After The CPA Board Exam

I wasn't able to make any entries here due to busy schedules and I have been doing other stuff that I enjoy more. But at the end of the day, I still have to go back to what's important and that is getting my Philippine Certified Public Accountant license. The sad thing about this is that, I might have worked hard for this but this is still not enough to practice abroad and earn higher salary.

Here in the Philippines, the Board of Accountancy gives 7 exams for two weekends, for four days. That is 2 subjects a day. During our undergrad years, we have a lot of subjects to pass, an average of 24 units per semester, we only have two months of OJT and if we're lucky we'll be assigned at an accounting firm. As for my case, I was blessed to have an Uncle who owns one, thus I had write  a letter to my school to request my friend and I. Actually, it was us who need the experience but the school will not write the letter of request, and I had a lot of convincing to do so that my Uncle would agree on writing that letter of request for me.

Among all the undergrad subjects to learn and pass, all we need actually for the board exam are eight subjects, namely, Theory of Accounts, Auditing Theory, Practical Accounting 1, Practical Accounting 2, Auditing Problems, Management Advisory Services, Business Law, and Philippine Taxation. Personally, I didn't struggle so much with Theory of Accounts, Practical Accounting 1, Auditing Theory and Auditing Problems, these four are interrelated that if you master the two subjects the other two will be easier to understand. Meanwhile with MAS, this one's my favorite because of its practicality towards everyday living. I had the most difficulty dealing with Practical Accounting 2 (P2) and Business Law and Taxation (BLT).

It was quite a shocker during the October 2014 board exam when situational questions came out. I mean like, we have never really encountered these kinds of situations, for all I know, whenever we were given problems to solve, all I do is imagine how the problem goes. I understand the point of BOA giving that, but we were not prepared for that in the four years of college nor in the barely four months of review for the board. Even if I had my barely two months of experience in an accounting firm, all I did was type financial statements, photocopy reports, and line up at the bank during tax filing days. These recent board exam gave me a two days worth of migraine and I even forgot my best friend's birthday, which happened to be the last day of the exam.

Aside from these, there were also grammar related questions which I think are bonus questions for me. I am not that good at English you know, but at least I am sure I had 100% chance of getting the right answer in those 5 English related questions. As an accountant someday, we need to gave good English communication skills and know how to spell words, capitalize letters, use proper punctuation and subject-verb agreement. One experience I had during our pre-week was that I two girls were sitting at the back row where I sat and I heard their conversation. The reviewer was discussing something about fraudulent transactions between two conniving employees. The other girl actually asked her friends what was the spelling of "connivance". Ever since I had studied Auditing Theory during my third year in college I have met this word over and over again, and as a candidate for the CPA board exam, at least she should have been able to spell that.

I might come really mean reacting this way, but that is true. I am not sure also that the results will be in my favor but I certainly hope that it will be. I pray that God will give me the wisdom to acknowledge the truth and help me accept whatever will be the outcome. What's next for me? I don't know yet, but I do have a lot of plans in my mind if everything goes well. As for those Filipino Accountancy students in their undergrad, please do not let yourself graduate without understanding what you need to learn. I've learned my lessons the hard way. That barely four months of review is never enough for you to learn four years worth of learning. As for me I have been already facing the consequences, and in the next few days, I either cry or rejoice. Good luck to us all.


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