NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

Quick Update....(BEC- rescheduled, Deloitte start date)

Hello Everyone,

I rescheduled BEC at the last minute, I did not feel too comfortable from the practice questions I took. I really want to maximize this window, and do my best. I could have done it with the attitude of "well I can always retake the exam" but I looked at "cost and time" it would cost me $59+ to reschedule and more to re-take the exam. I would loose out on this window, and have to wait for next year, and all who are in public accounting know that the beginning of the year is hectic.

For those who have used Becker to take BEC, I need your advice my weak areas are chapters 3 and 5, I average 60-65% when I take them, it has a lot of cramming involved so I need your advice???

Yea....Work officially starts on Monday, I would be an official employee of Deloitte....some would say "what's wrong with this guy, he does not know what he is getting into???" well, for one I am excited to have a job in this tough times, and two, I am going in there with a great attitude that I would succeed. Nothing in life comes easy, you just have to work hard and sacrifice. The CPA exams is one great example. My philosophy is simple, "some people have worked in public accounting and are successful" how did they do it?????? and all I get is sacrifice and endurance and hard work which is fair game....

I took two exams this month (REG & AUDIT) and have scheduled BEC for November 17th at 7pm. FARE is my last part, and I would do it in early January before things start getting hot at work.

Okayyyyy, I wish everyone the best, and please practice questions as much as you can it pays off.

cheers!!!

Ed. Adiele (CPA-Unearned yet)

Still no license? How many months has it been...

SOOOOO I was HOPING I could avoid the extra $50 charge NJ makes you pay to have them review your transcript if you get your extra credits AFTER you submit your initial application to sit for the CPA. As a result of what I was hoping I still haven't gotten my license. Good thing I kept following up with them otherwise I'd be sitting and waiting for it and would have no idea that they hadn't even looked at my form since it didn't have the money.  In my defense, the woman from the state had told me to just send the form since I had already sent my final transcript. I took that to mean that I didn't have to pay the money. (I was hopeful, what can I say) After spending SO much on the exam and review courses I hated paying ANOTHER 50 bucks. But I gave in. Sent that in last week. Hoping that they'll finally start processing it and in the next month or so I'll have my license.

In a previous post Priscilla had mentioned how hard the application process for your license is (which it really is) and that the Big 4 has HR people there to help you. I didn't really have that experience. I pretty much had to do it all myself still, we have one site where we can get the application, but personally I felt like I was still on my own. So those of you at smaller firms- don't think we all have it so easy.

I hope you all (especially my fellow bloggers) are doing well with your exams and having some success!!! Keep on trucking and you'll get through it! \

-Wendy

Audit 10/26.....BEC 10/29

Hello everyone,

I completed my  Audit exam today, and all I can say is "practice, practice, practice" I cannot stress this enough. Honestly it pays off, no matter how you study, you can never understand the style of questioning except you practice. I feel very comfortable with this test, and I am off to BEC on Thursday. All I would have left is FARE which I plan to take next month.

All three of my scores would be out on the same week (REG, AUDIT, BEC) gosh... I don't know how I would feel to report back to you all that I've passed all three..so...lets all keep our fingers crossed so I don't jinx my chances.

I repeat, practice questions, practice questions, practice questions...honestly, Becker is great, but the question bank on the  CD's and on-line are the same since I started taking the CPA in April, but Wiley E-prep online has some great questions, its tough, but worth the time.

I'll check in with you all by this weekend.

Cheers !!

Ed. Adiele

Test Date Update

Hi All,

 

It’s been a while since my last update.  I apologize.

 

My original plan was to take last week off to study and update my status to help keep me on track.  Unfortunately, (as I should have expected), nothing goes as planned.  The Friday before my week off, I made the mistake of celebrating the end of busy season and the chance to spend a full week studying (like the good ol’ days in college) by returning to my college for the Rutgers Pittsburgh game.  The poor game coupled with the cold and rainy conditions ultimately led to my bed rest last week.

 

So instead of spending long hours studying and making every effort to pass Regulation, I ended up spending long hours resting to rid myself of the cold.

 

I ended up taking my test yesterday, and I felt better about it than the last time I took regulation.  We’ll wait and see, but as I have learned, I will not throw away my notes so quickly this time.

 

Moving forward, I’ve started reviewing my Audit.  The exam is after Thanksgiving, and I’m going to try to avoid what happened this time.  The last time, I did poorly on the multiple choice, so it’s the same area that I’ve been planning to attack in my studying. 

 

The only obstacle right now is the hometown Phillies defending their World Series.

 

Take Care and good luck.

 

Regards,

 

Kunal

Congratulations to four more NJSCPA Members

We have just been notified that four more members of the NJSCPA have recently passed the CPA Exam:

Joanne Lupinski - October 8, 2009

Robert DelPriore - August 31, 2009

Chirag Juthani - August 5, 2009

Williams Bedzrah - August 3, 2009

Congratulations!!! 

Worky work, busy bee!

Hi everyone,

I hope your studies are going well.  I've been working hard--starting to feel bogged down with work, CPA studying, and my masters course.  Thankfully, I've been moving through the REG material at an acceptable speed.  I just hope I'm retaining it well.  Hopefully this weekend I can put in some solid hours of studying.

I've been staying at the office late the past couple of weeks because of some deadlines I have approaching on my projects.  I found that the best way to get my studying in is to just get to the office early before everyone else.  This way, I can study REG while I'm "fresh" and before I have to even think about work.

Good luck and keep working hard! 

Best wishes,

Ryan

Audit & BEC.....its possible!!

Hello Everyone,

I hope we are all giving this window our best, lets try to end 2009 with some serious passing scores. I believe we can do it!!!! Yeah...

I have Audit on Monday, and I have BEC on Thursday; at the end of next week I would have taken 3 exams this month (ain't I crazy....noooo, Deloitte start date for me is on Monday the 2nd of November.) I have 2 weeks of training, so I am trying to make my life a little easier by crashing this month with exams.

I am on a marathon of questions for Audit from CPA-REVIEW-FOR FREE to Becker to Wiley E-prep on-line, I even got the becker Final review product, just to give me all the opportunity to hit a C+ (75) on the exams.

I have also studies 3 chapter for FARE, I am thinking of holding off till January to take the exams so I can maximize my chances by doing a lot of questions..

Honestly, really there are some days where I really don't feel like studying, I look at the book for 10-15 mins, and just hate the whole process, but someone told me "if you want the CPA title so bad, you would work the extra mile to get it."

I would let you all know how I feel by next weekend!!!

Ed. Adiele CPA (Un-earned title, just wanna see how cool it looks by my name)

Cheers!!!

To lie or not to lie....that is the question!

I just received a question from one of our student members and thought I would share this with you.  It actually has come up several times before -- and many others are too embarrased to ask the question.  Here goes:

"Question 8 on the CPA licensure application asks if someone has ever been arrested or  entered into a pre-trial intervention program. If the record of the arrest and entrance into the pretrial intervention program has been expunged, can this be answered as no?"

While the record should have been expunged, it may not have been.  Answer yes and submit an explanation along with the application.  If the State Board discovers that someone has not been truthful on their application, it will be denied.  We have given this advice to many others and they have all received their licenses. 

Honesty is still the best policy! 

Took FAR....now it's on to REG

Hi everyone!

Last week was a busy, exciting, and tiring week for me.  I had a lot to do at work and I was finishing up my review for FAR, which I took on Friday.  The exam was certainly challenging and long, but overall I think it is do able if you prepare well enough.  That is, review the lectures, go over the multiple choice questions as many times as possible, go over the simulations, and take the practice exams (flash cards, too, if you have time).  If you stay focused and put in the effort, the exam shouldn't be impossible.  Actually, I thought the exam was easier than the practice exams/questions that I did.

I finished the multiple choice questions with 1 hour and 45 minutes left for the simulations.  I thought this was good for me because with multiple choice I always feel that you either know it or you don't.  So, I don't like to spend too much time on those.  I finished the exam with a whopping 5 seconds left on the clock.  Time management is important!

So I have a funny story, but also an important lesson to tell:  When I originally registered for FAR, the Prometric Test Center address was "48 Westport Avenue, Norwalk, CT."  However, the email I received (but didn't look at) just days before my exam as a reminder had the Prometric Test Center address as "444 Westport Avenue, Norwalk, CT."  Let's just say the original address was an empty office building, haha. Thankfully, I had my iPhone to save the day and everything worked out fine.  The moral of the story, though, is to make sure you always read emails concerning your CPA Exam (and check out the test center before the exam day, if you can...which I could have!).

I took Friday night off and began studying for REG on Saturday.  I will take REG on November 30th.  I'll keep you updated on how this section progresses.

Good luck to everyone taking a part during this window.  Keep working hard!

Best wishes,

Ryan

Regulation is out of the way

Hello everyone,

I took Regulation today, and have moved my attention to Audit which I have on the 26th. I feel good about my test, and unlike last time I took the exam I finished this one. I practiced my time management skills before the exam. I spent 30 mins on each testlet, and 45 mins on each simulation. I used 15-20 mins. to run through each testlet, and any question that took me more that 15 seconds to thinks about I would mark and skip it. I used the last 10 mins. to go over the ones I skipped.

This week, I would be working on FARE and AUDIT, I want to write FARE late next month, and all I can say to everyone is practice, practice, practice, go over questions a lot, and trust me...it works.

Till next time....cheers everyone!!!!

Ed. Adiele