NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

Audit Exam Aftermath

Hi Everyone,

It's Monday morning and things are slow here at work for now.

I cannot express the relief that I feel having finished taking Audit before busy season work really starts to escalate.  I can focus on work, and not overly stress the next section (which is Reg).

As for the exam itself, I walked away from the Audit exam feeling like I could have done better.  I started out with confidence, knowing the material and understanding the questions.  As the exam progressed, it seemed like I was taking a step backwards.  I felt the same way after the exam after the first two sections I took, and the previous time I had taken audit.  The first two scores were passes and the first audit just barely missed a passing score.

It's a little more than a month and a half before I have to take Regulation, and I'm getting close to the expiration for FAR.  It looks like these breaks are going to have to wait.

Good luck, and hopefully the next wave of scores has a lot of passing grades.

Regards,

Kunal

Slow and steady wins the race

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a nice weekend!  I've been progressing, albeit slow and steady, with FAR.  After the first lecture (F1) I decided I was going to try studying without the recorded lectures.  In other words, I've just been reading and studying on my own--no interaction with the infamous Becker professors, haha.  I'm up through lecture 4 now and ready to start F5.  I think it's been working for me; I'm using my time more effectively now, but as my test date approaches, I'm starting to feel more and more pressured.

In a way, I can't wait for summer to be over.  It's such a challenge when people always want to do something "fun" on the weekends.  It's also difficult to find someone to support and encourage spending the weekend inside studying.  Admittedly, I gave in this weekend; I went to see "Inglourious Basterds" on Friday after work and then I spent the day in New York City on Saturday.  Oh well, at least I studied my flashcards on the train....that counts, right?

I wish everyone all the best with your studies and, if you're taking a part of the exam tomorrow, GOOD LUCK!!!!

Best wishes,

Ryan

Test Day

Hi All,

Test day is here, and I am only 9 hours away from another exam.  Another test day is here, and once again, I am as calm as ever.  The panic and stress of this exam has yet to hit me, but we'll see how I'm doing 8 hours from now.

I went through and reviewed as many questions from my exam book as possible this past week.  Understandably, as Tax busy season approaches the September 15th deadline, work has started to steadily trickle in.  As such, instead of going over every question, I've had to sample (a skill which hopefully helps me with the audit sampling section of the exam today).

The plan going forward is to review the mnemonics and the lists for Audit that I have compiled over the past several weeks.  I will reinforce that by looking over questions that have given me trouble.  Hopefully that is sufficient to help me get through this test.  I'm not confident going into the exam.  Although I have studied more than I had for the previous sections, I know that there was more that I should have studied and paid attention to.  However, self-doubt and a racing mind are the worst possible things heading into this exam.  As long as I stay calm and worry about what I do know, I should be able to work my way through each question.

Good luck to everyone else testing at the end of this window.  Hopefully you all pass.

Regards,

Kunal

NASBA Scores

We just received the following message from NASBA: 

Wave 1 is now closed. No more scores will be released until next month. If you didn't receive your score and you sat during the Jul/Aug window, please call 800-CPA-Exam.

Clep Exams - Yah or Nah?

I received a question last week asking if Clep Credits are accepted toward the 150 credit hours in NJ.

The answer is yes - if they are listed on a transcript from a regionally accredited institution.

If you have any other questions, please send them over. 

Kick in the Pants

Hi All,

I hope everything is going well, and everyone is studying and passing.

Scores came out, and once again, I did not pass.  Also, once again, I knew that I did not put in the full effort that I should have.  But the biggest positive from the scores was that I received a real kick in the pants and have received a second wind.  As of now, I'm planning to take this again in October, and have the week of PTO planned. 

As for the Audit exam this weekend, I've gone through the material again, and am working on questions this week.  This is the first time that I'm taking an exam later in the afternoon, so I plan to use my Saturday to take practice tests and go over the simulations.

Right now, I need to do the questions for each module.  I will keep you up to date, and let you know how I'm doing during crunch time.

Regards and best wishes,

Kunal

Scheduled my exams….

Hi everyone,

 

How is everything going?!?  This testing period is coming to a close quickly, so I imagine there are quite a few people preparing to take one part of the exam soon, if you haven’t already done so.  I wish you all the best of luck if you are! J

 

Ed, thanks for the warm welcome.  Good luck with Audit and keep your head up; REG should be a breeze the next time through.

 

A couple days ago, I scheduled all four parts of my exam.  My NTS’s expire on February 15^th, which is holiday; therefore, I’m taking my last part of the exam on the expiration date of my NTS’s. 

 

Here’s my schedule:

 

Friday, October 9th—FAR

Monday, November 30th—REG

Monday, January 11th—AUD

Saturday, February 13th—BEC

 

Let’s hope I can stay on track the next 6 months! 

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend (we’re expecting a bad storm up here in CT L) and keeps studying hard!

Cheers!

Ryan

Very close, but not close enough to cross the finish line.

Hello Everyone,

I am back again, after a brief silence, Regulation was too close for a win.... I was very close to 75 but did not hit it. I did not finish the exam. I did half of the first simulation, and just the research on the second Simulation.

The leason I learned from this exam is never to underestimate time. The first testlet was Ok, but the second and third were very difficult. I knew at that point that I was on the right track. but I spent too much time and had less time for the simulations..

I  applied for another NTS right away, and would retake it probably on the 1st of October (the begining of the next window).The material is still very fresh in my head. I am re-taking Audit on Monday evening, and getting on the Plane on Tuesday morning with my family for a 3 week vacation to Africa (I have family that lives in Nigeria).

Finally a big welcome to Ryan, and Janice for the great updates (I love it) I wish you all the best with your exams. I am starting with Deloitte in November, and I want to have my exams completed before I start. Hopefullllllllllly.........hmmmn (it can happen) lol  :)

Alright future CPA's...

Later....

Ed.

Reg. scores after August 7.....

If you tested after August 7th, those scores were not included in what the AICPA released to NASBA.  Sorry.....

NASBA Released Scores on Tuesday

Yesterday, NASBA posted the following on Twitter:

9084 REG scores were released by the AICPA to NASBA from the July/Aug 2009 testing window. Once scores are released to us from the AICPA - it takes 24-48 hours for CPAES to post scores to

http://bit.ly/HyI58.  Good luck to all of you!!