CPA Exam Success: Momentum and Focus

The CPA license is a powerful differentiator — a mark of public trust, professional determination, and long-term career value. In every business area in which CPAs work, having your CPA license signals an elite level of competency and integrity.

Passing the CPA Exam requires planning and preparation. One great place to look for effective study strategies is the top CPA Exam performers. The Elijah Watt Sells Award is given by the AICPA to CPA candidates with outstanding performance on the CPA Exam. Despite their diverse backgrounds, award recipients shared many common strategies.

Check out the award winners’ advice on handling the exam’s multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and task-based simulations (TBS). Read on for the general steps they took in preparing for the CPA Exam:

Focus and motivation:

• Minimize distractions: “Put your phone in another room and fully commit to studying.”
• Stay goal-oriented: “Keep yourself motivated by staying focused on the goal.”
• Start early: "Start as soon as possible after college – life can get really busy really quickly.”

Practical techniques:

• Check YouTube and other alternative sources: “There are so many great teachers who post extremely informative [accounting] content, even if it is not designed for CPA prep.”
• Know your strengths: “Don’t reinvent the wheel with studying habits. Focus less on content you already reviewed in college and spend a majority of your time reviewing more difficult content or use that time to just do practice MCQ or TBS.”
• Create a routine: "Create a consistent study schedule and stick to it. For example, during busy season, I aimed to complete 100 MCQs daily, which helped me retain over 80% of the exam material before taking the exam.”
• Identify weak spots: “Start working on MCQs to identify areas of weakness or concepts [you don’t] fully understand.”
• Don’t just focus on multiple-choice questions: It is tempting to overfocus on MCQs because they are easier to digest, but task-based simulations represent a significant portion of the exam and require preparation.

Mindset and balance:

• Don’t overdo it: “Leave yourself time to relax and rejuvenate as well. Take a short break between exams but then get back into it so you don’t lose momentum.”
• Don’t just memorize: “Focus on truly understanding the concepts rather than just memorizing. While this might seem time-consuming initially, it significantly reduced my overall study time because I could logically work through problems and reverse-engineer answers.”
• Believe in yourself: “Most importantly, believe in yourself and maintain a positive mindset throughout the journey.”
• Don’t go it alone: “Have an accountability partner. Study to get the best score possible. If you shoot for the stars, hopefully you will at least pass.”

The Bottom Line

These high scorers didn’t just study hard, they studied smartly. They stayed consistent, kept momentum, and focused on understanding over memorization. A growth mindset, combined with a clear plan, can put you well on your way to success.

If you're a CPA Exam Candidate, be sure to check out Everything You Need to Know About the CPA Exam, including CPA Exam Blueprints and CPA Exam Sample Tests.