Discussion:EA Exam

I'll use this study time to reflect and find my 'inner tax practitioner'.

Unlike CPA, most people (clients) don't know what EA stands for. Enrolled is easy, but once you utter the word Agent people tend to couple it with IRS and the room gets very quiet. You can see the wheel turning in their heads as they think you are and IRS Agent...and they just mentioned 'off the books'.

With any luck, a few of my problem clients will either be scared straight or take a hike.

I spent $270 for the books and test cd (3 parts). I opted out of the online option...it's the same as the CD minus the online counselor.

Good luck with your studying and with the test.

The new test does not rely on the old test - all of the questions are new, though some may be similar. The old questions were written by IRS employees. The new questions were written by practicing EAs who want you to have a certain level of competency before admitting you to the tax expert "club".

All in all it's staring to get fun (isn't that sick?). Well, it's back to books

- Rick

Good luck with your studies!!!

I found that the 3rd part contains comparatively less questions than the other two. The 3rd part has just 186 questions in total, when the second part has over 400 (not the book it self, but the software). Does it mean that the third part is not that difficult? (I wish!)Or if my version contains an error? I past the first and second parts recently, which were not that bad. I think that the WiseGuide helped a lot. I am taking the third part next week, and I feel completely lost since I don't have any experience in this area.

The trickiest part for me was figuring out all the SOLs for refunds.

EA Subject Matter Experts are currently writing some new questions as Prometric will rotate the question pool.

DO let us know when you pass all 3 parts and PLEASE give us feedback in comparison with the CPA exam that you have passed.

If the EA exam is so easy, I would think that a CPA could challenge it without having to study. If the CPA exam were easy, there would be a lot more CPAs. Both are difficult.

I wanted an opinion of "here's how they are different" and "here's how they were the same".

John Huddleston Seattle Bellevue Tax Accountant

Wonderful analogy, Kevin!!!

Interestingly, from the recent stats I've read, the section of the CPA exam that has the lowest pass rate is REG (Regulations) which contains federal taxation.

I always stay away from the we/them controversy. To me, it boils down to the person and not the credentials. I know CPAs and EAs who are absolutely brilliant. I also know CPAs and EAs that, for the life of me, I don't know how they could even pass a driving test.

GAAP was rated number one and the logic is you can't apply tax or audit work to a transaction you don't understand. A capital lease is a perfect example. You can syudy it all dau long but simply miss it when preparing a tax return. Thus whether you are a CPA or EA is arguably secondary to your ability to understand business transactions and people.

Not sure what's on the EA exam but I agree with Thinktax, I have met many awesome tax pro's both CPA's and EA's and many knuckleheads who were CPA's and EA's.

Think about this theory, if you are on TA a few times a week, you are at a minimum curious abot your profession. More than likely you enjoy the profession. That is what helps build skill. I have had several CPA's work for me that were not intuitively curious, received all their training from mandated CPE and their compensation showed it.

Also in response to SouthParkcpa; I've been an EA since April '06, and love the challenges of the profession. Met many EAs that don't know jack about tax law, and a few CPAs where I needed to fix there work. I know basic accounting (took I and II), but I don't know jack about GAAP. Do you think I could get a lot out of it? Let me know...

Thanks,

Mike G.,EA

Not sure why a CPA would take the EA but it's like good soup, Can never hurt! That said........

My practice and focuses on businesses and their owners with sales between 1 mil and 10 mil. As such, whether I like it or not I am confronted with consolidations, mergers, sales, new partners, LP's strange bank financing etc... My favorite saying is that 70 percent of what I do can be done by a 2nd year guy. The other 30 percent is the tough part. Meaning, as you grow, you will be confronted with issues you can't avoid. The last 3 years in my practice have been spent ridding ourselves of work we shouldn't do (small 1040's and corps, write up, local tax work etc...).

In my experience, the 3 classes I highly recommend is Intermediate I and II for the more in depth review of

the BS and P and L  and Business law I.  Contract and employment law are key in my view to good tax work. This is just one opinion. 

By the way, I am originally from Long Island as well. My masters is from CW Post.

Matt

I got Bus Law I already, great course! My Intermediate Accounting book is sitting on the shelf. I might just sit down and crack it open...

By the way; what's BS and P and L?

Thanks,

Mike

Balance sheet and Profit and loss

Not sure what you mean by nice friggin school. Sarcasm? Post is OK, not great..............

Matt

The sentiment above is really great concerning the depth and bredth of the two exams. A mile wide and an inch deep vs. a quarter mile wide and four feet deep. I'll have to borrow that.

I truly only need the EA, but the public recognition regarding the CPA "brand" will further my practice - and my fees. I look forward to the day where both are equally respected by the public for the two separate functions (assurance vs. representation) that they serve.

Aaron

http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/agents/article/0,,id=109302,00.html

Some of the classes/guides/CD/Online help seem a little cost prohibitive. Not sure if appropriate but can one acquire some these study guides second hand? Thanks all!

http://www.prometric.com/NR/rdonlyres/eajqgs36mjpozcwifkywhkke7iuekusbuncejvfhis75itq3d46jzhzilg2ov7u5nznnwki2rw5rf5jgg6jopl7nlhb/IRSCIB20071126.pdf

I found this a heplful link with lots of info. Again, good luck!

I will say that having to restudy for those two sections was a pain but I did find the part two a lot easier! I became official this year!

Unfortunately, for me, what I discovered is that not having my CPA is causing me to lose clients that I could otherwise have. So, now I have a goal to get back to school and get it done.

Gleim study is the way to go and is what I have used. Books and CD with test questions only.. all else seems not necessary.

Keep in mind I do have two full seasons of tax work going into these exams.. also a CPA.

And she's using Gleim. Gleim got her through the other 2 parts.

I found certain questions on EA exam where not even covered by Gleim.. Overall you are getting enough of the exam topics to be able to pass. I still would recommend Gleim.. I have done all the online updates so don't give me that tip.

Well - the answer is simple. If you anything at all about this country's accountancy laws, you'd know that the CPA credential is a STATE license. The EA is a FEDERAL license. Not every state has reciprocity with respect to recognizing another state's CPA license - whereas the EA is recognized all over the country.

So - if at some point in the future you wish to move to another state and still wish to have gainful employment without having to go through the licensing procedure a second time, the EA license provides you that mobility.

Coming from an engineering/programming background (B.S. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Infromation Systems) I cannot take the CPA exam based on the educational requirements. I don't have enough credits or non at all in accounting, business or taxation at the college level. I have been preparing income taxes for 10+ years and will be taking the EA exam later this year.

As most folks said in the post, CPA name recognition is key for higher fees. The setback is if you move to a different state you may need to sit for the exam again.

That's not really the case. Most states, if not all, have reciprocity rules.