Dave Passed FAR

The CPA exam has dominated most of my life since leaving BYU. It is that big, daunting, ultimate task for accountants in order to really start their career. It took over a year, two additional college courses, lots of paperwork, over two months of prep coursework, and a lot of anxiety to finally be able to sit for the first of four CPA exam sections: Financial (FAR). It took much more than that to actually get a passing grade

About two weeks before sitting for the test I became overwhelmed with discouragement and fear. I had a nine month pregnant wife, a 50+ hour work week, and all the other little things that added to the pile on my shoulders. I finally broke down and said to Dianna, “I just can’t do this, I have to give up.” I can say that for the first time in my life, I really gave up on something important. Sad, right? I know!

The day came for me to actually take the test. I asked Dianna if I should even bother going. Without a hint of judgment or condescension in her voice she said “it will be a good experience, even if you don’t pass. Just go do your best.” Thank you, Dianna, for being a wonderful wife. I began the test and to my surprise I still recognized most of the topics! I didn’t feel like I was answering them all correctly, but I wasn’t lost. I reached the final 30% of the exam: the written section. In this part you are given two topics from the hundreds of topics available. I’d say I know four or five topics really well, even from before I started preparing for the exam. To my astonishment, both topics on the test were from that short list of four or five I knew well. I finished the written section thinking I hadn’t missed a single point. “Darn, if I had only studied a little more I would have done better on the multiple choice. What a blown opportunity! Oh well, I can’t be mad. I will just try again later on down the road.”

A few weeks later my buddy Todd, who had taken a section of the exam around when I did, asked me if I had checked my score. I hadn’t. A few days later I had gotten to work real early, before anyone else in my department even. I took a moment to check my score. “I got a 75, I passed. I PASSED! I GOT A 75! ….” I was speechless. I looked around, then back at the computer, then down at my desk and just cried. I had never felt a “tender mercy” of that magnitude before and I may never again.

From the beginning I had asked the Lord for help in my prayers. When I first realized it was going to be really difficult (pretty early on), I prayed the way I prayed on my mission, “Heavenly Father, I will do my best and I will put the rest in your hands.” Even when I was overwhelmed at the end, I told Heavenly Father “I really tried my best, I just couldn’t do it all.” The Lord was okay with that though. He didn’t want me to do it all, or be perfect, He just wanted my best.