Hey guys...I just recieved my Gleim 2009 Books and Test Prep CDs. I am ready to get this CPA thing going. Seeing thats is July I will be looking to test in the final window of 2009. I am thinking about taking the FARS section first because I know that and REG were my weakest areas in college, or (maybe they were just the classes that didn't hold my interest lol). I recently finished graduate school last semester with my M.S in Accounting and went into my grad program right after I finished undergrad. So basically, I am still fresh with school and studying. Being that I have beenworking full time as a staff accountant/auditor at a firm since early 08 ..does it seem logical that I could take FARS (an area I know that will take me longer to grasp) and take AUD (since I am very sharp on this) in the upcoming testing window? I was thinking maybe I can feel confident enough to take FARS the 1st available date of the next window and take AUD at the last available date of the next window.

Like anyone my biggest fear is letting this 18th month thing creep up on me, and also since I am still young I want to get going on things before my responsibilties at the job and in my personal life increase.

The first section you pass starts the 18-month clock ticking.  Sounds like a good plan.  Looking back, I could have easily gotten AUD finished as the 2nd test in a window.  While working full time, I would allow 7-8 weeks to prep FAR, 5 weeks to prep AUD, 6 weeks to prep BEC, and 7 weeks to prep REG.  I would also try to pass REG in the 1st or 2nd quarter, because the 2010 books will be published with the tax rules currently being tested but will need to be pen-and-ink updated for the 3rd and 4th quarter. 

FAR is the foundations course, and getting ahold of it is like alligator-wrestling in the Everglades.  It's a mile wide and an inch deep, and you'll feel like you're drowning more than once in the volume of material.  On the other hand, there is nothing about FAR that is inherently difficult IN ITSELF.  There's just a fire-hose blast of material to swallow.

Once you prepare and take FAR, the other 3 sections make a lot more sense.  You won't waste time scratching your head during the other 3 sections wondering what the heck they are talking about.

BEC is an extra-terrestrial time-traveling alien from the 24th century.  Remember watching Star Trek and guessing what all those blinking lights meant?  You're about to find out in the IT portion.  BEC also covers the material that just didn't fit anywhere else: Practical Accounting for the Real World (Cost and Managerial), Fortune-Telling with the Benefit of Hindsight (Economics), and 101 Reasons why you never want to join a Partnership (Business Structures).

After you pass BEC you'll never be afraid of a computer again.  However, you may wind up being terrified about what the government is doing to our economy, which should give you a REAL GOOD reason to keep working on the exams so that you can get ahead in life while you still can.

REG is a bear.  In its very unreasonableness, I would even compare it to the Russian bear.  REG is authoritarian and picky and contradictory....  You just know the rules had to be written by someone in the government.  Which they were.

The nicest think to say about REG is that when it's done, it's done.  Plus you can make a comfortable income preparing tax returns for other people who don't want to face the Bear.

Compared to the other three, AUD is Disney's tempermental little Tinkerbell fairy tapping things with her magic wand.  AUD is all theory and virtually no math, which really blows some people away.  The questions are twisty, tricky little passages all twirling around you.  XYZZY.

Passing AUD is not really that tough.  It's like being back on Sesame Street: (cue the music) "One of these things is not like the others.  One of these things just doesn't belong....."  Why they allowed 4.5 hours for AUD and only 2.5 hours for BEC is beyond me.

Sorry about this.  It's been a long day.

Have fun with your studies.

My transcripts were from out-of-state institutions and were very old, which had me rather concerned.  Since I wasn't sure whether the coursework qualified me to take the exams, or whether I would need to take additional senior electives in accounting at the local university before applying, I asked for a pre-application assistance from my state's CPA exam coordinator.  He was very helpful.

He had two concerns.  He wanted me to show that the out-of-state institutions I attended were accredited, and he wanted additional detail on the content of one particular course.  

I had official transcripts sent directly from my schools.  I also included an unofficial transcript from each institution with my application and added the extra paperwork to answer his questions.   I had a second reason for including unofficial transcripts: I had gotten married between college and my exam application, and I didn't want anyone to make a mistake recognizing my official transcript with my old name.

I looked up the accreditation authorities for my schools and attached a copy of the accreditors' website pages naming my schools to the unofficial transcripts.  For the course he questioned, I attached the university's course catalog description and syllabus.

Finally, where the application asked me for three personal references, I didn't have a non-employer CPA reference, so I went for overkill: three attorneys, a retired Air Force Colonel, a local business owner, and the priest.

My NTS was approved and issued in three weeks!  (That meant it expired in the middle of May, instead of sometime in June like I had planned, but I got over that.)