JP Thomas, CPA

Hello! My name is John Paul Thomas. I go by John Paul, but most of my friends and family call me JP. I am from Evansville, Indiana where I grew up. I attended Reitz Memorial High School and then moved to Muncie, Indiana to attend Ball State University. While at Ball State University, I studied Accounting and Financial Planning. I also ran on the Ball State Running Club for 4 years. While on the club, I raced 5K’s all the way up to a marathon! I met my now wife Maria in the running club our freshman year!

In 2017 I began working at the Ball State Learning Center as a Supplemental Instruction Leader (SI Leader). In this position, I was assigned a historically difficult class – Business Statistics – and held study sessions weekly for students to attend. During the sessions, I worked through practice problems with students and answered any questions they had. I was responsible for preparing practice questions, study guides, and practice exams for students to work through together. I served as an SI Leader for Business Statistics for 2 semesters before transitioning to Introduction to Financial Accounting. I especially enjoyed working with accounting and non-accounting majors master financial accounting. I worked with many students who had no interest in accounting but were required to take it because of their major. I gained excellent communication skills when working with students that did not always easily grasp the accounting concepts.

In addition to serving as an SI Leader, I additionally tutored students in intermediated accounting, accounting information systems, advanced accounting, etc. I enjoyed working through these concepts with fellow students.

I graduated from Ball State in 2020 with my Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting with the Cum Laude designation. I then began my Master’s of Science in Accounting program in the Fall of 2020 and graduated in 2021. During my Masters program, I served as a Graduate Assistant for the Entrepreneurship department. In this role, I worked primarily with Senior Entrepreneurship majors preparing to present their business plans. I assisted these students with their financial statement preparation and budgeting questions. This provided me with an opportunity to apply my accounting knowledge to a variety of business models and unique situations.

During 2021, I began the process of studying for my CPA Exams. As apart of my Masters program, we prepared an approximate 6 months schedule to study and pass all 4 parts of the exam. I took the exams in the following order: FAR, REG, AUD, BEC. (With BEC phased out in 2023, this section was replaced by the disciplines BAR, ISC, or TCP) To prepare for my studies, I created a detailed daily study plan using a template made by a classmate of mine. The daily study plan showed how many hours per day I would study and helped me stay accountable and track how many hours I was putting in. Additionally, it provided great value to see how far out my exam was and how many sections of the exam I would be studying per week. For my exam preparation, I chose to study with Becker. I highly recommend Becker. It was comprehensive and completely prepared me for exam day. That being said, the time and effort you put into your studies plays a greater role in success than the specific review course you choose. Rephrased, Becker will not guarantee you pass. You must work through all the material Becker provides and study it to pass the exams.

While following my plan, I was able to achieve the following scores:

FAR: 96 | REG: 94 | AUD: 89 | BEC: 96

Passing the exams is one of my greatest professional achievements, and I look forward to my future as a CPA. Given my background working with students in business and accounting, I naturally made my way to working with students to pass the CPA exam. I have been tutoring students since 2023 on the CPA Exam and helping them grasp difficult concept areas. I love to set up study schedules with students and work through practice questions. As a former user of Becker, I gladly work through any Multiple Choice Questions or Task Based Simulations with you that may be struggling with.

Between graduating from Ball State and now, I have gained experience in public accounting as an auditor and as an internal auditor for a governmental entity. Both experiences have aided in my ability to explain and apply concepts when working with students.

I look forward to assisting you on your CPA journey!

Good luck and keep studying!

-JP Thomas, CPA