First 8 weeks as an Associate after jumping from Big4:
Pros - super smart/driven colleagues, more unique/interesting work, more ownership, benefits are awesome, traveling frequently, more technical work, more frequent feedback
Cons - hours are worse, much faster timelines, having to learn the BCG way quickly, much higher expectations, less ability to choose cases
Overall very happy with the switch so far - happy to answer any questions!
I’m only 3/4 done, but I would recommend FAR first, since it has the most material, it’s considered the hardest. Your 18 month clock doesn’t start until you pass your first exam so there’s no pressure finishing the hardest one
Besides which the whole 18 month thing is a bunch of BS. Complete money grab.
I would say BEC as a starting point to take you back into study mode. FAR is so material and getting back to study mode takes a lot
FAR is extremely math intensive.
I had a coworker save FAR for last and she could not pass it on a timely basis. As a result, she lost all three of her passing scores for Reg, Bec, and Aud.
Started with audit just because I have been in audit for a while now and everything is familiar. I play Becker on bluetooth or via my soundbar and just listen while taking care of baby, working, doing chores, etc. I am reviewing FAR now. I have seen/ audited most topics (equity, defined benefit, TDR, etc) so, pretty confident I will pass it like audit. If you are at a staff level, suggest you do FAR first. A solid understanding of accounting standards helps a lot with audit. Good luck!!!!
FAR first cuz now I'm having trouble passing it and lost 2 parts because of it
What type of work you do? Start with that for your exam, then hit the hardest aka FAR,
I will second Analyst 1, take FAR first, it’s the most time time consuming and most likely the hardest one. Once you passed it the rest are pretty easy.
I think it depends on how your schedule is. If your on the busy side, do a quicker one like AUD or BEC. If you have free time, do FAR
Thanks friends - just finishing busy season so will have a tone of time. Was FAR mostly theory though ?
Oh wow okay then
AA1. Same thing happened to me. I lost all three and am having trouble motivating myself to go through it again. Not sure what to do and whether I want the CPA designation anymore or to just change careers.
FAR, it's the most time consuming and you want your exam clock to start ticking after the hardest one is done. Studies show FAR uses an average 150 hours of prep with every other section taking much less. It's just a lot of material. REG is the next most dense, but even for me a non tax person it didn't take as long as FAR to prep for.