4 Ways To Be An Effective CPA Candidateby by Kevin Kashani

1) Understand why you are doing it and remind yourself of it every day

The CPA journey is notoriously uphill, and it requires many things that our bodies and minds are not designed for: delayed gratification, embrace of challenge, and persistence in the face of fatigue or failure. The most powerful tool on this journey is not willpower, but values[1]. The most effective way to do these hard things is to identify how they correspond to our values, because when we do this, our engagement with these hard tasks becomes not about overcoming ourselves, but being true to ourselves. Understanding why you are engaging with this journey, how it makes you *you*, and reminding yourself of this every day, can make persistence feel like the natural choice.

 

2) Ritual > Motivation

Habits are hardier than inspiration. I once had a colleague tease me about how I leave my desk for lunch at the same time each day, use the same microwave, and sit and eat in the same room in the same chair for the same 20 minutes. When she asked me why I do it, I had to answer honestly: I had been doing it this way for so long that it felt comforting to me, especially after a hard day. Humans generally love safety and consistency, and are averse to risk and unpredictability. We can leverage this in our favour by wrapping up the hard tasks we need to do in layers of routine and ritual, giving them a comfort and familiarity  that they might not otherwise have had, and taking the brainpower out of doing them.

 

3) Work Hard/Play Hard

Being and doing better should not feel like a punishment.  It should not feel like a contest to see who can take the most pain. That does nothing for the world. Instead, try to balance moments of intensity with moments of levity, moments of focus with moments of letting go, and moments of bearing pain with moments of conducting joy. This will a) give you the energy to keep going, and b) maintain those many other facets of life which make it worth living – things like family, friendships, hobbies, and a relationship to the wider world. The CPA designation is important, but it is not your whole life and having a designation without a life in which to house it is very much like putting the cart before the horse.

 

4) Networking

The choice to undertake a big task or journey is something of a voluntary destabilization and necessarily involves stepping into a world of new questions, new challenges, and new uncertainties. What helps tremendously is networking, and in-person networking specifically. It allows fellow travellers to connect on a much deeper level than interactions which are mitigated by distance and computer screens. A single in-person event provides the opportunity to speak to so many different people, all of whom have their own story to share and their own wisdom to impart. As with life, nobody should go through a CPA journey alone. Connecting with people creates a common bond which goes far deeper than whatever goals you each happen to be pursuing and builds the foundation for the kind of relationships which you can carry with you through your many trials and tribulations.

 

Kevin Kashani is a regular attendee of the CPA Toronto Accounting Group Monday night meet-ups, and will be an incoming student at Seneca Polytechnic’s Professional Accounting Practice graduate certificate program in September.  

[1] [1] Caspari, Jennifer “Forget willpower. Let your values drive helpful habits instead” The Globe and Mail 03/03/2026 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/advice/article-willpower-habits-values/