In this episode of the CPA Exam Experience Podcast, you’ll hear how Nike was able to go from being a Chartered Accountant in Nigeria, to becoming a CPA and CFP. She had a lot of experience in accounting from 13 years of accounting in Africa, but even that wasn’t enough to guarantee passing the CPA exam first try. She tried it on her own and couldn’t quite pass.
You’ll hear how switching her review course and starting to use SuperfastCPA completely changed her results. She went from scheduling two exams and failing both, to passing her exams. Nike also talks a lot about motivation and getting the CPA done. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Nike has some fantastic tips and a great story, you don’t want to miss this episode.
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Master your study process by attending one of our free study training workshops:
https://www.superfastcpa.com/study-secrets/
Episode Timestamps
- 00:00 Nike Interview
- 03:17 Chartered Accountant in Africa
- 04:49 A Credit Control Manager Back in Nigeria
- 05:33 Scheduled Two Exams At the Same Time and Failed Both
- 07:17 Found SuperfastCPA, Studied the Unconventional Way and Passed
- 08:53 Take Aways from the Free Webinar That Led Nike to Pass REG
- 10:07 After Taking REG, Immediately Bought Everything Not Knowing If She Passed
- 10:38 Adapting Her Own Style with SuperfastCPA
- 11:20 Prepares Her Study Material Before Going to Bed
- 12:44 Made Sure That She Does Mini Session All Throughout the Rest of the Day
- 13:05 How Nike Would Plan Her Study Schedule
- 14:19 Using Your Phone to Study All Day
- 16:02 Found the Mini Quizzes to Be Very Helpful
- 17:44 Failed Audit Four Times But Stayed Positive
- 19:23 Every Retake for Audit Nike Would Re-Study Everything
- 20:21 Felt So Relieved Passing Audit and Passed FAR First Try
- 21:27 Felt Nervous Taking FAR But Felt Good After Taking It
- 22:35 The Knowledge As A Chartered Accountant Helped With FAR
- 23:06 Took BEC Last But Didn’t Pass So Ended Up Taking TCP
- 24:35 TCP Felt Comfortable Since Already Passed FAR
- 25:13 The Reason Why Nike Took TCP Instead of BAR and ISC
- 27:06 Waited for TCP Score for Three Months and Celebrated After Finally Passing
- 28:31 Keep Your Loved Ones Involved to Make Your Study More Manageable
- 29:49 Had to Get Her Education Evaluated to be Eligible to Take the CPA Exams
- 31:57 Took Handwritten Notes for Almost Everything
- 34:08 Even Made Notebooks for Each Section
- 34:56 Nike’s Flashcards Process
- 35:26 Two Weeks of Final Review
- 37:05 Tried to Do All of the Sims for Each Section and Learning from the Sims
- 38:46 Find A Community That Can Help You Through Your CPA Journey
- 39:58 Know That Pursuing the CPA is a Marathon and Not a Sprint
- 41:21 Getting Your CPA Will Boost Your Confidence
- 42:12 Took the CFP Exam After Becoming a CPA And Used the SuperfastCPA Strategies
- 43:56 Top Tips for People Still Going Through the CPA Exams
Interview Transcript
Nike: [00:00:00] Another thing that I want to share with people is that, is the fact that CPA journey, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. One has to run it with patience. You run it with consistency. You run it with determination.
Believe in that, because if you look at the stress, it’s overwhelming. That’s just the truth. It is overwhelming, but when you look at the stress of now. But instead of concentrating on the stress of now, concentrate on what you have to gain after the, after you get your certificate
Logan: Welcome to another episode of the CPA Exam Experience podcast from SuperfastCPA. I’m Logan, and in today’s video you’re going to hear me talking with Nike.
Now, Nike has a really cool story. She is actually from Nigeria, and she had been a chartered accountant for I think 13 years in Nigeria. So she had a lot of experience [00:01:00] in doing accounting. She wasn’t somebody who was coming at this, you know, just fresh out of her master’s or something like that. She had been doing accounting for a long time, and then eventually they moved to the United States. They moved to Texas, and she saw that when she got here, the equivalent or something similar to her being a chartered accountant in Nigeria here in the United States would be becoming a CPA.
So that was her goal, was to become a CPA so that she would have more opportunities here in the United States. And she has a really cool story, she started out with one review course and decided that it wasn’t for her, and it made a big difference when she switched to a new review course, and of course, made a big difference when she found SuperfastCPA.
She’s a big proponent of that. She talks about a lot of the great things that happened when she switched to SuperfastCPA. So you’re gonna wanna listen to all of her tips and all of her advice in this video.
Again, she’s someone who had a lot of experience. She’s a chartered accountant in Nigeria, but she still needed help. She had to change the way that she studied to become a CPA here in the United States.
[00:02:00] And that’s what this interview is about, is talking about the strategies, talking about the different ways that you can pass the CPA exam, because it’s not like anything else that you do. It’s not like school. It’s not like the Chartered Accountant exam. It’s its own thing. So you have to know how to pass the CPA exam specifically. And you’ll hear Nike talk about that.
Now before we dive into the interview with Nike, I just wanna give one more reminder about our SuperfastCPA training webinar on superfastcpa.com.
Again, that is one hour that will save you months and months of studying because we will teach you the key ingredients to passing the CPA exam so you don’t waste months or even years of your time failing exams. So make sure you go check that webinar out. And with all that said, let’s dive straight into the interview with Nike.
Logan: Good morning, Nike. I’m so glad to be talking with you today. Uh, how are you doing this morning?
Nike: I’m fine, thank you, Logan. Good morning, it’s good to meet you.
Logan: It is good to meet you too. Are, is it, uh, I think, uh, you were telling me at some point, uh, that you were, you’re in Houston, is that right? Or Dallas.
Nike: I’m in Dallas, Texas.
Logan: Dallas. Is it? What’s [00:03:00] the weather like right there, right these days?
Nike: Ah, it is good. It’s good.
Yeah.
Logan: It’s good. It’s not, it doesn’t get too cold there?
Nike: No, not at all.
Logan: All right. Well I’m excited to be talking to you today. I remember seeing you post in the forum sometimes and getting some emails from you, so it’ll be cool to hear your story.
Chartered Accountant in Africa
Logan: So what I always like to do is just kind of start from the beginning, you know, what’s your experience with accounting and where were you at in your, in your career when you decided you wanted to do the CPA?
Nike: Okay. Thank you so much, Logan. Like I said, it’s so good to meet you after several emails. I saw you, I saw a lot of your responses on the, um, I think candidates, is it candidate forum? Yes, which is always a good place to meet you and that, and I’m so glad to be here to share my experience with everyone that is still on the journey.
Um, basically, um, my CPA experience or the CPA journey took about 17 months. And then that runs from [00:04:00] 2022 August to January, 2024. And, um, before then, I have always been a chartered accountant from Africa. And um, and once we relocated there, I said, let me look at what is obtainable here. And when I did my research, I found out that one of the best and the shortest way to get to that platform where I was in Nigeria is also through the CPA, so I started the journey in 2022. Yes.
Logan: Okay, so, so you’d been a chartered accountant for years in Nigeria, and so when you moved to to the US you decided, you know, it looks like CPA is kind of like a similar thing, similar, uh, what’s the word? Similar license to what I’ve been in Nigeria, so you wanted to get that.
A Credit Control Manager Back in Nigeria
Logan: Uh, so what were you, and what is your experience like? What have you done in accounting? I’m just curious, like did you ever do like taxes in Nigeria or was it more like [00:05:00] financial statements? What was your background In accounting?
Nike: Um, basically in Nigeria we did taxes, but you know, it has to be taxes in Nigeria, and we did financial statement. The financial statement is actually general, but in Nigeria, I wasn’t into taxes, I wasn’t into financial statements. I was actually a credit control manager.
I was managing credit control. I was a credit control, a full credit control manager.
So that was what I did for about 30 years before moving here, yes.
Logan: That’s awesome.
Scheduled Two Exams At the Same Time and Failed Both
Logan: So when you decided you wanted to go for the CPA, what did you start with? Did you start with getting a review course like Becker or something like that?
Nike: Yes, um, this is a very good question because this is actually what makes a whole lot of differences.
Um, when I started, I started with, uh, Fast Forward. I didn’t even start with Becker. I later got to know about Becker. I started with Fast Forward, and I [00:06:00] took my first exam, which was REG, and I took another one, which I, because I scheduled the two exams, both REG and audit at the same time. That was another mistake that I actually made because I actually scheduled the exam before I went in because I was overconfident. I was like, ha, of course I have what, whatever I think it’ll take. But I scheduled the two exam just one month apart.
So I took REG first with Fast Forward, and of course I didn’t, I didn’t pass it and because I already scheduled audits, so I studied for audits. I took audits too. I didn’t pass it. It was at that point I had to sit down. I said, okay, definitely something is wrong. So I sat down and I was scrolling through my phone before I saw Superfast and Becker.
Logan: Okay, so you had Fast and I, I’ve never really heard of Fast Forward. So you were using Fast Forward for REG and for audit.
Scheduled both of them without even ever having taken an exam.
Nike: Exactly, yes, that was a big error.
Logan: [00:07:00] And, then, uh, and then, you know, failed both of them.
And so at that point you’re looking around and did you, uh, what did you find, did you start using Becker and SuperfastCPA around the same time? Or, okay.
Nike: Same time, I started with both the same time.
Logan: Okay, okay.
Found SuperfastCPA, Studied the Unconventional Way and Passed
Logan: And so, uh, how did, what was interesting to you about SuperfastCPA when you discovered it?
Nike: Awesome. Um, SuperfastCPA to me, um, when I went through it, the first thing I did was to listen to the podcast and I saw Nate talking about the one, um, one hour webinar or something, so I, I immediately bought one of the course, which was REG, that was the first one I did.
I bought only REG and, um, I went through the one hour webinar and, um, I followed the process, and once I followed the process, I discovered that the process I used for REG and audits [00:08:00] before were actually traditional. All we had to do was I read through the whole process, I listened to the videos, I watched, I listened to everything. I walked through all the MCQs and I went for the exam. Of course I got the results.
But when I would listen to the webinar, I discovered that no, the process has to be different, the unconventional way. And I followed through with my second attempt, which was REG and I passed. Yes.
Logan: Okay. Okay so you, and you had, so you, the, your first experience with SuperfastCPA was the podcast, is that right? Is that what you were saying?
Nike: Podcast? No.
Logan: Yeah, like, like, oh, okay, okay. So it, how did, so was it, it was the webinar then. So you found the webinar, watched that, and then you, uh, then you got like REG and went from there.
Nike: Yes, yes.
Logan: Yeah, okay. Uh, so, and you passed REG, which is awesome.
Take Aways from the Free Webinar That Led Nike to Pass REG
Logan: And what, what was the difference this time? Like, you know, you had taken Reg and audit before doing kind of the normal [00:09:00] way, but what did you feel was different? Why do you feel that it was different this time around?
Nike: Okay. Like I said earlier, um, when I went, I watched the webinar, the one hour webinar for, um, with Nate, the first thing was I took three processes out of the webinar. The first one was me starting with the questions that I had to start with the questions, which was the other way around.
The other way around was I had to go through the, uh, materials and then go to the questions. But this time, I was meant to understand that, no, you start with the questions. That gives me where to concentrate on.
And the second one was the daily re-review, and the last one, which which was very key to me was the mini quiz.
Those were the two, those was, those were the three takeaway from the webinar.
And those processes, I followed it through. I made sure I did everything that I had to do before I went for REG and I [00:10:00] passed it.
Logan: That’s awesome. And do you remember what you scored with REG when you passed it?
Nike: Yes, 84?
Logan: 84. That’s, Hey, that’s a great score.
After Taking REG, Immediately Bought Everything Not Knowing If She Passed
Logan: So you go in, you pass REG, and after that, what, did you decide to get the rest of SuperfastCPA?
Nike: Oh, yes. Immediately I, immediately I got the result for, no, I didn’t wait to get the results. Immediately, I finished REG, and of course I had to start preparing for audit.
I just went, I bought the whole package. I bought everything, including PRO member. Yes.
Logan: So, so you didn’t even wait for your score or you were just like, I liked the way this went. I’m gonna do it for all of my exams.
Nike: Exactly. Yes.
Logan: Okay.
Adapting Her Own Style with SuperfastCPA
Logan: And then, so, you had three big takeaways from the webinar, and then do you remember if there was anything else that you liked from the PRO course when you watched the PRO Course through?
Nike: Oh yeah. Um, another thing was on how to attempt simulations. That was also very good that you go through it, you submit it, you [00:11:00] use it to learn. Of course, I did that, but not to the latter. I did it, but, but the three things I really took away that I made sure I did from the webinar were just those three. Other things, of course, I used it, but not exactly the way he said it. I just try to adapt it to my own style.
Logan: Right, right.
Prepares Her Study Material Before Going to Bed
Logan: So you got, and what did your day typically look like once you started studying with SuperfastCPA? Were you studying in the morning? Were you studying in the evening? And how much were you studying?
Nike: Okay. Um, one of the things that Nate mentioned in the webinar was to study in the morning, but because I was already doing it, so it wasn’t new to me.
So first thing I do, of course I’m used to it, that if you have, if you are preparing for an exam and you need to pass it, you need to study in the morning, so I was already used to that.
So one thing I do, I make sure I wake up early in the morning, minimum of two hours, at times, three hours. I wake up in the morning and when I wake up [00:12:00] in the morning, I know that very key thing is, is before I go to bed at night, I make sure I schedule what I had to do in the morning.
Logan: Oh, okay.
Nike: That’s, most times motivates me to get off the bed and start.
So once I get off the bed, the next thing I do is to go off to my system, start new materials, and I start with questions. So I start new materials, I start with questions that keep me awake because, a very good extent you are challenged. Is very active, so you are challenged, you are awake because something is triggering you.
You are not sleeping off, you’re not dosing off. You are not just zoning off.
Logan: Not just watching the video.
Nike: You are very active. And that I do every morning, that I do every morning.
Made Sure That She Does Mini Session All Throughout the Rest of the Day
Nike: And in the afternoon or throughout the day. I make sure I’m doing one thing or the other is that, that I’m on mini quiz, is that I’m listening to audios.
I do one thing or the, I keep myself active all throughout the day.
And in the evening also, I, so I also try to go through [00:13:00] one, one or two things, or to review whatever I’ve done during the day.
Logan: Okay, okay.
How Nike Would Plan Her Study Schedule
Logan: So you would, I, I like that idea by the way. So in the evenings before you would go to bed, you would plan what you were going to study the next day. So what did that look like? Did you just write down, I’m going to do this module, or what did that look like?
Nike: Okay. Um, good question. One thing is, once I get, once I start the, the course, I look at how many topics I have. I break it down into weekly. I break it down into daily. I break it down into how I, so I take it one after the other because my intention is to finish minimum of, I still have, I, I still want to have two weeks before the exam, after I’ve covered all the materials, so I plan the courses based on that schedule and I work with it, so I take it one after the other.
Logan: So when you were breaking it up daily and even hourly, was that like, in this [00:14:00] hour I want to get done with a certain amount of questions or was it a certain module or what did that look like?
Nike: Module, module. I go with modules. Yes.
Logan: Okay. so in this hour I want to get F1, M-2.
Nike: Exactly. Yes, yes, so I would do everything within that module. Yes, yes.
Logan: Okay.
Using Your Phone to Study All Day
Logan: And, uh, what, so when you were doing, and, okay, so you’d do that in the evening, you would plan out what you’re going to do, and then in the morning you would, you know, do those two or three hours, and then throughout the day, what, uh, what did using your mini sessions look like? Were you doing audio notes and mini quizzes and stuff constantly throughout the day, you were saying?
Nike: Yes, yes. I do it throughout the day. Even two minutes, five minutes. I make sure I’m on my phone using the mini quiz or listening to the audio, yes.
Logan: And, and just curious, cause I know that this is something that some people struggle with. Um, did you have to kind of change anything about your phone habits to make sure that you were studying instead of [00:15:00] maybe,
Nike: Yes, I did.
Logan: Looking at social media or something like that?
Nike: I always remember that. Um, because, you know, Nate always emphasize it that the time you spend on social media has converted to CPA. So just so that you get CPA out of the way. So I always remember him mention that. So instead of me going to social medias, I converted it to CPA studies, yes.
Logan: And did you, uh, just like move your social media to a different part of your phone or did you delete it off your phone?
Nike: No, I just ignored it.
Logan: You just ignored it. Hey, that’s, that’s some pretty good willpower. That’s great. Okay. Yeah, and I, I mean, I wish that it was that easy for everybody, just like, eh, I’ll just leave it for later. Uh, so that’s awesome. I’m glad that you took that to heart.
So, uh, you know, and, and did you ever use the, I know you used the audios and the mini quizzes. Did you also read the review notes?
Nike: Uh, not much. Yes, I didn’t read it as much, yes.
Logan: Were those a little bit, uh, so those didn’t click with you [00:16:00] as much and you know, that kind of happens a lot of the time.
Found the Mini Quizzes to Be Very Helpful
Logan: You know, we want everybody to use everything to some extent, but definitely people typically gravitate towards, I really like the mini quizzes, or I really like the audios, so, um, and did you find the mini quizzes to be useful?
Nike: Oh my God, I tell you, very useful. As a matter of fact, it’ll get to a point once I see any question that is giving me a card, maybe I missed it, or I just got it in a hero, I’m not so sure about it. The next thing I do is to screenshot the answer. I will screen, because I have another phone, I will screenshot the answer and send it to my other phone.
So I will go there and review it very well because you know, most times you may not be able to go back to it again. Once you answer it and that five question is off, it’ll bring out another one. So somehow I may not be able to go back to it, but because I want to really study it to understand the rationale behind the answer. So [00:17:00] the next thing I do, I will screenshot it, send it to my other phone, and review it very well there.
So I really made good use of the mini quiz.
Logan: Right. So and so you, so you, are you saying that you have two phones?
Nike: I have two phones.
Logan: Okay, okay. So you would send it to the, so, and what’s that for? Is it, is it like a work phone and a home phone or, or like
Nike: Like home phone, it’s like home phone.
Logan: Okay, I see, I see. Okay. So you would screenshot the mini quiz that if some, if you were struggling with something or if, because you can’t see it again and once you’re done with the quiz.
Um, so, and you know, we have it built like that so that you’re just seeing everything random and you can do, go through it quick. But I like that idea of screenshotting something so that you can kind of digest it more later.
Failed Audit Four Times But Stayed Positive
Logan: Um, so, you know, you’ve, you changed your, a lot of your study habits and everything and you’re studying constantly and then you pass REG. And so how did audit go after that?
Nike: Oh my God. Okay. This is what [00:18:00] makes a difference. Audit was very tough for me. And I think basically because, um, personally I don’t like audit and because I don’t like audits. I think it’s, and it’s toes on me.
I actually took audit like four times, but what I did was that I never stopped. Once I finished it, fine, I will go at a point. I went to FAR, but I had to come back immediately. I didn’t pass it until I passed it, so I continued to do it over and over, over and over again until I passed it.
And, um, one thing that happened while I was doing this audit, like four times was, each time I want to start it all over again, it’s always very difficult, very discouraging. I’m very, very discouraging.
But one thing that my inner mind keeps telling me is this, Nike, you are not wasting time. The past experience is cumulative. You are going to hide this to hit, so at the end of day you are going to have it in total. So that was what, what [00:19:00] I used to encourage myself, that the, I experience or whatever, I, I have gained the knowledge and everything is cumulative. And that really encouraged me until I passed it.
Logan: Yeah. So you had to take audit four times and you were saying that each time you would take it and then you’d go to far until you found out your score and then you, you would go back to audit.
Every Retake for Audit Nike Would Re-Study Everything
Logan: Um, and just to make sure I’m understanding you there, are you saying that you would start fresh every time with audit?
Nike: Yes, I start all over. I start all over because actually when you talk, um, not talked about, um, um, the retake, that, yeah, re-study and he gave us the process to do it. I tried as much as possible to follow his process, but I still adapt my own style and my style is I go over all the materials again because my, my, my own thinking is if I’ve gotten the materials, then I should have passed.
So I try to go over all the materials they get to make [00:20:00] sure that whatever lapses I have is, yes, I’m not missing anything.
Logan: Okay. So, and would you do that kind of, um, like did you take the retake process and adapt it, or did you just kind of start from the beginning and kind of do your same thing that you did before where you’re like, I’m gonna do this module today, I’m gonna do this?
Nike: Yes, I did that. Yes.
Logan: Okay.
Felt So Relieved Passing Audit and Passed FAR First Try
Logan: Um, so you finally conquered audit after four attempts, and how did that feel?
Nike: Oh, it was good. It was a big relief for me. Yes. I felt so good. I felt so good at least, but at that point I had FAR and you know, the whole FAR was so big.
Logan: Mm-hmm.
Nike: Because it was so big and so intimidating. But fortunately it was the only one I passed once.
Logan: Uh,
Nike: It was the only one I passed once.
Logan: Well, did, did you pa um, yeah, so you passed FAR first try, so you, and you’re right. And when you were taking it in 2023, right before they did the big,
Nike: Yeah, the big change, yes. [00:21:00]
Logan: Um, so yeah, I, and I, I took FAR in 20, like at the end of 2022. So it was the same like, I think it was 10 modules.
Nike: Yes, oh my God.
Logan: Now, it’s only six but yeah, it was, it was very big.
Nike: It’s lighter now. It was very big then. Very overwhelming. I never knew I would passed it, honestly. When I passed it, it was, I was so over joyous. I was so, I was so happy. I was so happy. It’s, I was surprised, but thank God I passed it.
Logan: Yeah.
Felt Nervous Taking FAR But Felt Good After Taking It
Logan: And did you find, so when you were going through FAR, were you, I mean, you weren’t expecting to pass. Did you feel like you had a good chance or were you just really nervous about it? How did you feel with FAR?
Nike: I think I was just in the middle because when I finished I felt really good, but before I went for it, I was not that confident. But when I finished the exam, I felt good because the questions that I had were questions that, were topics I was good at.
So to a good extent, I felt a little bit good, but you [00:22:00] know, this is CPA, you can’t tell.
So, but before I went in, I was not that confident, but after the exam I felt a little bit good, but I was like, just maybe? Maybe not? And thank God it worked.
Logan: And, and how did, is, just curious, is that how you felt with the audit exams too? Or were you less or more confident with those ones?
Nike: You know what? At the point, I actually thought I was going to pass audit, but I failed it at that point.
Logan: Okay, okay. So it was, it was still hard to tell?
Nike: Yes. Hard to me. It’s hard to tell. Yes. It’s hard to tell.
Logan: Yeah.
The Knowledge As A Chartered Accountant Helped With FAR
Logan: And uh, actually another question that I just barely thought of, do you feel like your experience as a chartered accountant in Nigeria, did any of that transfer or help to with, with taking FAR specifically since probably there’s some overlap there?
Nike: Yes. Oh yes. Oh yes. There are so many of the topics that were not too new. There were things I’ve done before, so of course, yes.
Logan: I’m [00:23:00] sure that must have helped to, you know, you know, financial statements.
Nike: Yeah. exactly.
Logan: Those kinds of things. Okay.
Took BEC Last But Didn’t Pass So Ended Up Taking TCP
Logan: Um, and so, and so it was 2023 that you took FAR, so you had passed three by that point, and it was still 2023, so you would’ve taken BEC next, is that right?
Nike: Yes, I took BEC last chance, BEC, but I didn’t pass it, so I had to take TCP, yes.
Logan: Yeah. Uh, and with BEC, did you find that, I mean, I, they don’t, they don’t have anymore, so it doesn’t matter too much.
Nike: Mm-hmm.
Logan: Uh, did you find it difficult or like,
Nike: Mm-hmm.
Logan: What did you think about BEC?
Nike: I actually love BEC because, um, there are some part of it that were management accounting like, and so I love some part of it, but I don’t know why I didn’t pass it, so, but I love it.
Logan: I, I mean, I know that the, for me, the written portion was probably the
Nike: Oh, yes,
Logan: A 75.
Nike: Yes, that was what [00:24:00] actually worked against me. That was what? Yes, I actually forgot that part. Thank you for reminding me. Yes, that was what worked, because even before, and again, Becker had that point, didn’t have good parts, they didn’t have a good grip on that particular part, so that that actually worked against me.
Yes, all of parts were good for me, but the written part. Mm-hmm.
Logan: Yeah,
Nike: Yes, yes, yes.
Logan: I, I, I’m pretty sure that for me the written portion was, uh, why I got a 75 instead of maybe scoring a little bit higher
Nike: Oh yea.
Logan: For BEC, I, I barely passed BEC.
TCP Felt Comfortable Since Already Passed FAR
Logan: Uh, so you, so you failed BEC, um, and so you were gonna take TCP next and, uh, how did TCP go?
Nike: Oh, TCP went really good. If you remember, TCP, you know, it has a lot of FAR. Talking about the partnership and all those stuff. Yes. And because I already passed FAR, so it’s, it was added advantage to me on [00:25:00] TCP.
So when I took TCP, I was very comfortable. I was very confident when I took TCP and really worked out for me, yes.
Logan: And, and you had already also passed REG, so passing, FAR passing REG really helped with TCP.
Nike: It helped TCP
The Reason Why Nike Took TCP Instead of BAR and ISC
Logan: Um, with TCP, what was your, um, what was your thought process for taking TCP? Like, why didn’t you take BAR or ISC?
Nike: Oh wow, at a point immediately I failed BEC, I was very confused. So I had to sit down, if you remember in Becker, they will give you a kind of test. They will give you opportunity to review the three discipline courses.
So I went through it, I reviewed it at a point I wanted to take back. I now discovered that part of the BEC that I just failed had just came back, so I said, this will not work for me. This will not work. So I went through TCP, I said, I think I’m more comfortable with TCP. So I went for TCP. So that was why I took TCP. Yes, yes.
Logan: [00:26:00] So I don’t think I ever have seen that. So when you looked at in Becker, did have you like take a test or did it, or was it more just reading what was
Nike: I don’t know if they still have it now. Maybe it happened immediately after the evolution.
They’ll give you access to the three, so it’ll give you the opportunity to be able to review everything. Then you choose the one you are comfortable with, but once you choose one, the other two will go off.
Logan: Okay. Oh, so once you pick one,
Nike: Yes, you can’t access the other one, yes.
Logan: Okay.
And I think I do remember that, but it’s been a little while since I, since I looked at that. So, um, and yeah, and honestly, I think you’ve made the right choice. BAR is, I think it is the hardest exam right now. I think it’s even more difficult than FAR.
Nike: Honestly, I, to me, I wonder most times why people take BAR. It’s, it’s extreme.
Logan: Yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s like BAR, it’s like FAR again, like FAR extended.
Nike: You are very right, yes.
Logan: Uh, yeah. So anyway, so yeah, I think you made the right choice taking [00:27:00] TCP and you, did you pass that one first try?
Nike: Once, 89.
Logan: So, so FAR and you passed first try. That’s awesome.
Waited for TCP Score for Three Months and Celebrated After Finally Passing
Logan: Um, so, and just curious, so you took TCP in 2024 when the whole discipline exams had changed and everything. Um, so how long did you have to wait to get your score back?
Nike: At that point, I had to wait for like three months. I took it in January, which was the first set of people that took it.
I took it in January, right away. I think I used about four weeks to prepare for it. I took it right away and I passed it, and we got a score in um, April. So in April I got the score.
Logan: In April. And And what did you do when you found out that you had passed? Did you guys celebrate at all?
Nike: Oh yeah, we did. I celebrated, I told everybody that I knew that I was writing CPA. We celebrated. I celebrated with my family. I celebrated with everybody I know, of course it
Logan: Just telling everybody, Hey, did you hear, did you hear I passed the CPA?
Nike: Yes, yes. It was a huge relief. [00:28:00] Huge relief. And I was glad I was done with it.
Logan: And uh, was your family excited too? Cause I, because they had been going through this whole thing with you.
Nike: Because every one of them has had their share of CPA.
Logan: They, they, they could, they could all maybe take the exams too.
Nike: yes, yes, yes.
All of us definitely celebrated it.
Logan: Do, uh, who, how many, do you have? I’m assuming that you have, uh, you know, a family, you have kids, do, how many kids do you have?
Nike: I have three.
Logan: Three. Okay. I, I have three as well.
Nike: Wow, awesome.
Logan: A good number.
Keep Your Loved Ones Involved to Make Your Study More Manageable
Logan: Um, so, yeah, and were they, how involved were they? Like, were they pretty understanding of you going through the process?
Nike: Yes, they did. Like I said, it’s as if all of us were taking CPA because everybody has to make one sacrifice or the other. And, um, they are sacrifice their decision and their supports really played a very huge role on my success because if it, if they hadn’t supported it [00:29:00] would’ve been a much, it would have been much easier because this is something that we all just moved and because we all just moved. All of us were just adapting. They needed me a lot, but at a point I had to tell them things that has to wait, has to wait after the exam.
And things that I have to attend to, I attend, I try to attend to it, but they were very supportive. To the extent that nothing goes, you can’t listen to anything around me.
The only thing you listen to is CPA. And their support really played a huge role on it. Yes.
Logan: So, so they were, they were willing to listen to the audio notes with you for months.
Nike: Even if they’re not listening, of course, that is the only thing that can hear around me, so.
Logan: That, that’s funny. They, they know that when they’re around, when they’re around mom or when they’re around, you know, then that’s it.
Nike: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Had to Get Her Education Evaluated to be Eligible to Take the CPA Exams
Logan: Um, oh, and actually I just had, I never thought about this, but, um, I don’t know the, I know the rules for if you just, you know, you take a bachelor’s and a [00:30:00] master’s and things like that, like in the U.S. but what, what requirements did you have to meet to be able to take the exams here? Coming from Nigeria as a chartered accountant already?
Nike: Okay, um.
Logan: Did you ever have, did you have to take any classes? I think that’s
Nike: Yes, yes, you have, you have to take some classes, um, they call it prerequisite.
For me, I had to take about three courses. I think I took taxation, I took communication, and I took, uh, ethics. Those were the three I had to take, but it wasn’t too tedious because all I had to do was to register online.
I took all of them online, they were all virtual. So I took them online, I just had to register with the maybe a TCC around me, and I did it within three months. I was done with it.
And, um, it actually depends on what you have from Nigeria or from wherever you’re coming from because you are going to evaluate your credentials.
Once the credentials are evaluated in Texas. Once the credentials are evaluated, they send you the additional [00:31:00] courses that you needed, additional credits that you needed.
Uh, once they give you the additional credit, you just go wherever you have what, wherever you want to. Take it, then send it back to them. Once it gets to them, they will tell you when you are eligible to start.
But I don’t think it’s a difficult. It is not tedious.
Logan: It wasn’t, it wasn’t, it wasn’t too much. Okay. I, yeah. I was curious if you had to, I never asked that, but I was curious if you had to like get a degree or anything like that. So you didn’t have to do that, you just took three college classes online
Nike: But I already had my degree at Master’s though.
Logan: Exactly, exactly. You already had, you had already had your degree before, so you didn’t have to get it over again.
Nike: No, no, no.
Logan: Thank goodness. Um, so, and just to make sure I’m understanding you there, so they looked at your experience, your work credentials and they were like, you have enough to only have to do these?
Nike: I don’t think they look at your work experience. No. They only look at the credentials.
Logan: Okay. Okay. I see. Alright.
Took Handwritten Notes for Almost Everything
Logan: Um, and so [00:32:00] kind of switching gears a little bit, uh, cause I haven’t asked too much about this yet. What was your strategy for when you were dealing with something tough, some kind of multiple choice question that you didn’t really understand, or a sim that you didn’t understand, how did you break it down and learn from it? Did you take notes? Did you make flashcards?
Nike: Um, for any, whether MCQ or sims, once I go through it and I discover I am not getting through, even if I went through, but I discovered that the rationale behind it was different from my own thoughts or my own idea. I take notes. And as a matter of fact, I took note for almost everything.
As a, when I say note, I mean manual notes so for each of, handwritten notes, because I retain a lot when I hand write. So for everything that I do, even apart from the MCQs and the simulations, [00:33:00] I still go through all the material. Even after I’m done with the MCQs and the simulations, I still go through all the materials because it’s possible that there are some things in the materials that the MCQ and the simulation they cover. So I still make sure I go back to the materials and go through it module to module. So I take notes for everything and I do my flashcards for everything.
Logan: So when you’re saying that, so you, you, you know, of course you went through the multiple choice questions and the sims, but did, are you saying that after you had gone through all that you would go back and read the textbook and watch the videos? Is that what you’re saying?
Nike: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Logan: Okay.
So, so you were taking notes on, not just what you learned from the multiple choice questions and the sims, but also on any other things that you might’ve learned from the video or from the textbook.
Nike: Correct, correct, but the MCQs and the simulation helps me to know where to concentrate on.
Logan: Right. Okay, so, so you knew, so you weren’t just, okay, so you weren’t just copying everything [00:34:00] down that they were saying. You were like, based on what I learned from the multiple choice questions, this is what’s actually important. Is that what you’re saying? Okay, okay.
Even Made Notebooks for Each Sections
Logan: And, uh, just curious, did you have like multiple notebooks or was it all in one notebook?
Nike: I have multiple notebooks. As a matter of fact, I have notebook for each of the subjects. At a point, I even had to give out one of my notebooks to somebody. Somebody has currently writing the CPA, but I have notebooks, separate notebook for each.
Logan: Okay. Okay. So you would have a separate notebook for each exam and was it just one, like, ’cause audit you took four times. Did you do a fresh notebook each time or,
Nike: Yes, fresh but not all. So the more, the more I go, the lesser the notes becomes. Whatever I’ve written in the past, once I don’t write it anymore.
Logan: It’s just
Nike: Yes, I, yes. what I still need to write at that point. Yes.
Logan: Okay, okay.
Nike’s Flashcards Process
Logan: And you said you also made flashcards, and were those [00:35:00] also, uh, physical flashcards.
Nike: Uh, flash physical. I wrote down everything physical.
Logan: Okay, okay. And, uh, when did you typically study your flashcards? Because you would make them, but when did you review them?
Nike: I reviewed them like few days to the exam and after I’m done, after I’m done with all the materials, then I review the flashcards.
Logan: Okay, so they were more of a part of your final review, like towards the very end.
Two Weeks of Final Review
Logan: And you said, uh, if I remember right, you said that you had two weeks of final review. You tried to do that for each exam? So what were you doing during those final two weeks to kind of review and be ready for the exam?
Nike: Okay. Um, the, the first thing I do is now that I’m done with the materials,
Logan: Mm-hmm.
Nike: I do about three things, three major things. The first thing I do, I go back to the handwritten notes. I review all, I review all my flashcards, then I go over all my MCQs again and all my [00:36:00] simulations again. So they are just like two weeks of re-review of everything.
Logan: Okay.
Nike: So that’s what I do and even in the process in the two weeks as I’m doing my 30, um, 30 MCQ question depends on the, um, exam. You know, there are some exams that have 30, um, MCQs and there are some that have 25.
So whichever one it is, I try to model the exam. To actually, to be able to model where I am. Okay, if I take this exam now, what would be my percentage? So I try as much as possible. For those that are 30, I do 30. For the ones that are 26, I think that there was a point that they had 26, the one that are 26. I try to do 26. I just try as much as possible to model the exam, and that’s what I do like every day.
Even apart from that, I still do the re-review to make sure that I cover everything, all the topics at a point.
Logan: Okay, so you would do what you were saying, like going through everything. And then you [00:37:00] would also do, still do your reviewing, like your cumulative review,
Nike: Yes.
Logan: Uh, every day as well.
Tried to Do All of the Sims for Each Section and Learning from the Sims
Logan: Something we haven’t gotten to talk about too much yet is, uh, your sims, like if I, if I’m understanding you right, did, are you saying you did all the sims in your review course?
Nike: Yes. I did all the sims. I tried as much as possible to do all the sims, and as I’m doing the MCQs, I’m also doing the sims, so I do the two together.
Logan: Okay. And when you were doing the sims, were they, um, how did you approach them? Like how did you learn from them?
Nike: Okay. Because just the, the same approach I give to the MCQs. I try to exhaust my knowledge. I try to make sure I try my best and because that helps me a lot. If I’ve exhausted my efforts or my knowledge, by the time I go to the, to the answer, it’ll help me to retain, because at that point I will know where I miss. So I did follow the process, the Superfast process on that, because the Superfast is just [00:38:00] submit and go and look at the answer. No, I don’t, I didn’t do that.
I make sure I exhaust my effort. Once I’m done, I submit, go through it and be able to make the necessary corrections. Yes, and learn from them.
Logan: So you would, so you would attempt to sim the best you could, you know, maybe sometimes you had no idea, so you’d probably didn’t get very far, but sometimes maybe you had a, you did, you knew a lot, so you’d get as far as you could, but either way, you would do the best you could and then you would submit it and learn from there, is that what you’re saying?
Nike: Yes, yes.
Logan: Okay. Um, well, I mean. I think that we’ve covered a lot of the different things, like we’ve covered your, how you study in the mornings and throughout the day, with the mini sessions. We’ve covered your sims and yeah, I think we’ve covered mostly everything.
Find A Community That Can Help You Through Your CPA Journey
Logan: Now, as we’re kind of wrapping up, something I’d like to ask is, is there anything about your process or your experience that you want to share that we haven’t gotten to talk about yet?
Nike: Yes, I’ve actually mentioned one, [00:39:00] but the one that I actually want to mention, so people, um, I have about two. The first one is because I remembered when I started the CPA journey. One thing that I was craving for was actually a community of people to share ideas with. And I tell you, when I joined Superfast, the student, um, sorry, the candidate forum really helped me a lot.
It’s helped me a lot because you will, you’ll be sharing idea with people that are currently going through whatever you’re going through. So that was a very good platform for me and I try as much as possible.
As a matter of fact, that was one part that I never made a way with. I check it like every now and then, whenever I see something on it on my phone, I open it to see what somebody is talking about. And from your support, from the not support and from the experience of other candidates. You will learn a lot. So that place is, to me, was a very good platform.
Know That Pursuing the CPA is a Marathon and Not a Sprint
Nike: Another thing that I want to share [00:40:00] with people is that, is the fact that CPA journey, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. One has to run it with patience. You run it with consistency. You run it with determination.
Believe in that, because if you look at the stress, it’s overwhelming. That’s just the truth. It is overwhelming. But when you look at the stress of now, but instead of concentrating on the stress of now, concentrate on what you have to gain after the, after you get your certificate, it’s not only about the, it’s not only about the certificates, but the kind of confidence and boldness that you’ll be able to exercise outside there will go a long way to help you.
So we look at the end results, not the current thing you are going through, believing so well that you have to run it with patience. You have to run it with consistency and you have to run it with determination. And at the end of the day, you’ll be, you’ll be, you’ll be surprised that you’ll be done [00:41:00] so.
Logan: That’s awesome. I, I agree. It’s, it’s, uh, Nate always compares it to the 800 meter. I think it’s the 800 meter sprint where it’s, uh, you have to, it’s not short and, but it’s also not like, you don’t, it doesn’t have to be like three or four years, hopefully, um, but you still have to be just constant and going the whole time.
Getting Your CPA Will Boost Your Confidence
Logan: Um, now, is there anything, uh, that you like as again, as we’re wrapping up, is there anything that you did after you passed the CPA exam that like it gave you confidence to do something else after you passed the CPA?
Nike: Oh yeah. You know, um, as a chartered accountant, I just moved there. There are a lot of things that you may not know, so having completed my CPA, I can approach the profession any with confidence. Whatever you do, you’ll be sure that no, this one, it’s, it’s what is supposed to be.
So it increases or improves your confidence to a very large instance. When you speak, you speak with [00:42:00] boldness because you know you have something to back it up because from the weight of knowledge you must have gained from the exam as well as the studies, then you can be rest assured that yes, you’re up to the task.
Took the CFP Exam After Becoming a CPA And Used the SuperfastCPA Strategies
Logan: And, uh, I, if I remember hearing you, uh, I, I heard at some point from you, well, I don’t remember where it was, but did you also go for the CFP after you got the CPA?
Nike: Oh yes, yes. After my, after my CPA, after about few weeks, I just stumbled on it and I said, okay, let me go for it. I actually, I never thought it was going to be tough. I thought it was just going to be like a, a normal whatever, but when I went in, I discovered that it’s also very tough.
But, but thankfully, I already know the process from Superfast and I applied the process of Superfast, at a point I was craving for your mini quiz. I was almost sending an email to them to Supefast that you guys to come up with something on CFP. But luckily, I [00:43:00] think, and towards my third attempt of the exam, um, the bot came up with something that was similar to Superfast.
That’s the mini quiz, I mean the mini quiz only. So I was able to use it and that really helped me. I took the exam at the third attempt with that mini quiz. And it’s, I passed it. I just want to, to me, Superfast process is excellent. So that means Superfast process can be applied on any, um, any of these certification exams. Yes, yes.
Logan: So, so you used the same process for CFP as you used for the CPA exams.
Nike: Yes.
Logan: And then, and then that one, something that was really helpful was they came out with a similar thing with the mini quizzes, and that really made a difference on that third attempt.
Nike: Yes, yes.
Logan: Okay. Well, I, I mean, it’s been pretty awesome.
I mean, you’ve gotten, you’ve got your CPA, you’ve got your CFP, you’re also a chartered accountant, so you’re very accomplished. So I mean, you’re, you’re doing awesome, uh, Nike. I, I’ve loved talking to you.
Top Tips for People Still Going Through the CPA Exams
Logan: As we wrap up here, the last question I always [00:44:00] ask, you know, even if it’s something we’ve already talked about, even if it’s something we’ve already said, but just to wrap up, what would be your top two or three tips that you would want to give to somebody who’s still going through the exams?
Nike: Okay. Um, actually I’ve already given it to minimum of about three people that are currently writing it.
The first thing is if you are writing the CPA and you have not gotten Superfast review, please go ahead and get it. Go ahead and get it because it’ll save you a lot of time. It’ll save you a lot of stress. I know the likes outside there, the other reviews, they have the material, but it’s not enough for you to know where you are going, but you need to know how to get there, so you knowing how to get there and get there fast. Makes a lot of difference. To me, Superfast will teach you how you get your CPA done on time and you do it fast.
Another thing I want to tell people is that to me, CPA is [00:45:00] not a sprint, like I’ve said, it is not a sprint. You need to run it with patience and you look at the end results, which is the certificate. Once you, you have started it, try and be consistent. Before you know it, you’ll be done with it.
And for those that are still writing it. Once you join the CPA, uh, into Superfast, it’s important for you to always look at the student forum, the candidate forum. It’s important. There you’ll be, there are a lot of things, at times when I failed any of the exam and I get there and I see some people also, they are failed, I encourage. And the lucky, the, the, the, the one interesting thing is that some other people will come there after they have, they are done, they’ll still continue to come back and continue to encourage you. To me that strength is a lot. That helps a lot. And that was very huge to me because there was nobody physically around me that was writing that exam at that point. But that place was like a community to me and it was a huge difference. So [00:46:00] if you have not gotten your Superfast, and you are trying the CPA exam? Please go ahead and get it. It’ll save you a lot of stress. Thank you.
Logan: Save you a lot of stress, a lot of time. Have that, have that community around you. Uh, I, yeah, I, I love that. Uh, yeah, you’ve given a lot of fantastic tips, a lot of fantastic advice today, Nike. I’m so glad that we are able to get on the call today.
Uh, so I help have you rest a great rest of your day and congrats on being done.
Nike: Thank you so much. Thank you. It was nice having you.
Logan: All right. That was the interview with Nike. Again, I thought it was a great one. I really loved hearing her story of starting out here in the United States, deciding she wanted to become a CPA, even though she was already a chartered accountant in Nigeria. She wanted the same opportunities here in the United States.
And I loved hearing her story. I loved hearing the way she talks.
If you did like this video, make sure to like it and leave a comment in the YouTube video or leave a rating in your favorite podcast app. This was a great interview, so make sure you’re looking for the next one as well.
And I’ll see you in the next episode.[00:47:00]
