This is the story of James “Jimmy” Chilimigras, the 15-year-old who broke an 8-year World Record and became the youngest CPA candidate to EVER pass the CPA exam (As of 2024).
The CPA exam is one of the most difficult professional exams in the world.
According to the AICPA, it takes an average of 6 attempts for most CPA candidates to pass. Which means the average accountant will fail twice on their journeys to failing.
This is AFTER earning 150 credit hours from a university and passing the most challenging accounting classes.
The average age of a CPA candidate is typically around 21-25 when most people graduate and start working full time.
This is why back in 2015 it was a BIG deal when a 17-year-old was able to sit and pass the CPA exam.
Belicia Cespedes set the bar high after she passed after failing only two sections and becoming the world’s youngest CPA.
However, on June 17th, 2023, everything changed when 15-Year-Old James “Jimmy” Chilimigras earned the new title of youngest CPA in the world after he passed all four sections in less than six months and only failed one section.
Now the question of the day… how did he do this?
Jimmy + Kesler CPA Review
In January of 2023, Jimmy teamed up with Bryan Kesler of Kesler CPA Review in a mentee/mentor relationship.
Jimmy understood that the CPA exam would be more advanced and cover more material than any college-level exam he had ever taken.
He wanted to hit the ground running to pass the exam before August of 2023 when he begins law school at Loyola Law in New Orleans.
I think (finding a mentor) it’s important because everyone who takes the CPA exam, it’s their first time with it, and it’s definitely an adventure and I think having someone who’s already been through that so they know what you need to do and what’s gonna be really challenging and what worked for them, that’s really something that important.
– Jimmy Chilimigras
Meeting CPA Exam Requirements
Before Jimmy could sit for the CPA exam he had to meet the CPA exam requirements for Mississippi.
To do this, Jimmy completed his bachelor’s at Western Governors University (WGU) in just two semesters. They worked with him to allow him to complete 60 credits per semester!
At 14 he completed the WGU masters program and officially met the requirements to sit for the CPA exam.
Jimmy vs Business Environment & Concepts (BEC)
On January 16th, Jimmy and Bryan dove into the planning and studying process and opted to start with BEC.
After just a few short weeks of studying, Jimmy received an 86 on his first section on 2/20/23.
An amazing start to a historic journey!
Jimmy vs Audit (AUD)
Next up, Jimmy decided to tackle AUD. Bryan and Jimmy discussed how AUD was arguably the trickiest of the sections because of how the questions are worded and how dense the content is.
But AUD was no match for Jimmy’s incredible ability to read fast, grasp the content, and apply it dynamically.
He passed AUD on 3/20/23 with a perfect score of 75!
Jimmy vs Regulation (REG)
With Jimmy being 50% done with his journey, he decided that he would sit for REG since he had just taken some exams around taxation for his V.I.T.A. volunteering.
Bryan had recently partnered with Vishal CPA Prep so Jimmy was able to leverage Vishal’s study guide and live classes into his study routine.
On April 10th, 2023, Jimmy and Bryan checked his scores, and he mastered REG with a whopping 85!
Jimmy vs FAR
75% of the way done Jimmy left the most challenging section for last, Financial Accounting and Reporting or FAR.
Because of the amount of material tested in FAR, Bryan recommended that Jimmy spend closer to six weeks studying for FAR based on his understanding of how Jimmy learns.
However, a spot opened up at Jimmy’s Prometric Center and he decided to take a stab at FAR with only a 3weeks of studying under his belt.
Despite only studying for a short amount of time AND making a slight instruction interpretation error during a task based simulation, Jimmy scored a 73 on this attempt.
A mere two points away from passing and breaking the world record.
Despite being the first time he had ever failed a standardized test, this did not deter Jimmy.
He dove back into studying for a couple more weeks and sat a second time.
This time, Jimmy didn’t miss the mark.
One June 17, 2023, Jimmy pass FAR with an incredible score of 80.
Cementing his name as the youngest person ever to pass the CPA exam.
What’s Next For Jimmy?
Now that Jimmy has passed the CPA exam he is heading to law school in the Fall of 2023.
His goal is to complete law school at the standard pace so that he can absorb as much as he can to achieve his goal of becoming the best tax lawyer in the United States and helping individuals with their finances.
If he can complete law school in three years, he will become the second youngest law graduate in history, according to oldest.org.
From Bryan’s perspective, he says:
“Jimmy is an amazing young man who, while being incredibly intelligent, is also humble and hyper-focused on his goal of using his superpowers for good. It’s a trait not held by many 15-year-olds! It was an honor and a privilege to do whatever I could to help Jimmy achieve his goal of passing the CPA exam.”
If anyone else would like to receive mentorship support from Bryan and his team at Kesler CPA Review, you can apply HERE.