Professor Elam

Monday April 27, 2015

Every student who walks through my office door says they intend to become a CPA. But we know the fail rate on any one for the four sections of the exam is 50%.

A couple of students responded to my comment this past Saturday, do you want to interview with a CPA firm?  But in their conversation or resume each indicated they wanted to work for a business, there was no mention of working in a CPA firm. 

So, here are a couple of suggestions. Align your stated career objective with the interview. If you are interviewing for an internal audit job, that should be your career objective. And passing the CIA exam ASAP should be one of your tactics in achieving your overall strategy. 

If you are interviewing with a CPA firm, obtaining a position with a CPA firm should be your objective. And, as I mention in the first line to this post, everyone SAYS they are going to pass the CPA exam. 

But what is on your resume that suggests you will succeed at that?  What is the strategy and tactics you are employing to make sure you are in the group that passes rather than fails?

Have you been reading review books?

Have you been taking sample questions from a review source?

If asked during an interview, 

name the four parts of the exam

how long is each exam

how many questions are on each exam

which exams require answering a research type question

can you answer all those questions from memory?

If not you are clearly not serious about exam preparation, see what I mean?

The key to a successful interview is preparation, anticipating what questions will be asked.