In this SuperfastCPA podcast interview, you’ll hear how Hyrum went from struggling with the CPA study process, to figuring out a study process that fit into his busy life, and helped him start passing his CPA exams.
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Episode Timestamps
- 00:00 Interview Edit
- 02:58 How Hyrum Got Into Accounting
- 04:58 Finished the CPA Exams Before the Other Requirements
- 06:31 Hyrum’s CPA Journey
- 08:36 Finished Everything Within a Year and a Half
- 10:06 Failed FAR for the First Time and Finding SuperfastCPA
- 12:18 Failed FAR Retake and Asked for a Refund
- 13:20 When Hyrum Changed His Way of Studying
- 15:28 Fell In love with the Audio Notes and Passed BEC
- 16:13 How Hyrum Stayed Motivated Even After Failing Audit Four Times
- 17:58 Finally Finished the CPA Exams After Passing the FAR Retake
- 19:41 Listening to the Audio Notes, Printing the Review Notes
- 22:01 How Hyrum Passed BEC on First Try
- 24:07 Wishing He Bought the Pro Course from the Beginning
- 27:17 Process for Learning Difficult Topics
- 28:58 Found the Mini Quizzes Helpful on the Go
- 31:04 What a Day Look Like Studying, Working and School
- 34:17 Weekends, Practice Exams, and Final Review
- 35:09 Family Support
- 36:49 Relieved That He Got His Final Two Exam Scores on the Same Day with Passing Scores
- 37:54 It All Comes Down to Consistency and Putting in the Work
- 39:13 Talked to His Peers in College About SuperfastCPA and Meeting Logan
- 40:54 Hyrum’s Top Tips for People Still Struggling with the CPA Exams
- 43:54 How Hyrum Used the Audio Notes In His Study Process
Interview Transcript
Hyrum: [00:00:00] Because that was my journey at the time where I was, that made more sense to me to just buy each section at a time. In hindsight, I really think that I should have just bought the PRO course. If I were to do everything over again and known better, I probably just would have bought the PRO course at the very beginning
Logan: Welcome to another episode of the CPA Exam Experience podcast from SuperfastCPA. In today’s episode, you’re going to hear Nate and I talking to Hyrum.
Hyrum is actually somebody that I knew in my master’s program. I didn’t get to know him super well because he was kind of starting his masters at the same time I was ending my master’s. But I remember one day walking past him in the hallway and he was talking to somebody about this product he was using SuperfastCPA, and I stopped and I was like, Hey, I’m using SuperfastCPA and you know, I talked to them. And again, I didn’t really get to talk to him very much out of the master’s classes, but we were able to talk to him on this podcast and he has an awesome story.
[00:01:00] Hyrum was kind of your non-traditional student where he was doing school part-time and working full-time most of the time. And when he started going to school, he wasn’t really sure what he wanted to do. He just knew that he wanted to be successful. And over time he decided to go into accounting. And then of course, like most people find out, he found out that it’s a good idea to do the CPA exam so he started going for that and he got SuperfastCPA fairly early on in his process and in this interview you’ll see how he had the determination and he had the grit as he called it, to push through this difficult exam while he was working, while he was going to school, he had a child, and all of these difficult things.
So I think this is a great episode for, again, showing that you can do this no matter where you are in your life. He had a goal to pass the CPA exam and hopefully become a CPA before he was 30. And at the time of the interview, he was close to turning 29, so I’m assuming that he was able to reach his goal of becoming a CPA before 30. But the big step was of course, passing the CPA exam. And he was able to do [00:02:00] that with his determination and with the help of the SuperfastCPA materials. And you’ll hear him talk a lot about that.
Now before we dive into the interview, I wanna give everyone another reminder as always about the SuperfastCPA training webinar on superfastcpa.com. That is one hour that will save you literally months of time failing these exams 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 the exams.
So make sure you check out the webinar. Again, it’s free, it’s only one hour long. The link will be in the description of this podcast episode, so make sure you check that out. And also make sure you check out becoming a PRO member of SuperfastCPA, because we have multiple choice question walkthrough videos for just about every topic in FAR, in audit, and we’ve done a lot for REG, TCP, and I just started working on BAR as well.
So if you want some extra help with the multiple choice questions, then that is a great resource, so make sure you check that out on YouTube and check out becoming a SuperfastCPA Pro member. Now, with all that outta the way, let’s dive straight into the interview with Hyrum.
Nate: So I get, let’s just go back to the beginning.
How Hyrum Got Into Accounting
Nate: So what [00:03:00] got you into accounting originally? And then what made you decide to do the CPA, you know, in addition to just your accounting degree?
Hyrum: Yeah, so I, I’ve had a lot of people ask me this question throughout the past few years, it really comes down to, after graduating high school and serving an LDS mission, just wanted to do something that would bring success. I didn’t know what that was, so I started going to a community college, uh, Salt Lake Community College, taking classes.
I knew I wanted to get a bachelor’s, at least a bachelor’s degree, maybe a master’s, but I still didn’t know what it was. After taking some classes here and there, I started realizing that, um, my finance classes and my very entry level accounting classes made sense to me. I liked them. I really liked the idea of budgeting. Um, I, I was really into Dave Ramsey at the time and other finance podcasts. And, you know, just, I just was [00:04:00] trying to soak up as much information as I could about finance, budgeting, accounting, and, I really started finding this passion for, for that field. And so around that time, after finishing up my associate’s degree, and I really needed to make a decision on what bachelor’s degree I was going to take, I decided on either finance or accounting and really ended up taking more accounting classes and declared that major and I think that was the right choice.
And, uh, and so then at that point, I, I, I knew, and I, and I figured that if I’m gonna go into accounting, I better get a CPA,
Logan: Mm-hmm.
Hyrum: Or a CMA or some other type of accounting certificate and, uh, at the time, CPA made the most sense. Uh, just everyone around me said it was the gold standard, and then also to pursue and get your master’s degree of, also to get the 150 hours, not that it was required, but it also made sense to just get the master’s degree.
Finished the CPA Exams Before the Other Requirements
Hyrum: And so, that’s where I’m at [00:05:00] now, just finished my master’s degree and, uh, finished the CPA exams. And really what I need next is my, my hours, um, in order to actually get my CPA licensure.
And so, um, I haven’t had an accounting job yet. I have been working in a, like a finance operations, uh, banking role is the best way I could describe it. And it’s, I’ve been working there for eight years, really ever since I started my associate’s degree and it’s been a great job. I’ve learned a lot. I really use that job to really hone in on, on business skills and get me through school. Now that I’m done with school and the CPA, I’m making this pivot in my career to become an auditor. And so I did accept a job with Tanner LLC here in Lehigh. I start working with them in October in just a few weeks so I’m, I’m thrilled, finally ready to jump in to auditing and really give that, [00:06:00] um, really give that a try and, and beef up some of my skills as well. Um, so that’s, that’s kind of where my, in a nutshell, my, my passion for accounting has started.
Nate: Awesome.
Logan: That, I mean, that’s pretty cool. I think that’s fairly unique. Not only to finish your CPA around the same time you finish your master’s cause most people wait till after their master’s, but also get your, well, to finish the CPA exam, excuse me, before you’ve even really worked in like public accounting at all.
Hyrum’s CPA Journey
Logan: Uh, I guess let’s just dive into your journey for the CPA. Uh, when did you start studying for the CPA? And. I guess kind of a secondary question. Did your, you know, did your lack of experience in like public accounting specifically, did that play a role at all in your studying? Or do you feel like you were just fine without having had that experience?
But yeah, what was your, what was it like to study for the CPA exam?
Hyrum: Yeah. So [00:07:00] you kind of touched on the point where in, in other words, I’m kind of a, uh, an untraditional student. Most students will, they’re starting their bachelor’s degree, they’ll get an internship and upon finishing their bachelor’s or maybe their master’s, they’ve accepted offers or they’ve already had the hours put in.
And so as soon as they pass their exams, they’re, they’re pretty much automatically a CPA. And, and so my path has been a little bit different. Um, so as soon as I finished my bachelor’s degree, um, is when I started studying for the CPA exam. And so that was, um, I wrote it down just so I wouldn’t forget, but that would have been like December of 2022 is when I finished my bachelor’s degree and, and that’s really when you can take the CPA.
So as soon as I got my transcripts at the end of December, um, I went ahead immediately, submitted my transcripts to NASBA. And as soon as I got approved, I scheduled my first exam. And, and during that time in December, before my [00:08:00] master’s classes started, cause I, I signed up for the master’s program that started in January,
Logan: Okay, so you really had no break. Yeah, okay.
Hyrum: Yeah, it was kind of funny because I was, I was taking my first semester. For the master’s program before I walked and graduated with my bachelor’s degree. So that, that was funny. Um, but it was in December is when I went ahead and just bought the full, uh, Becker CPA exam review. They had like a deal going on for Black Friday and so I jumped on that and as soon as I got my books, I started studying, started taking my classes.
Finished Everything Within a Year and a Half
Hyrum: Um, and, uh, we’ll get into this, uh, probably a bit more and more in detail, but I finished this, uh, this July of 2024. So it took a total of just about a year and a half of just, just full study, um, including that was finishing up my master’s degree because that took me about a [00:09:00] year and a half. So my entire master’s program was classes and studying for the CPA exam.
Nate: And working full time?
Hyrum: And working full time, yeah, and, and I also, and I also have a kid, actually, I have two kids now. We, we had our, our second baby girl born in May. So I graduated, had a baby, got my final score releases in July. Yeah. Just, just tons happening, but the entire time of working full time master’s degree, studying for the, for the CPA, including Becker and using SuperfastCPA for a year and a half with, with a child.
It really was a lot. It, it was, um, a lot of grit, a lot of determination, and, and a lot of, um, telling myself my why my why was want to get my CPA, uh, before I’m 30. Um, that was kind of like my, my big goals. I wanted to get my CPA before I turned 30 years old. I’m turning 29 in just a [00:10:00] month and so I’m, I’m right on track. I’m hoping to get my hours in within the year and fulfill that goal.
Failed FAR for the First Time and Finding SuperfastCPA
Hyrum: Um, but after taking one semester with my masters, uh, program, um, I went ahead and sat for, uh, the FAR CPA exam. And during that time I had only used the Becker materials, which
Logan: I was gonna ask that, yeah.
Hyrum: Yeah, I hadn’t started using the SuperfastCPA yet.
Um, I loved Becker. I haven’t really used any other, uh, CPA software other than Becker and SuperfastCPA, but I went ahead and took the FAR exam in, in May, as soon as I could take it. And, uh, and I, and I didn’t pass it. I, I actually failed FAR and you know, it was like after taking it for the first time, it was kind of a blow thinking crap, I, I didn’t do this, um.
Logan: And you’ve been studying for like four or five months, right?
Hyrum: Yeah, yeah. I’ve been, I’ve been, I’ve been studying for months. Well, of course the whole [00:11:00] semester and it seemed like forever. And, uh, and so after that, I knew I needed to retake it. And so after just tons of Googling, like, Hey, what, how do you, like make a comeback from, from this. I came across SuperfastCPA, was one of the links. I watched one of the videos on YouTube. and even before watching the link, I had seen ads for SuperfastCPA, but I didn’t really know what it was before. Um, but I really took that seriously and so I went ahead and bought, um, the, the FAR section, I didn’t buy the full bundle. I just bought the FAR section.
I figured that’s all I needed at the time. uh, and, and so I, I, I said, okay, I’m going to do this for like four or five weeks, I think of what, what is, is what it was, I think in that video, Nate, I think you recommended two or three weeks, depending on kind of how close I was. I really, I was really close. I think I got a 71 or 72.
Nate: Okay.
Hyrum: so I started just nonstop, [00:12:00] um, reading the, the notes, listening to the audio notes for a few weeks and went ahead and took the exam again. And I, and I didn’t pass. I actually got a lower score than, than the 72. I got like a, I think a 67, so I was, I was a bit upset, yeah, just, just mainly with myself. Yeah, go ahead.
Failed FAR Retake and Asked for a Refund
Logan: Sorry, with that, like why did you keep using SuperfastCPA after that? Like, I guess, you know, cause you got a worse score. So what happened there?
Hyrum: Yeah. Well, I, I really loved, I’ll, I’ll get more into that. I really loved, um, the products that you guys have specifically the audio notes. Um, if, if I were to recommend SuperfastCPA to anyone for one specific reason, I’d say that the audio notes, um, and because I, they were just great. I listened to listen to them all the time.
So I went ahead and, uh, asked for a refund cause you said I could ask for a refund if I use your product and didn’t pass and, and you did give me a refund and, and part of that time, um, but, [00:13:00] and then I, and then I thought, you know, I got to give FAR a rest. I have been studying so much, this was like my first and second time. Two fails, I really felt frustrated and I, I knew something not necessarily was going wrong, but I needed to kind of refocus myself, get new literature, uh, to reset my mind.
When Hyrum Changed His Way of Studying
Hyrum: And so I started studying for BEC and I thought, well, I, I really liked the audio notes, um, from SuperFastCPA, so I thought I’d give you guys another try. So I went ahead and bought the BEC section, um, and that was in, I think, just the end of July, it’s kind of when I got my scores for the FAR for the second time. And so I started studying just nonstop BEC. It was over the summer. I only had, I think, two classes online at, um, at UVU, and so I really had a lot of time to study.
And so just nonstop using, um, the audio notes, I would read the book over and [00:14:00] over again. I probably read, uh, 20 to 30 pages, sometimes even more every single day. And actually what I did is with the, with the PDF, I went ahead and I printed it out because I, it was kind of hard for me to read off the phone and I wasn’t always using my laptop.
So I printed it out and I would take notes I’d take sticky notes and I would read, and really what helped me the best, is in there, like things that you suggested and lots of your videos was to, to do that two hour study session. It wasn’t necessarily getting a timer and starting two hours. It was the idea of sitting down and, and just taking multiple choice questions. And I do like a set of 30, and then I maybe do another set of 30. And as soon as I would finish that, I would go through each question, some days I’d do all of them depending on how much time I had, the ones I got wrong and the ones I got right, [00:15:00] and some days, probably most of the time, I’d just go over the ones I got wrong, I’d get a piece of paper and I’d, I’d write out like, like logically, like what is it saying? What are the steps to get the right, what is the right question? And I would, and I would think about it. I would even talk about, talk about it out loud to myself. that was just kind of something I did every single day is just a cumulative 30 MCQ study and repeat study, repeat.
Fell In love with the Audio Notes and Passed BEC
Hyrum: Um, when I would get up in the morning, uh, I would go for a run. I listened to the audio notes when I would, uh, get ready for the day. I, you know, if I had to commute somewhere, I would listen to the notes. Um, and so anyways, with that, I really fell in love with the product after failing FAR two times and I took BEC in September and, and I, and I passed. Um, and I, and I got a, I believe it was, uh, it was an 84%, and so,
Nate: Yes.
Hyrum: Doing that, like [00:16:00] using that and studying for three months, passing BEC really boost my self esteem. And I, I thought, wow, this really is possible. This can be done. Um, and, and I really ought to give it some more, um, more, some more thoughts.
How Hyrum Stayed Motivated Even After Failing Audit Four Times
Hyrum: So then immediately after getting that, I started studying for audit. I bought the audit section for SuperfastCPA and, uh, and I also had some audit classes, uh, with school for the master’s program, so I had a lot going on. Um, and I studied for about two months. I felt prepared. I took audit and I, and it didn’t pass. I took it again and I didn’t pass, I kept, I kept studying and I realized my why was like, this can be done.
Uh, one of the quotes from Peter Alinto and Becker is he would always say, you can, and you will do this. And so that really stuck with me and, and I thought I just need to, like, I just need to keep doing this every time I fail is not [00:17:00] a fail, it’s just, it’s just an opportunity for, for me to learn, an opportunity for me to dive deeper into the literature, um, and, and just give it a try again.
It’s, for me, it really, it didn’t, I didn’t feel like it was a race. Um, like I wasn’t racing with any of my colleagues. It was, it was my journey and it was something I really wanted. Um, so I took audit a few more times. Um, so, uh, in, in total, I, I took audit five times and finally passed it with a 76. So I almost had a perfect score
Nate: Yeah.
Hyrum: Because 75 is that perfect score.
Logan: Yup.
Hyrum: Um, and so don’t know why audit gave me the hardest time and BEC gave me the easiest time, but that’s just how it is. I know it’s different for every, everyone else. I think Logan, you’ve mentioned,
Logan: I’m opposite, yeah. I hated BEC, yeah.
Yeah. So yeah, it just depends on the person. You’re right.
Hyrum: Yeah, it really just depends.
Finally Finished the CPA Exams After Passing the FAR Retake
Hyrum: Um, so I went ahead [00:18:00] in the spring, I took REG, I did pass that one the first time.
Logan: Nice.
Hyrum: Then I retook audit or not audit, I retook FAR and then, and then passed that. So FAR took me three times and I did actually pass it with a, with a 75. So that, that was exciting. Um, so none of my scores, I wouldn’t say I’m the smartest person out there. I didn’t always score the highest. Um, but it was just so exhilarating to finally get that passing score. And, like I, I remember getting those scores releases in, in July. And I’m, I just started crying and sobbing because I thought this is like, this is it, I’m done. I was, I was ready to go buy another, um, uh, test retake. I would just, I had it in my budget. I had it set aside and ready to just go buy it and reschedule my exam so that, that was just, that was so exciting to finally find out that I passed.
So it’s, it was interesting, I [00:19:00] went, after going back and looking at all of the tests I’ve done, so in total I’ve done, you know, I’ve taken the CPA exam, you know, different sections, a total of 10 times, and so some people are able to get them done really fast. It took me a little bit longer, but that’s, that, to me, that was totally okay because, because I didn’t give up and part of, you know some of those difficulties along the journey was getting those fails and having to go through that process again, was really hard, but, but I, but I knew I just needed it just to keep going.
It, again it wasn’t a race, this is what I wanted, and I knew I was going to learn more each time.
Listening to the Audio Notes, Printing the Review Notes
Hyrum: Um, so, so with that being set aside, I, you know, going back, talking more about the SuperfastCPA material, I, I really, I really enjoyed the audio notes. I, I said that a few times, I’m going to say that again, because I want whoever is listening to this to really [00:20:00] consider, um, what you guys have to, what you guys have to offer that other study programs don’t is your audio notes.
They’re, they’re excellent. They’re, they’re something that you can listen to when you go for a run, when you drive in the car or going, you’re commuting to work, you’re getting ready for bedtime, listen to those audio notes. They were just so helpful. And then your, your written notes, they were, they were much more concise and much smaller than the Becker material.
The Becker material really gave you everything as far as their modules go and it takes longer to get through those, whether, and then with your books, um, you know, they, they, you’re able to get through them much faster. I, you know, I don’t know if, um, you guys have thought about this, um, for, for, for the future, but I would, I would recommend, um, printing your own textbooks and sending those out to people, um, I really felt having, for me, a physical copy really made the difference because it’s [00:21:00] something I could take around with me everywhere I go and take notes, put a sticky note in, and again, like I would just read it over and over again.
Logan: I loved having the, like for me personally, and again, this isn’t for everybody, but it seems like it was like this for you as well. I printed out the review notes back when I was, you know, using SuperfastCPA myself. And I, what I did is I, like three-hole punched them and put them in a three-ring bindler but I did the same thing as I took handwritten notes, um, I, I did flashcards still, but I took handwritten notes on the SuperfastCPA review notes so I had everything in one place and I could kind of, explain things to myself or if, you know, cause you know, our review notes are like you said, like they’re just to the point and occasionally there was something that was like, Oh, I want to explain this to myself a bit more. And I could do that if I had it printed out. So I, I really liked that as well. So it’s not a bad idea.
Nate: Yeah. A lot of people say that, or I mean, on these interviews, a lot of people [00:22:00] have had printed ’em out.
How Hyrum Passed BEC on First Try
Nate: Um, so one thing you mentioned, you said on your BEC, now you didn’t retake BEC, right?
Hyrum: No, I took that once.
Nate: Okay. When you were describing BEC, uh, you described how on that exam, you really dug into the MCQs and like, really, it seems like you picked up the idea of like active studying. Was that from one of our videos and was that new to your BEC attempt? Like, was it something you watched from us that you applied differently to that BEC attempt?
Hyrum: Yeah, it was so after, after like failing FAR for the first time, I picked up SuperfastCPA and, and really tried to use everything that you guys recommended for FAR, even though I didn’t pass. I think it’s just because FAR was a harder topic for me and I needed, I just needed more time for that. And so I used the same study method that you guys recommend [00:23:00] for BEC.
Because I, because I had more time I was able to, to put more time into it and just really, just really delve into all of the, the, all of the literature kind of all at once, instead of module at a time and forgetting that module, I would, you know, I would study the modules. I did use Becker and I would go through all the modules, but using SuperfastCPA helped me kind of go back to some of those modules and information that I hadn’t touched for a while. And so, so yeah, going back, the biggest thing that helped me, that helped me realize was doing those MCQs just over and over and over again and making sure I, I write out what I got wrong.
Nate: Yeah.
Hyrum: That was, that was a game changer for me, is, is doing that versus just watching a lecture, um, taking some MCQs, getting, get, get them wrong, do some sims, move on the, on to the next lecture.
It [00:24:00] was just over and over again, a cumulative, so that I made sure I grasped some of those main hard topics.
Logan: Yeah.
Wishing He Bought the Pro Course from the Beginning
Logan: Just to clarify, to make sure I’m understanding this, right. So you found SuperfastCPA, did you watch the one hour webinar? Is that, uh, okay. So you watch that and then you never bought the PRO course. You just bought each bundle as you needed it so just, yeah. So you use the webinar and I guess the podcasts and then like the study materials that what you used from SuperfastCPA?
Hyrum: It is. And, and, and, and I wanted to add onto that because that, that was my journey at, at the time where I was, that made more sense to me to just buy each section at a time. In hindsight, I I really think that I should have just bought the PRO course. If I were to do everything over again, and, and known better. I probably just would have bought the PRO course at the very beginning, cause there was a lot of stuff I noticed that I didn’t [00:25:00] have access to that I wish I did. And then if I just had all the material, that’s what I used anyways, and so I would recommend to other people to just buy the PRO course, get everything all at once.
Nate: Yeah, I mean, you, if you listen to all these interviews and then like our, you know, we have like YouTube videos where it’s kind of just me talking on one like specific aspects of the study process, you really can kind of parse out all the main strategies from the PRO course, but the benefit is it’s just there sequentially in one spot straight to the point, like this is like step one, step two, here’s what each day should look like.
Um, so it is just, yeah, it’s like easier to have the PRO course, but we’ve had multiple people on here that, I mean, we’ve even had people on this that never bought anything. But they emailed and said, I just listened to your podcast and watch the free training and it turned around my studying and so anyways. So anything in [00:26:00] between, but yeah, I think that is ideal, you know, um, cause it’s just all in one place for you. Well, yeah, so I just picked that up from your story. It sounded like as soon as you, that like clicked for you to really dig into the MCQs and kind of like wrestle with them, basically, you know, right out what didn’t make sense and you explained it to yourself out loud until it did make sense, you know, you pass BEC. Audit is different kind of for that strategy, really, because there’s not really calculation stuff. It’s kind of just, audits just different, you know, and for people who didn’t have previous experience in audit, it’s can easily be the hardest exam, but then you go on and pass REG and FAR on, you know, after that.
Logan: Mm hmm.
Nate: After that realization, you pass those on your first time after that, um, yeah. So that really is kind of the base of this whole process, like no matter what strategy or if someone even is wanting to watch [00:27:00] every video, read every chapter at some point, you have to gain that skill of, being able to just reverse engineer practice questions basically, like you, you have to figure that out eventually. Um, yeah, no matter what else you’re doing.
Hyrum: Yeah.
Process for Learning Difficult Topics
Logan: And kind of along with that so we’ve, we’re talking about you know, wrestling with the MCQs, what, did you have a specific process for things that were giving you a really hard time, you know, cause in general, there’s just learning from the MCQs but then there’s also like, there will be topics that you just, no matter, you just really struggle with. Did you have a different process for those topics?
Hyrum: Um, I couldn’t really pinpoint, uh, like a, a specific process, um, that was different. I would say that with some of the harder topics, it was just having to go back and watch a video, do an MCQ and, and sometimes like, for some of those questions that I kept getting wrong, [00:28:00] like I would just keep writing it down and so I’d have some, some questions where I’ve written out like 10 times, it’s taken a whole page because I keep going back to it.
But you know, really what it comes down to for me is, is, is you just really have to, take the time. It’s, it’s nothing that you can just look over once and then, and then pass, pass the exam and you really have to take, take the work, um, study hard, um, read a lot, do a tons of multiple choice questions.
And, and I haven’t really said much about the sims, but I also did a lot of sims. Like I, I threw that into the mix, like every single day I was at least doing one sim along with like the 30 multiple choice questions. Um, and like I made it a goal to, you know, do all of the multiple choice questions in Becker and do all of the simulations in Becker and making sure that I got it right and not just, just having had done it. And so, so it’s like doing a lot of things over and over again.
Found the Mini Quizzes Helpful on the Go
Hyrum: Um, [00:29:00] also I, I also use the, the app that you guys have for the multiple choice questions. I didn’t use that as much as I did Becker. Becker was like my two hour session, you know, I, I would sit down, you know, for hours and just do multiple choice questions in Becker using that software.
Um, but you guys even recommend to use the, the five questions on the app when you’re out and about. And I wasn’t, um, like a hundred percent using that, but I, I did use that during times when I felt really motivated or I had a lot of time to study, I would, I would do that.
Um, and, and those things are really helpful because, um, because I don’t, have time to write out the notes because I probably don’t have a pen and a paper. And so when, when I did those and I would get it wrong, it was, it was just more reading and it was just kind of a, a different study method that was also supplemental to, um, so, you know, when, when you don’t have time to [00:30:00] for an hour or two, I think the app, the MCQ, the MCQ questions on the app, doing that five just over and over again, really helped when I didn’t have my, my laptop or pen and paper.
Logan: Yep.
Nate: Yeah. We, we always tell people that like to try and use our study tools, like all of them throughout the day at different times, cause they all kind of hit your brain differently and they’re just, they fit, you know, the audios, obviously you can be doing other things. Like, like you said, getting ready in the morning, uh, riding, riding a bike, what did someone say? Like, uh, like when they bike, wasn’t that,
Logan: Mountain biking and,
Nate: That mountain bike,
Logan: Stuff like that.
Nate: Or, uh, you know, if you have like five or 10 minutes, then it makes sense to like read the notes. If you only have a few minutes or, you know, one of our quizzes takes like 60 seconds. So, yeah, there’s just things to use depending on just how it fits in that moment throughout the day.
But yeah, it really works best to use all three, cause they do, they just kind of hit your brain differently.[00:31:00]
Hyrum: Yeah.
Nate: Uh, so I’m guessing you were working normal office hours.
What a Day Look Like Studying, Working and School
Nate: So like, how was an average day for you? Would you do the two hours in the morning and then you had a regular job and then you were doing school at night? Or how did you fit all that in on the average?
Hyrum: A typical, yeah, a typical day would be waking up anywhere between 5 to 6 in the morning, um, and really taking time to study for at least an hour before having to start work. And so that’s, that’s what a typical morning would be like 5, 5 to 6 am and then work. And then in the evenings was difficult because, um, usually I would have night classes.
Um, I, I was, I was a part time student throughout my associates, bachelor’s and master’s degree. And so I’d always take night classes it was usually anywhere from two to three, um, classes a semester. Some classes were offered online. Uh, some were offered in person. And so my evenings really were [00:32:00] just study all evening, whether it was going to school, it was homework. It was, I mean, part of the CPA exam journey for me was just homework. It was, it was just another class I was taking basically. Um, it, I mean, it was definitely the most, uh, homework out of all my other classes, but it was a great supplement to my classes and my classes were a great supplement to the CPA, um, exam process.
And so, I would say going back, it would be like an hour in the morning. Um, I would work throughout the day and then in the evenings class, homework, and, and then for MCQs, sometimes, you know, depending on the class I would, I would commute and I’d use the front runner. It would be like a 30 minute, um, ride on the, on the train down to UVU.
And then I would either walk across the bridge, uh, or take a bus to get to class. And so that was a good time for me to listen to the SuperfastCPA audio notes when I walked across to get to class. And then sometimes I get to class [00:33:00] anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before class. And that’s, that was my time where I was able to do my 30 multiple choice questions and just plug that through. Um, usually it take me anywhere from 30 minutes to 40 minutes, um, before class started.
And then at nights when I’d get home to do homework, that was a great time for me to review, go back and review all of the multiple choice questions that I had gotten wrong. And so, and that, that sometimes I would be able to get two, uh, sets of 30 in sometimes just one, um, even sometimes, I mean, maybe, maybe it was 15 because not every day was the same, but I think the idea of being consistent and, you know, even if one day wasn’t perfect, that’s okay because tomorrow is going to be a new day and I’m going to hit it hard and do as much as, as much as I could that day, also depending on how much homework I had. Sometimes I didn’t have as much homework, so I was able to study [00:34:00] more for the CPA.
Um, but, uh, it’s, it’s just all about not procrastinating getting just, if today’s Monday or today’s Tuesday, what can I get done today that can give me more time later in the week to study more for the CPA?
Weekends, Practice Exams, and Final Review
Hyrum: Um, Saturdays, uh, usually Saturdays were, know, I, I take more time to study depending on what was going on. Um, always a few weeks out before an exam every Saturday, I would take the final review. Um, you’d get the two final reviews and then I, and then, you’d get the two practice exams
Logan: Yeah.
Hyrum: From the main course, and then you’d get the, uh, the final review exams, the three, three total.
And so three weeks out, I’d always, every Saturday I would take a practice exam. Um, then I would review again out of that everything that I got wrong. And so that was kind of a, um, a habit for me. So in total over the year and a half and the 10 [00:35:00] exams, I had taken a practice exam at least 30 or 31 times getting through that, so that’s kind of what my Saturdays look like.
Logan: Yeah. Wow.
Family Support
Nate: So does life just feel easy now that, I mean, you don’t have to wake up early to study and you don’t have to study all night?
Hyrum: Yeah, life’s been great. Um,
Nate: Holy cow.
Hyrum: It’s such a relief. Yeah, it’s been such a relief to be done with school and studying for the CPAs. I really have a lot more time to spend with my family now, um, in the evenings, actually, because that’s what was hard is, you know, kind of like that work life balance was
Logan: I was going to ask about.
Hyrum: So much time, yeah, so much time went into work and school that, you know, I I’m sure my family at times thought I was neglecting them because I was just focused and I would tell them that I really needed a study tonight. I couldn’t really go out and do fun things. And would every once in a while, but my focus was study and I, I needed to just block out [00:36:00] that time to study.
And so, um, you know, I, I really need to give credit to my wife and my daughter because they not only had to sacrifice a lot of that time, but they also encouraged me, my wife always encouraged me to study, you know, and she, and she let me, when I would tell her, you know, I really, um, can’t do this event tonight, I really need to study. She understood and never got mad at me. And so that that was very very helpful and any time I would fail she would always be right there telling me, okay, you got us you got to sign up for your next exam. You got it You just got to keep studying because this is our life. This
Nate: Yeah,
Hyrum: Is what we do. So she’s been relieved, such relief that she has, you know, we as a family have actually have time to go do events and fun things and build memories.
Relieved That He Got His Final Two Exam Scores on the Same Day with Passing Scores
Logan: Especially with another baby, like, uh,
Hyrum: Yeah.
Logan: I’m sure that, that’s like, oh, thank goodness you’re, you can like spend a bit more time with a newborn too, you know?
Hyrum: That was a huge [00:37:00] concern is, you know, if I didn’t pass my exams in July, we’re just gonna have to keep doing this and it’s gonna be harder adding another baby into the mix.
Logan: Mm hmm.
Nate: You got those last two scores on the same day?
Hyrum: I did I got my audit and my REG,
Nate: Awesome.
Hyrum: On the same day Mm hmm.
Nate: I bet that was a great day.
Hyrum: It was like
Nate: Oh, you already mentioned it.
Hyrum: five
Nate: You mentioned that, but I didn’t realize you got two at the same time. Yeah.
Hyrum: Yeah. Yeah. Those are my last. Um, so I, like, I had to like stop studying. Um, I think in, like, I took my exams at the beginning of June, right after my baby was born, and then I had like a whole month of waiting for the exam scores.
And so I wanted to take a time off to like, like reset myself.
Logan: Mm-hmm.
Hyrum: Because if I didn’t pass, then I would just jump right back into it.
Logan: And luckily, you didn’t have to jump back into it.
Hyrum: Yeah.
It All Comes Down to Consistency and Putting in the Work
Logan: Is there, so, you know, you’ve talked about audio notes, the review notes, a little bit about the [00:38:00] quizzes, you talked about your study sessions. Uh, was there any other part of your process that we haven’t gotten to touch on that, that you’ve been wanting to share?
Hyrum: Let’s see. I wrote some notes down based off this questions. Um, no, you know, that really, that really hits most of the stuff. Um, it really comes down to consistency, grit, you know, for someone who wants to pass a CPA exam, you have to put in the work, you have to study. And that’s where I think that, you know, getting a CPA, um, preparation course like Becker, for example, is excellent for getting all of the material and then getting, I think it’s, it’s super important to get SuperfastCPA as a supplement course, because, um, it just gives you more, more material, it gives you more stuff to study, you know, the, the book, the, the, the revised version of the notes is excellent. The audio notes, the, the, the MCQ is this, I mean, the app that you have [00:39:00] is, is so easy to use. And so I, I would recommend to anyone to get the, the supplement for SuperfastCPA.
Logan: Awesome.
Nate: Appreciate that. Yeah, I would too.
Hyrum: Yeah.
Logan: Yeah. I,
Hyrum: It’s an excellent product.
Talked to His Peers in College About SuperfastCPA and Meeting Logan
Logan: I don’t, I don’t know, so I must’ve, for anybody listening to this podcast, we were talking about this before we started the recording. I kind of, you know, I had met Hyrum cause we both went to the same college and I was just finishing my master’s as you were kind of starting it like right around that same time.
And I remember you, I think I heard you talking to somebody else about SuperfastCPA. Like when I was walking past him, I was like, well, like I, Hey, I use that too, you know, like, um, I didn’t, I didn’t get to talk to you to that much, but, um, yeah, it’s awesome that you, that found it so helpful as well, because that’s pretty much, I felt same as you, uh, as far as like, you know, this is like, everybody has to have this.
It wasn’t like a, I think it would be helpful like it was, I [00:40:00] was, know, this is the, everybody should be using SuperfastCPA and obviously that’s why I work with SuperfastCPA now. Uh, but anyway, I, it’s just, it’s just awesome to, I don’t know if you remember talking to me very much though. Like, do you remember that at all?
Hyrum: No, I do remember that. I remember like it was that class specifically is when I just got, um, like hooked onto SuperfastCPA. And I do remember talking to everyone about it cause that’s what you do in class when, when everyone’s studying for the CPA exam is everyone talks about their study tips and their process.
And, and so I remember just telling everyone and then, and then someone told me that, you passed your exams and I remember walking to the car and we talked about that and, um,
Logan: Yeah.
Hyrum: So, yeah.
Logan: Yeah, it’s, uh, anyway, it’s, it’s been awesome to talk to you, Hyrum with, uh, I mean, you’ve, you’ve pretty much given a very like succinct and you’ve, said it all really well.
Hyrum’s Top Tips for People Still Struggling with the CPA Exams
Logan: Uh, I mean, Nate, but are you okay if I like ask the final question.
Nate: Uh, let’s [00:41:00] see, well, go ahead, and then if I had anything else, I mean, we did kind of cover each part of like the, uh, the strategy, um, yeah, I don’t think I had really anything else specific to ask.
Logan: So, so Hyrum, if you could summarize your three top tips for anybody who’s going through the CPA exams right now, what would be your top three tips to those people who are still struggling with it?
Hyrum: I would say, um, start studying for the exam cumulatively. So taking those multiple choice questions, doing in Becker and selecting all of the courses and just start doing that from the very beginning. Um, I would be, that would, that would be my first tip that I wish I started earlier.
Uh, my second tip would be, um, have grit.
Logan: When you, sorry, when you say that, do you mean the cumulative review or, or what do you mean when you say that? I’m sorry. I just want to clarify what that means.
Hyrum: Yeah. I think that people should start right away and start taking [00:42:00] them like a practice quiz and take 30 multiple choice questions and do that at least once, you know, if they can get 2 or 3 times daily, I think taking that from the very beginning, instead of waiting until you’ve gone through all of the material and like, for example in Becker I say from day one, like using that, of course, throughout your journey is important, but from day one, you should be taking a 30 multiple choice question, cumulative practice exam that covers all of the material and writing out what you got wrong from day one. That’s what I would recommend as like my, my number one study tip.
Um, and then number two is don’t wait to start studying for the CPA exam. Like most people will wait, maybe either after they get their bachelor’s degree or maybe after their master’s degree, I would say, as soon as you know that you want to be a CPA, like get your Becker and get your SuperfastCPA material, [00:43:00] just get it done, get, get it and start studying as fast as you can, because the more time that you have to study the better. And then as soon as you’re able or eligible to take the CPA exams, you can take those. So that would be my second tip, get started as soon as possible. And again, it’s not a race, everyone starts at a different time, but as soon as you know, get started.
And then number three would just be grit and consistency is knowing your why, like, why do you want this? Because when you do get a fail on exams, that’s what gets you through to buying another, um, exam, is your why and the grit and consistency that you have. Just don’t let that, um, define who you are. Um, just, just retake it and know that it’s not a race, that you, that you really can do this. You just have to put in the time and effort.
Nate: Yep. Okay. I know I said I had no more questions, but I do.
How Hyrum Used the Audio Notes In His Study Process
Nate: So, uh, when you listen to our audios, for example, because a big [00:44:00] thing, like I always say this, like there’s this thing, that’s the most important part, but really there’s like five or six just strategies that are all so valuable. And if you’re doing all of them, it’s hard to go wrong, but re-review is one of them.
And our study tools just make it easy to re-review, you know, cause you listened to the audios just,
Hyrum: Mm-hmm.
Nate: Front to back over and over and over. Is that how you did them? Or were you trying to find the part you studied that morning and listen to it? Or when you said you use the audios a lot, were you just cycling through all of it just over and over?
Hyrum: I would, I would cycle through the audios over and over again. Um, what, what helped me was, like just using my iPhone, um, like they have the notes app, and so I would, I would listen to one of the episodes and then, and then as soon as I, like, I, like I got somewhere or I needed a pause, I would hurry and write the, the section that I was on.
And I would put a note to say, Oh, I’ve got 20 minutes left, or I’ve got five [00:45:00] minutes left. And that really helped me go back as the app. I can’t remember. I don’t think that there, there’s a way to like save where you’re at. So doing that really helped me because it was sporadically throughout the day. It would be in the morning I’m listening to it, be on a run, and so when I would study, I wouldn’t go back and listen. The listener would just be specifically when I’m by myself and I could, I, it just made sense for me to listen to those.
Nate: Awesome. Well, yeah. Uh, yeah. Thanks for doing the interview Hyrum. It was awesome to hear your story. And, uh, I’m glad you came back and gave us this, gave it a second chance after the FAR.
Hyrum: Yeah.
Nate: That’s funny.
Hyrum: Like I said, if I were to do this again, I would have just bought this, the PRO package, because it was, it’s much cheaper than Becker or, or all the other ones out there and, uh, uh, I, I appreciate, I appreciate everything that you guys have done. Um, it’s been exciting to meet you, Nate, and, uh, to talk to you again, Logan. Um, thank you so much for [00:46:00] everything you’re doing.
Nate: Yeah, absolutely. It’s fun to hear that.
Logan: All right, that is the end of the interview with Hyrum, and again, I thought that was a great interview. I think that a lot of people are gonna like that because he wasn’t your traditional student, you know, going to school full-time, maybe working a little bit, getting an internship, and kind of going straight into public accounting.
Instead, he just was trying his best to be successful while also having a job and taking care of a family and going to school part-time. And he was able to do all of that and also pass the CPA exams with the strategies from SuperfastCPA and with his determination.
And I’m sure that you really liked listening to this episode. I’m sure that you found it really helpful. Now, before we end the episode, I just wanna give everyone one more reminder about the SuperfastCPA training webinar on superfastcpa.com. Make sure you go check that out because it is one hour that will save you so much time. So check that out, check out becoming a PRO member as well, because you’ll get access to a lot of great walkthrough videos about the different topics in the CPA exam blueprints.
And I’ve made a ton of videos for FAR, for audit, made [00:47:00] quite a few for REG and TCP, and I just started making videos for BAR. So make sure you check out those walkthrough videos as well. Now, if you liked this episode, make sure to like it and leave a comment in the YouTube video or leave a rating in your favorite podcast app.
And with all that, again, thanks for listening, and we’ll see you in the next episode.
