By Richard Truong CPA, Employer Relations Specialist, CPA Alberta
If you were unsuccessful on the CFE, you’re probably feeling a lot of mixed emotions. But it’s important to know that you’re not alone; many CPAs have also been unsuccessful on the CFE but later went on to pass the exam on a second or third try and are now some of the shining stars of the profession. An unsuccessful result on the CFE isn’t the end; it’s a disappointing setback, but you only get a chance at passing if you try again. In this blog series, you’ll read the experiences of CPAs who were unsuccessful on the CFE, what steps they took to be successful when writing again, and what they learned from the whole process.
In this first part, Richard Truong remembers how he felt when he realized he was unsuccessful on CFE Results Day.
CFE Results Day
I remember the morning when results came out and I couldn’t find my candidate number. I think I checked it 10 times using the Ctrl-F function and still couldn’t find it. Panic soon became anger, and anger eventually became disappointment as I realized I was not successful on the CFE.
For many of us, being unsuccessful on the CFE is probably the first time we’ve truly failed at anything, so it can come as quite a shock. I felt like I let my whole company down, including my mentor and all the colleagues I wrote with. Most importantly, I felt like I let myself, my friends, and my family down—people who supported me throughout CPA PEP.
What I know now is that it is totally normal to feel this way, and this unsuccessful result was just a small hurdle in my “becoming a CPA” journey. As you overcome your own hurdle, I encourage you to stay positive and reach out to your friends and family. Share your thoughts and feelings with them so that they can help you. And if you would rather talk to someone else, you can use CPA Assist, the CPA profession’s free, confidential health and wellness program.
And remember: the results do not show your character; how you overcome it does. So, although the CFE is a challenging exam, it is very passable!
Accepting the results can be difficult, so I hope you had a chance to take some much needed time to decompress. I personally used the winter holidays as a chance to spend some quality time with my family and catch up with old friends who I had not seen in a while. Hopefully, this break allowed you to take your mind off anything related to the CFE. Now, it’s time to start fresh again and approach your next attempt with a different perspective.
In the upcoming weeks, you’ll need to evaluate your results and see where you specifically went wrong. Then, you’ll need to create a plan to tackle the 2021 CFE. In the next part of this blog series, you’ll learn some tips on how to strategically create a plan and how to prepare yourself to write again.
The views expressed in this post are those of the guest writer, Richard Truong CPA. Please refer to cpawsb.ca for the latest guidelines from the CPA Western School of Business.
If you need support of any kind, please reach out to CPA Assist, which provides confidential counselling services and 24/7 crisis support to Alberta and Saskatchewan CPAs, candidates, and their immediate families. Visit cpa-assist.ca for more information or call the confidential support line (toll-free) at 1.855.596.4222.
