CERTIFIED: Staying positive

By Jessica Salerno, OSCPA content manager

Certified follows a group of aspiring CPAs on their journey to prepare for and take the CPA exam. This is part six of Kimberly Price’s story, which began in August 2016. Read the first parts here.

It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing that you came so close to something, but it just wasn’t enough. That’s something Kimberly Price now knows all too well after receiving her Business Environment & Concepts (BEC) score.

Price’s score of 64 is 11 points shy of the necessary 75 she needs to pass, but she’s looking on the bright side.

“I could have gotten a 50,” she said. “With 64, I can live with that. That’s pretty darn close.”

Price said she would rather have a score that’s closer than not, because it shows she isn’t completely off track when it comes to her studying. But, despite her overall upbeat attitude, she understandably felt some initial disappointment after not passing another section.

“I did have that brief moment of self-despair,” she said.

Despite the result, Price is determined not to get down. She plans to retake BEC in a little over a month while the material is still fresh in her mind, and will study focusing specifically on questions. She planned to move on to Audit next, but instead will sneak in BEC before busy season begins.

“I was really hoping it would be a pass,” she said. “I’m just reiterating to myself that, ‘you tried your hardest and you have to accept whatever it is.’ I’m not super depressed about it; that doesn’t do anybody any good.”

Price shared her score with her supervisor, who has been a source of support throughout taking the exam. She said having the backing of everyone at work has made a big difference; her coworkers understand the ups and downs of the CPA exam.

Price revised her goal to pass all sections by the end of 2017. The length of the CPA exam can be tough, especially when you haven’t passed any sections. But Price has maintained an optimistic outlook so far and doesn’t intend to change that anytime soon.

“I try not to let it get to me too much because I’d rather look forward and I can always learn from the past,” she said. “That’s the only way you get better is looking at your failures. You can’t look at the negatives. Because that’s going to weigh you down forever. You just have to take it and learn from it. Being negative has never done anything good for me in life.”