Postnatal exams just to cross the workplace divide! The mother of two is transformed into a schoolteacher.

Although the road is far, you will get there", this is a famous saying that Ms. Liu Ying often uses to motivate all candidates.

In the 2020 taxation exam, there is a student who is both a working person and a mother of a second child.

She said she only wanted to cross the workplace gap to pass the intermediate and taxation exams after giving birth twice. ......

Let's focus our attention on student Huifang and hear her story of preparation for the exam.

From a mother of two

I found a better version of myself by taking the exam

Huifang, aged 32, is a "slash" candidate with a dual identity.

In the workplace, she is a battle-hardened accountant with nine years of experience; at home, she is a mother of two.

However, even with her busy schedule and continuous childcare, Huifang has never given up the idea of taking the exam. From 2012 to 2020, she has been able to deliver satisfactory answers with excellent results in the primary, intermediate, and taxation exams. Describing her journey, Huifang said it was "long and arduous, but at the same time moving and satisfying.

Next, she will challenge the CPA exam, the mountain in the hearts of many accountants, against all odds!

Crossing the workplace divide

Instead of being confused, you should improve yourself

Huifang recalls her road to certification, initially in 2012. At that time, she had just started her career and took the junior accounting title as a brick in her workplace.

In the following years, work, love, and marriage became the main themes of her life.

In 2015, Huifang gave birth to her eldest child, Wenwen. As both parents were busy and could not help much with childcare, she had to feel her way around while bringing up the baby.

After her maternity leave, Huifang returned to the workplace. However, she found that while she enjoyed the joy of motherhood, maternity leave was also like an invisible gap that inadvertently divided her from the workplace she was originally familiar with: "During the time I was on maternity leave, I was devoted to my child, and I spoke to people without leaving the child, so I was somewhat detached from the outside world."

The unfamiliarity of taking over a new job and the enormous pressure brought by the accumulation of tasks ...... created a slight panic in Huifang's heart, and she slowly found that the primary accounting certificate in her hand was not quite enough: "After thinking about it, I still wanted to take an intermediate accounting certificate. On the one hand, I wanted to improve my motivation and learn more professional skills through the exam; on the other hand, I still saw the gold content of the intermediate accounting title, which would enable me to stand firm in the workplace."

In 2017, with the support of her family, Huifang took the intermediate accounting title with a bang, and her excellent overall score even put her on the gold list.

The following year, Huifang gave birth to her second child, Yiming. The following year, Huifang gave birth to her second child, Yoyo. Again, Huifang experienced a second "divide".

But unlike the last time, this time she was extraordinarily clear about the path she wanted to take: "Rather than being at a loss, I thought I'd find a way to improve myself. The tax system has been reformed in recent years and tax practitioners are a scarce talent in the country, so taking the exam can enhance my workplace value. As we all know, learning is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will fall back. I believe that not only me but also those who join the accounting profession should have a consensus: when you enter this profession, you have to keep learning to make progress in your work. If others are learning and you are not, you will slowly fail to keep up with the times and the result is eliminated from the workplace." This is the reason why Huifang insists on getting certified.

From Guo Shoujie to Zhang Zhifeng

Eight years of light, the choice of DA remains the same

Looking back on these two years, she smiles and says, "Basically, I spent them working, bringing up the baby, and studying." Because of her previous experience in taking care of her eldest child, she never leaves anything to chance when it comes to the upbringing of her second child, and with work, time is really limited.

This time, Huifang decided to split all the subjects into two years: passing Finance and Accounting and Tax-related Services Related Laws first in 2019, and then taking Tax Law I, Tax Law II, and Tax-related Services Practice in 2020.

As to why she arranged it this way, she said, "Because I had just finished the intermediate examination less than two years ago and had achieved good results, I was very confident in the finance and accounting course, so I wanted to take advantage of the intermediate foundation to get it while it was still hot. After that, I learned that the three subjects, namely Tax Law I, Tax Law II, and Tax-related Services Practice, are very interrelated, so I enrolled for another tax-related law in 2019 and waited for the 'three taxes' to be taken in the coming year."

The resources she chose to prepare for the exam were DA's Foundation, Easy Pass I, and Easy Pass II. "In the foundation stage, the main thing is to use the listening sessions in combination with Light One to consolidate the foundation, and Light Two can be used for upgrading in the consolidation stage."

For the subject of Finance and Accounting, Huifang is listening to Ms. Zhang Zhifeng's course: "M.s Zhang's high level and charming teaching is something that can only be appreciated slowly. The first time I came into contact with Mr. Zhang was in 2017 when I was preparing for my intermediate exams, and I didn't have a great feeling after the first class, but the further I listened, the more I became addicted to his classes. He has a serious face, but he can still crack a few jokes at the drop of a hat, which is a good contrast. His lectures are very detailed and well organized, and he explains the principles of knowledge very clearly, which not only helps to grasp the knowledge but also helps in practical work. I read his lectures on long-term investment and consolidated statements over and over again."

For the subject of Tax Law I, she chose Peng Ting and Xiao Yan: "Last year, before I took Tax I, I decided to listen to Peng Ting's class, and since Peng Ting had her second child this year, I found her 2019 class. Ms. Peng Ting's lectures are well organized and will teach us how to understand from the student's point of view and inspire them with her own examination experience, which gave me a lot of confidence; as the textbook will change every year, so I did the marking of textbook changes on Light One again and listened to Ms. Xiao Yan's basic class selectively for the new changes in the textbook."

For Tax Law II, Huifang listened to the basic class taught by Ms. Ling Ziqi: "This is the first time I have come into contact with Ms. Ling, but I am sure that she is very attentive in her lectures. Every time she talks about a tax type, she will summarise it together with other tax types, and she will also make up some recipes to help people remember. When she encountered some obscure ones, she would give examples in big words to explain the principles and background clearly, instead of memorizing formulas or passing over difficult issues."

In addition, listening to lectures and doing questions is also key to exam preparation.

In the foundation stage, Huifang adopted the learning style of listening to lectures and then doing questions. After listening to each chapter, she did the exercises of the corresponding chapter of Light One, then read the lecture notes, took notes according to her understanding, and repeatedly listened to the difficult points until she learned them.

In the consolidation stage, she imported Light II into the app to practice simultaneously, "The app is convenient for doing questions, so you can practice wherever you are. When you encounter what you don't know and repeatedly get wrong, you go back to the foundation class to consolidate the corresponding knowledge points."

For the sprint stage, Huifang set it about ten days before the exam, concentrating on pre-test mock questions: "At this time, a high degree of concentration is needed. I only do one set of test questions for one subject every day and check the answers afterward to really understand each question, not just check the answers and read the marks. It takes me three or four hours a day, and I keep rotating like this until the day of the exam.

"I have never failed the primary, intermediate, and taxation exams, and I do have DA to thank for that," Huifang recalled how eight years ago, through a friend's recommendation, she heard about Mr. Guo Shoujie's Basic Economic Law course: "At that time, I liked him very much, his lectures were clear and concise, and he could always catch the key points. Then later in 2017, I followed Mr. Zhang Zhifeng and passed the intermediate level with a high score, so I still want to follow the teachers of DA for this taxation division exam."

From junior to intermediate to taxation teacher, from Guo Shoujie to Zhang Zhifeng, this is her unchanging choice and also the long-standing silent guardianship of DA teachers to students.

Eight years have gone by like a white horse, and Huifang has changed from a novice to an experienced accountant, just as she has grown from a young and beautiful girl to a gentle and sensible mother. The change of status and the growth of her age have not hindered her in any way, and she has always had a positive heart.

Refusing to run away

If you get into the exam room, you've earned it!

In this world, most successes are accompanied by hardships and trials, and Huifang says she was no exception when she took the tax exam. At first, she was confident that she would have enough time to study. However, in October 2020, after studying for Tax I and Tax II, she found that she only had one month left.

As a result, she also hesitated to take the tax-related services practice subject: "I'm not going to lie, I didn't finish the class at that time either, so I was particularly anxious and didn't want to take the exam. During this month, I was studying for Tax I and Tax II, and I was torn between taking the practical exam or not; it was only after I finished Tax I and Tax II that I decided to take the practical exam, thinking that the worst I could do was not to pass and that it would not be a disadvantage to go through the experience. If I passed, I would have made a lot more money."

She used the last time to go through the questions on Practice 1 and quickly skim through the unique knowledge points: "In the end, I can only say that Practice 1 is amazing, and my luck plus a little strength, and finally passed the exam with 111 points. The tax exam is not as difficult as you might think, so don't give up on it so easily. As long as you enter the examination room, you are earning."

Challenge the Note!

The road to certification continues ......

As a result of preparing for the taxation division, Huifang paid a lot, both in time and money, and she did not hesitate to pay for it; "Before and after, it took about 15 months for two years, only more and less. I was allocated to a very far away exam center focenterexam and even chose to go over a day early to stay in a hotel.

"During the preparation period, I studied for at least four hours on weekdays, and when it came to holidays, I studied all day and all day." She gave up catching up on dramas, shopping, and parties with friends and family, and even later, Huifang couldn't find time to spend with her children.

Huifang's eldest child was five and her second child was two, both times when she especially needed her mother's company. She recalls that when she was listening to the lessons, her eldest daughter, Wen Wen, would always come up to her and ask, "Mummy, when are you going to finish listening?" Why can't you take time out for us? and so on.

Looking at her children's eager eyes, Huifang felt very sad and asked herself: Is it worth giving up so much time with the children for the sake of exams?

But on the rare occasions when she has a break, Huifang watches her eldest child, who is in kindergarten, sitting at her desk and carefully completing her homework, just like she does. "So I would think that if I could get the taxation exam down, this successful experience would be something I would tell my children, and it would also be a good example for them to follow, and then I would feel that if I worked hard again I would just stick with this year, and after the exam, I would be able to spend more time with my children."

After passing the tax exam, Huifang feels more energetic: "I am in a good mood and feel more confident in whatever I do."

Huifang says that the tax exam is both an end and a starting point. The end means that her preparation for the exam can come to an end for the time being and she can spend time with her two children; at the same time, the end also means the start of another journey, and Huifang will continue on the road to the CPA.