In college and in my early career life, I was completely lost. I wanted information on the certification exams I needed to take and pass to optimize my educational foundations. Unfortunately, I felt no one in my immediate circle knew much about certification exams.

Not being sure of what I wanted to do career wise, I took the standard advice my college professors gave me to simply take and pass the Certified Public Accountancy (CPA) exam.

After completing the CPA exam, I was not satisfied. Using my methods of passing certification exams in an efficient and effective manner, I was able to successfully complete the CPA exam, without failing a part, in about three months. I was hungry. I wanted more. I wasn’t satisfied being just another one of the many CPAs in the United States. I wanted to distinguish myself.

So began what I call my Personal Certification Exam Journey. I set out to complete eight of the top accounting certifications. Through hard work, grit, a little bit of luck, and my methods to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in certification exam test-taking, I was able to complete all exams going 17-0 pass/fail before my twenty-seventh birthday to become fully certified in all of them.

Upon reflection of my personal certification exam journey, I did not do everything as efficiently and effectively as I could have, not by a long shot.

Could I have completed my certification exam journey more efficiently? YES

Could I have been more effective? Well, I went 17-0 pass/fail, so I guess I must pat myself on the back for that one.

Guess what? I am not only going to tell you from practical experience what each certification is and how it can be applied to your career, but I am going to TEACH you how to optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of your personal certification exam journey by narrating my pitfalls and mistakes, and hopefully you can learn from that.

You do not have to embark on your certification exam journey alone. For the first time, we accounting folks have a book totally demystifying accounting certification exams and much more. Allow me to guide you on your certification exam journey. I will share with you all the tips, tricks, and methodologies used to ace all of the accounting certification exams you want to take in an efficient manner-something nobody knew how to or shared with me.

In all honesty, this book has a much deeper meaning. Ultimately these accounting certifications allowed me to brand myself as the Accounting Certification Juggernaut-someone who can see the bigger picture in an accounting environment. Whether you decide to take one, two, four, or all eight certifications discussed in this book, you are creating a personal brand that I hope you will trust me to help you create.

You have two choices: buckle your seatbelt and get ready to learn a lot about accounting certification exams or put this book back on the shelf. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the personal brand that will open doors in your career. Let me be your guide. Start reading this book; put everything taught into practice, and you too will transform into a full-blown Accounting Certification Juggernaut.

I poured my heart and soul into this book. My passion for accounting certifications and to inspire the next generation of accounting professionals are paramount to my focus in life. I hope you find this book useful, and I cannot wait for you to embrace your upcoming certification exam journey!

• Jeffrey Robert Barnes, the Accounting Certification Juggernaut