“BS accountancy? CPA board exam? What’s that?” those were my thoughts before taking entrance exam in different schools. Literally, I have zero knowledge in that course because we don’t have accounting subject during high school. I was about to take BSBA major in Management until my high school teacher told me to take BS Accountancy instead.
I took the entrance exam at Adamson University and was able to pass with high grades. This is where my CPA journey all started.
85 or ‘Dos‘, the minimum grade (retention grade) that should be maintained to retain to the course.
Force Eviction – the only thing that will happen when you don’t meet the retention policy.
Transfer or Shift – the two choices after the Force Eviction.
It has been a very fulfilling first two semesters, full of challenges and pressure, because I was able to meet the retention grade. The breakdown started when the 2nd year, 1st semester came. This is what I call the ‘Finac1 wall’ because it is the final stage of Force Eviction. When you surpass ‘Finac1’ with flying colors, you will be allowed to retake the Accounting subjects whenever you like, if you don’t meet the retention grade of 85.
Unfortunately, I was one of the 70-80 plus forced evicted students. I was planning to shift course but my mom told me to just transfer school, if possible. So I asked my friends, which I met during the Mr. and Ms. Ambassador of Goodwill, if their schools were accepting transferees and crediting Accounting Subjects. Fortunately, Philippine School of Business Administration – Manila (PSBA-MANILA) does.
I continued my CPA journey at PSBA-Manila. It was not an easy road, a VERY ROUGH ROAD should I say, but this had taught me a lot. It made me stronger, it made me believe more to myself and it helped me to formulate techniques on my own.
I graduated in October 2014, had my review classes at CPA Review school (CPAR) and took board exam in May 2015. Admittedly, I was not ready to take the exam but I still took the risk. That time, I was ready whatever the result is. The list of passers were posted, but I was not able to see my name. I don’t know what to react because of course I was expecting to pass “somehow”, but I didn’t.
I went to PRC to get my grade, hoping to be one of the conditional examiners that time. With a grade of 73.86, I FAILED. I felt sad, but I have to move on. It made me realize my mistakes and helped me be more determined to get the CPA License.
I took my second review at the Review School of Accountancy (ReSA). I took the evening class so that the schedule would be one (1) subject per day. I was challenging myself everyday, going to class with answers on my handouts, and checking my answers during discussion. With that, I guess, it had been a very good study habit for me.
October 2015 board exam – it was a different feeling. I felt more determined and sure to my answers. I felt happy everytime I went out of the assigned room. After the exam, I prayed and claimed that I will become CPA by October 2015.
I have this app in my phone, which count the remaining days of me becoming a CPA. October 16, 2015, 2AM, my phone rang and saw the app saying “Days left : 0 (zero) – CPA KA NA!!”
I saw two missed calls from a friend, opened the WiFi, and checked Facebook like the usual days. I was shocked after seeing the notifications saying, “CONGRAAATS, CPA KA NA”, “CONGRAAATS, SO PROUD OF YOU”. I thought I was still dreaming, but it’s true! CPA NA AKO!! YAHOOOOO!! That was one of the most memorable day of my life. I felt like floating in the next two days and I can’t even remove the smile on my face. I felt like I was crazy, I felt like I was insane, I felt like “WOW!! Is this really happening?”
I have three (3) moral lessons to share:
1. Finish what you’ve started.
2. Always trust God’s plan. Everything is in place, He will not put you in a position that you’re not ready.
3. God will not let you finish your course if He will not help you become CPA.
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About the Author
- Joshua is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Tax Technician. He launched his career as an external auditor at KPMG in the Philippines. Joshua now works as an internal auditor in the biggest retail company in the Philippines.
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CareersOctober 16, 2017CPA Story: CPA ka na!
