Big 4 Exam Stress

Hey, rarely make a post but unsure with what to do and looking for some outside input really.

I'm 23, had exams non-stop since GCSEs. Did well, First in Accounting, now at a Big 4 firm. I've passed all of my certificate level papers and I'm not onto the professional stage. I've suffered with exam stress in my life previously but nothing even like to the degree I currently am. My firm has a strict 45% or below (passmark is 55%) and you're out, no exceptions.

I'm due to sit FAR/TC and AA all together on the 5th/6th September. Effectively 3, 3 hour papers all within the space of a day and a half.

I find AA relatively easy and think I've got a great chance of passing.

TC and FAR are another thing, we had 6 weeks in total of "tuition". Effectively the entirety has been online on MyKaplan and mixed with work bookings. There will be a 3 minute video on some minor aspect of a topic followed by 'now attempt test your understanding 2' etc and that is the tuition. Yeah a complete joke. I've performed way below expectations in the mocks and realise I'm really behind where I should be to keep onto of stress levels etc.

I have 3 weeks until the exams and I've already had several weeks of bricking it. I had a PTX exam a few weeks ago and I couldn't sleep until 7am and got an hour of sleep for a 9am sitting before falling asleep on the train on the way home from exhaustion. Recently I've struggled to eat, been really blunt and snappy for no real reason or pattern, slept a mixture of 16 hours at once to not at all for two days at a time.

Should I consider speaking to a GP about this? It's been going on for several months. Sometimes If I'm stood in a queue thinking about work/exams and someone catches me off guard, I get really, really nervous for absolutely no reason even if it's someone I've known for years. This seems like a way above normal level of stress to deal with currently.

I have exemptions for the two exams the rest of my cohort are due to sit in December and I have holiday booked already for this time. My current view is to defer FAR to then and focus upon passing TC and AA well. I have no knowledge of anyone doing this at big 4 firms though.

Realistically, if its in my own holiday time, self-funded when others are off for their own exams anyways can they object and why would it matter to them when I sit them? Not sure if anyone has done this?

Reply 1

Muttly

20

I don't know about the finance exams but I do know you are killing yourself by self imposed pressure, and I think you know this too? I would still urge you to seek medical advice if you are so stressed and anxious but you may find the doctor or nurse suggests another look at your whole lifestyle - why you chose this subject, where your boundary lines are for length of day etc etc Its easy to take medications but they often have side effects and don't deal with the underlying root cause of your stress.

What is so life ending if you fail an exam? If your whole life revolves around pass or fail and you buy into the stress model created by other people you will be in cardiac care by the time you are 30? I presume your work life balance is not affected by the demands of children just yet? you worked as expected on each module for each exam? If the answer is yes and you are still not good enough start looking for another job. You can guarantee every one else will be experiencing the same thing and 'they ' can't sack everyone. This might sound harsh but use your leisure time looking for your escape tunnel. Look at all of those jobs you disregarded, see what career options you have. Work is a means of earning money, but it doesn't have to be at detriment to your health and life. You can sell your soul to the devil in any job if you let the employing master get into your brain. Step back from the edge, and get these exams into perspective. By sounds of it there will be a lifetime of them to come?

How did you cope with your other exams preceding these work exams? Were you highly stressed by these too? How did you start to stress on needing perfection or worry over such 100% exam results? If you rewind the tape of your life influences work backwards to where you started to feel out of your depth and panicky thinking about exams. Try to develop a 'different' head space mantra for pragmatism. Use the 'well lets just see what this paper throws at me this time' - talk to the exam paper. Stop making it personal. If you fail or really get in the mire with bad results you already have your escape tunnel ready. Resit or apply for another job. Keep your CV up to date and seek out all opportunities. Take a risk in applying for something else even if you think you might not get the job. It is the doors opening in life that keep us all going.

Reply 2

SpiderCrab

18

See a GP.

Then ask your manager about delaying the sitting of these exams. If they don't agree you need to speak to HR and explain you are unwell at the moment and will need some time off due to stress. HR should be able to help with the communication with your line manager.

Your expectations of yourself are very high due to your past achievements. It is tough working for a professional services firm and studying as well. Lots of people do fail these exams at first sitting. They still go on to have good careers. When you are revising, remember it is ok to not know everything.

Big 4 firms are very competitive. Smaller firms may offer a better quality of life.

Reply 3

Catherine1973

20

Can you get extra revision guides for the 2 harder modules - if the kaplin stuff is not sufficient?

Reply 4

MarkJohnson97

8

Hello! I’m an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and trained at the Big 4 and also suffered severely from exam stress!

Having been there and successfully made my way through I think you should give all 3 in September a go for a few reasons.

1) Although it is stressful doing 3 exams together, actually doing 3 at a time means they’re over quicker and you don’t have to spend significant portions of the year revising. I did FAR, TC and AA together, BPT, FM and BST together and then all 3 advanced together. It was very stressful at the time but once they were done, they were done and looking back I’m glad I powered through it and did them grouped. If it’s exams that are causing you stress, having multiple spread throughout the year is going to mean you will be stressed throughout the year and you definitely don’t want that!

2) So many people pass these exams. Its actually quite uncommon for people to fail. If you look at the pass rates, most exams have pass rates between 85%-95%. It’s also quite well known that Kaplan and BPP mark the mock exams soooooooo harshly. I never passed a single mock yet got first time passes in the actual exams. I remember failing a BPT mock 3 days before the actual exam and having a complete meltdown, so much so I was very tempted to defer the exam. I sat the exam, didn’t think it went amazingly, got very upset (had to sit BST and FM the next day still very upset) and then ended up with 99 in BPT. The actual examiners want you to pass and the pass rates are so high for these exams. Have faith that you’ll be one of the 90% of people that pass.

3) It’s ok to not know everything. One thing I found so unbelievably stressful was going into the exams knowing I didn’t know everything! However, these exams have crazy headroom marks. You’ll know this from AA but the 40 mark question can have up to 90 marks available. You don’t have to know everything to pass these exams. You just have to know enough and I can promise you that you will know enough.

However, if you do defer FAR then that’s also fine. I’m quite shocked you haven’t heard of anyone at the big 4 doing this because it’s more common than you think! There were at least 8 or 9 people in my year who deferred or delayed exams for one reason or another.

Also, I know your firm says they have a strict 45% rule but just being completely transparent big 4 firms are so short staffed, particularly if you are in audit, that they hardly ever fire anyone for failing exams. I only know of 1 person in the 3 and a half years I was at the big 4 that got sacked for exams and that was because he just didn’t want to sit them!!!! By the time my year qualified he’d only sat (and failed) 2 certificate level exams. He just deferred every resit.

In terms of stress management, absolutely speak to your GP. They can offer medication and stress management techniques. Just because I know it is free to ICAEW trainees and members have you tried contacting CABA? They’re a mental health charity for accountants and I know a few people that made contact with them about exams and they offered support and guidance. Plus, it’s quite good to get how you are feeling off your chest!!!

Have faith in yourself!

Reply 5

Xzerzes

OP

10

Original post by MarkJohnson97

Hello! I’m an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and trained at the Big 4 and also suffered severely from exam stress!

Having been there and successfully made my way through I think you should give all 3 in September a go for a few reasons.

1) Although it is stressful doing 3 exams together, actually doing 3 at a time means they’re over quicker and you don’t have to spend significant portions of the year revising. I did FAR, TC and AA together, BPT, FM and BST together and then all 3 advanced together. It was very stressful at the time but once they were done, they were done and looking back I’m glad I powered through it and did them grouped. If it’s exams that are causing you stress, having multiple spread throughout the year is going to mean you will be stressed throughout the year and you definitely don’t want that!

2) So many people pass these exams. Its actually quite uncommon for people to fail. If you look at the pass rates, most exams have pass rates between 85%-95%. It’s also quite well known that Kaplan and BPP mark the mock exams soooooooo harshly. I never passed a single mock yet got first time passes in the actual exams. I remember failing a BPT mock 3 days before the actual exam and having a complete meltdown, so much so I was very tempted to defer the exam. I sat the exam, didn’t think it went amazingly, got very upset (had to sit BST and FM the next day still very upset) and then ended up with 99 in BPT. The actual examiners want you to pass and the pass rates are so high for these exams. Have faith that you’ll be one of the 90% of people that pass.

3) It’s ok to not know everything. One thing I found so unbelievably stressful was going into the exams knowing I didn’t know everything! However, these exams have crazy headroom marks. You’ll know this from AA but the 40 mark question can have up to 90 marks available. You don’t have to know everything to pass these exams. You just have to know enough and I can promise you that you will know enough.

However, if you do defer FAR then that’s also fine. I’m quite shocked you haven’t heard of anyone at the big 4 doing this because it’s more common than you think! There were at least 8 or 9 people in my year who deferred or delayed exams for one reason or another.

Also, I know your firm says they have a strict 45% rule but just being completely transparent big 4 firms are so short staffed, particularly if you are in audit, that they hardly ever fire anyone for failing exams. I only know of 1 person in the 3 and a half years I was at the big 4 that got sacked for exams and that was because he just didn’t want to sit them!!!! By the time my year qualified he’d only sat (and failed) 2 certificate level exams. He just deferred every resit.

In terms of stress management, absolutely speak to your GP. They can offer medication and stress management techniques. Just because I know it is free to ICAEW trainees and members have you tried contacting CABA? They’re a mental health charity for accountants and I know a few people that made contact with them about exams and they offered support and guidance. Plus, it’s quite good to get how you are feeling off your chest!!!

Have faith in yourself!

Thank you all so much!

I've emailed my Exams manager saying I'd like to defer FAR today. To be totally honest, I feel pretty pathetic moaning about stress let alone seeing a GP considering it is quite literally all in my own head. I think part of the problem is that I've sat similar exams in the past in a short space and really underperformed what I expected, coupled with the laid back style of tutoring its all kinda hit me at once. I've always suffered a bit with the exam stress but the extra job security stress has sent me over the edge a bit I must admit.

I am also timetabled to sit BP/BST and FM altogether next June. Seeing how stressed I've gotten this time I was planning on just trying to do 3-4 hours a week from Jan to try and get ahead and give myself loads of chance to nail the mocks for the peace of mind knowing how badly its affected me this time around. Sadly left this far too late on this occasion on so its probably sheer shock more than anything.

I've already got holiday booked on the date of the deferred sit and I have exemptions for the exams everyone else is having to sit during that time then so its really for just my own stress levels really and won't impact upon my work at all so fingers crossed and hoping for the best. I'm in public audit and always get really good feedback anyways so can't see any logical reason why my deferral would be declined but you never know.

Huge thanks to everyone, feel less like I'm having some totally dramatic implosion 3 weeks away now!

Reply 6

Xzerzes

OP

10

Hi again, spoke with a senior manager and was basically told that I would need to speak to the partner but in almost all cases the answer is no to deferral.

Not really sure what to do now, 6 days away. Getting roughly 40-50% tax, 70% in AA and 20% ish in FAR. I find myself doing questions and understanding the answers on TC going to FAR getting stuck trying to work through why I’m unable to understand it and then when I go back to TC the next day It’s like I never bothered to do any TC at all.

Completely unmotivated at this point because I feel like I’m making no progress and I’m not even close. Been seriously ignoring FAR, trying to smash TC out to get atleast two passes and when I’m dismissed for a 20% in FAR taking it on the chin booking myself in for it in December and moving to a more tolerable firm. Has anyone done this?

Has occurred to me of my 5 weeks leave, 2 so far have been booked for these upcoming exams I’m struggling with and the other 3 weeks I booked in for October time have been declined due to business needs. Thinking a contract termination wouldn’t be the end of the world at this point for my mental and physical health.

Has anyone ever been through this and know what the process is like?

Any input is greatly appreciated, barely slept since Friday and up really early tomorrow to drive for FAR tuition in the morning and bricking it for what the exams will actually be like next week from the tiredness

Honestly just can’t wait to have it over and done with whatever the outcome at this point. Thoroughly had enough

Many thanks!

Reply 7

Metalted

1

Original post by Xzerzes

Hey, rarely make a post but unsure with what to do and looking for some outside input really.

I'm 23, had exams non-stop since GCSEs. Did well, First in Accounting, now at a Big 4 firm. I've passed all of my certificate level papers and I'm not onto the professional stage. I've suffered with exam stress in my life previously but nothing even like to the degree I currently am. My firm has a strict 45% or below (passmark is 55%) and you're out, no exceptions.

I'm due to sit FAR/TC and AA all together on the 5th/6th September. Effectively 3, 3 hour papers all within the space of a day and a half.

I find AA relatively easy and think I've got a great chance of passing.

TC and FAR are another thing, we had 6 weeks in total of "tuition". Effectively the entirety has been online on MyKaplan and mixed with work bookings. There will be a 3 minute video on some minor aspect of a topic followed by 'now attempt test your understanding 2' etc and that is the tuition. Yeah a complete joke. I've performed way below expectations in the mocks and realise I'm really behind where I should be to keep onto of stress levels etc.

I have 3 weeks until the exams and I've already had several weeks of bricking it. I had a PTX exam a few weeks ago and I couldn't sleep until 7am and got an hour of sleep for a 9am sitting before falling asleep on the train on the way home from exhaustion. Recently I've struggled to eat, been really blunt and snappy for no real reason or pattern, slept a mixture of 16 hours at once to not at all for two days at a time.

Should I consider speaking to a GP about this? It's been going on for several months. Sometimes If I'm stood in a queue thinking about work/exams and someone catches me off guard, I get really, really nervous for absolutely no reason even if it's someone I've known for years. This seems like a way above normal level of stress to deal with currently.

I have exemptions for the two exams the rest of my cohort are due to sit in December and I have holiday booked already for this time. My current view is to defer FAR to then and focus upon passing TC and AA well. I have no knowledge of anyone doing this at big 4 firms though.

Realistically, if its in my own holiday time, self-funded when others are off for their own exams anyways can they object and why would it matter to them when I sit them? Not sure if anyone has done this?

Hey. In exactly the same boat as you. Have AA, FAR and TC coming up and feel hugely underprepared. The tuition is largely unhelpful and there's a big focus on cramming during the last few weeks which doesn't work for me at all. Stress and mental health is the worst its ever been so hoping to defer them too.

Reply 8

IM_1223

5

Original post by Xzerzes

Hi again, spoke with a senior manager and was basically told that I would need to speak to the partner but in almost all cases the answer is no to deferral.

Not really sure what to do now, 6 days away. Getting roughly 40-50% tax, 70% in AA and 20% ish in FAR. I find myself doing questions and understanding the answers on TC going to FAR getting stuck trying to work through why I’m unable to understand it and then when I go back to TC the next day It’s like I never bothered to do any TC at all.

Completely unmotivated at this point because I feel like I’m making no progress and I’m not even close. Been seriously ignoring FAR, trying to smash TC out to get atleast two passes and when I’m dismissed for a 20% in FAR taking it on the chin booking myself in for it in December and moving to a more tolerable firm. Has anyone done this?

Has occurred to me of my 5 weeks leave, 2 so far have been booked for these upcoming exams I’m struggling with and the other 3 weeks I booked in for October time have been declined due to business needs. Thinking a contract termination wouldn’t be the end of the world at this point for my mental and physical health.

Has anyone ever been through this and know what the process is like?

Any input is greatly appreciated, barely slept since Friday and up really early tomorrow to drive for FAR tuition in the morning and bricking it for what the exams will actually be like next week from the tiredness

Honestly just can’t wait to have it over and done with whatever the outcome at this point. Thoroughly had enough

Many thanks!

Hi

Sorry to hear you're struggling with stress but please do remember to take care of yourself.

I've done these exams albeit on an industry graduate scheme and not at Big 4. I passed them first time and promise you I did not pass a single mock. Just keep working from now until the exams, listen to your tutors and keep at the question bank.

I think in FAR I got 22% in the Mock and I got around 68% in the real exam. Use the mocks as an opportunity to learn and make sure you keep on top of your timing on the day. You're actually doing well based on your current mock marks. When I was at college I do remember most people telling me they didn't pass their mocks either. Just to reiterate, use the mocks as an opportunity to learn, get your timing right and go over ways you could have improved your answer/points you missed, don't focus on the mark.

The way the exams are marked is completely different to the mocks, partly because the people marking the mocks at BPP/Kaplan mark very very harshly. Also in these few days leading up to the exams, at college revision week I found that you learn the most because the tutors are just covering and drilling in the key concepts so make sure you don't miss a session.

At this stage I would say listen to your tutors advice because they are experts in this and know what it takes to pass. They've been through the training and have the experience to get you over the line. As the above post above has mentioned, many people do pass but you just have to believe in yourself and keep powering through.

Of course speak to CABA about your mental health and please do make sure you're eating and sleeping. You will be fine, not long to go 'til it's done. Be positive, you've got this !

Reply 9

Jj1999123

1

Original post by Xzerzes

Hi again, spoke with a senior manager and was basically told that I would need to speak to the partner but in almost all cases the answer is no to deferral.

Not really sure what to do now, 6 days away. Getting roughly 40-50% tax, 70% in AA and 20% ish in FAR. I find myself doing questions and understanding the answers on TC going to FAR getting stuck trying to work through why I’m unable to understand it and then when I go back to TC the next day It’s like I never bothered to do any TC at all.

Completely unmotivated at this point because I feel like I’m making no progress and I’m not even close. Been seriously ignoring FAR, trying to smash TC out to get atleast two passes and when I’m dismissed for a 20% in FAR taking it on the chin booking myself in for it in December and moving to a more tolerable firm. Has anyone done this?

Has occurred to me of my 5 weeks leave, 2 so far have been booked for these upcoming exams I’m struggling with and the other 3 weeks I booked in for October time have been declined due to business needs. Thinking a contract termination wouldn’t be the end of the world at this point for my mental and physical health.

Has anyone ever been through this and know what the process is like?

Any input is greatly appreciated, barely slept since Friday and up really early tomorrow to drive for FAR tuition in the morning and bricking it for what the exams will actually be like next week from the tiredness

Honestly just can’t wait to have it over and done with whatever the outcome at this point. Thoroughly had enough

Many thanks!

Hi there hope all is well!

Just read this thread and was wondering what happened in your situation eventually as I am in a very similar circumstance right now. Have three professional exams coming up next week and I’ve already been having anxious panic attacks and insomnia for the past couple weeks/month. In a terrible place right now and am really not sure if I can take these exams in the right headspace and that if i failed badly whether I would be facing termination. How did it turn out for you and is there anything you think i can do to help with this. Thanks alot!

Big 4 Exam Stress

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