks of those before me who beat these odds. If it were easy, everyone would do it, is one of my favorite quotes in life. It gets me through struggles by reminding me that the benefit will outweigh the cost. Over time, this license will prove to be valuable as it provides added job stability and flexibility as well as credibility and esteem.

As I sit and wait for my BEC score, I find myself contemplating the significance of passing this final exam section. What does CPA mean to me? It means I’ve taken the extra step to prove my commitment and ability in accounting. It shows I set my mind to a goal, constructed a plan, gathered effective resources, and followed through. Roger CPA Review frequently stresses a key component to CPA exam success: discipline. Passing the exam is a testament to my own self-discipline, showing that I studied and put in the necessary effort and time.

What does CPA mean to you? I found a few interesting answers to this:

Copy, Paste, Annotate
Constantly Proposing Audits
Cant Produce Anything
Cant Pass Again (the exam!)

All kidding aside, people in accounting and unrelated industries regard CPAs as reliable, educated, and ethical. Not all accountants are CPAs, and this fact makes the designation more noteworthy. As you spend countless hours viewing lectures and practicing multiple choice questions, remind yourself that the benefits of this acronym will outlast the time it takes to obtain it.

If you ever start to doubt your rationale for becoming a CPA, make a list of the reasons you embarked on this journey and the benefits you will realize once complete. Stay motivated. Stay disciplined. If the road to CPA were easy, everyone would do it!

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