NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

Seasons Greetings!

Hello everyone and happy holidays! I hope many of you will be enjoying early office closings and extended weekends for the holidays and upcoming New Year.

It is surreal to think that in a few short weeks I will be in the midst of my very first busy season. With that in mind, I have been putting all the extra effort I can muster into my CPA studies.


I am sitting for BEC the first week in January and AUD the first week in February. I know this is a little ambitious, but I already registered for all 4 exams and needed to fit them in before May 5^th (my last day to sit and the day I have FAR scheduled). Due to the recent delay in NJ exam applications, I did not receive my notice to sit until well after I had anticipated. Because of these circumstances, I have altered the study routine I used to prepare for REG. I am spending less time on the lectures (I’m more of a visual rather than aural learner) and more time on MCQs, note cards, and reading. If you also identify more with one mode of learning, you may benefit from tailoring your studies to those strengths.

Earlier this week, my firm held an after-work CPA Rap Session so candidates and colleagues who recently passed the exam could get together informally and share tips, tricks, complaints, and successes. A coworker introduced me to Another71.com, an online forum serving thousands of CPA candidates who share their experiences within the community. Another friend guided me to CPAReviewForFree.com. As the name implies, the site offers thousands of free MCQs. I really like the site because the questions are worded much differently than the Becker and Wiley resources I have previously used. I feel this is an awesome study tool as many test takers feel the MCQs on the actual exam can be convoluted and confusing, and the site offers great practice at digging through the details to identify the question being asked.


If your firm does not have a CPA Initiative or support group, see if you can start one. Of course you can gain valuable tips from your fellow studiers here at the Exam Cram Blog, but nothing beats meeting up in person to share your trials and triumphs.

Best of luck to everyone taking an exam in the upcoming window!

Alyssa

Tax season ahead

This has been a crazy quarter!  First Thanksgiving then BAAAM! Christmas & Chanukah season is here.  It is hard to even think of the holiday times when there is so much going on.  Not only work, but studying and the dreaded tax season which starts in a few weeks. 

 

Speaking of tax season, how does your schedule change during these months?  How do you keep the life/work/study balance?  I look forward to reading some of your answers. 

 

I still am questioning my I am still pursuing the CPA certification.  There are so many other certifications out there, however, they all have one thing in common; the fact that many CPAs hold these other certifications.  This only tells me that after I am certified, I should specialize in one of these subject matters and gain a second certification.  This will allow me to go down what one would call the nontraditional CPA path, which is anything that isn’t tax or audit. 

 

Well, off to another study session with Roger CPA Review Course!!

 

MRD

Email: michael.delorenzo@mikedelo.com

'Tis the Season!

Hi Y'all,

First of all, let me apologize for not posting a blog since Halloween. The month of November was a complete whirlwind. But, before I get into too much detail, let me step back and share with you the great news: I PASSED ALL 4 PARTS of the exam…I AM FINISHED!

Now, what has happened between October and today? Well, I took AUD on November 4th, received news that I passed REG that same day (just barely, with a 75…phew!), took BEC on November 28th, just days after receiving my AUD score (96…felt the need to redeem the previous score, it seems!), and, received my BEC score (86) last week. Having passed FAR in August, the November/December score release concluded the whole process!

Since August 10th, the first day I opened a Becker book, until November 28th, the day I took the last exam, felt like a lifetime, but looking back now, I'm pleased that I dedicated only 3 1/2 months to the exam, instead of dragging it out for months, if not years. However, I must preface that with the fact that it was much easier for me to do so, given that I studied for FAR without having to work. Once I began work, studying was significantly more strenuous and a downright daunting task. After working 10-12 hours a day, plus a 2 hour commute (on a good day), I struggled to muster up enough motivation to study.

I suspect that you are all wondering how I managed to achieve the CPA in less than 4 months, while working for 3 of those 4 months. Well, the truth (and I guarantee that you are not going to like this answer), I devoted my entire weekend, every single one of them, to studying at least 10 hours a day.

Now, in more detail and for each exam, I would first listen to the lecture, one at a time, and then read through the chapter pertaining to that lecture, underscoring and/or highlighting the major topics (most of which were touched upon during the lecture). Then I would complete the multiple choice homework on the Becker software, as if it was the actual exam; meaning, I would not use any resources or look at my notes. I did this to gauge how much of the material I retained just by listening to the lecture and reading through the material once. Becker would track my progress and I would also flag the questions I got wrong. So, once I finished the set, I would go back to those 'troubled' problems and re-read the material in the Becker book to determine where I went wrong. This is easier said than done, unfortunately, when you mix in work, family and friends. But, lastly, to conclude each of the four parts, I would redo all of the homework problems beginning two days before the exam. You'd be surprised how many similar (if not exact same) questions appear on the exam, especially for AUD.

I will leave you with those thoughts for now, but before I leave the NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog, I will post more about my journey, and give as much advice as possible. So, stay tuned…..

On a side note, I haven't even begun my holiday shopping, and work is in full swing (I can only imagine what busy season has in store for me….) but, I am finally beginning to 'connect the dots,' and work is actually (dare I say it) enjoyable. All of my engagement teams, thus far, have been so open and willing to coach me, and more importantly, I have been exposed to a variety of clients in various industries. It is rather mind-boggling.

Until next time….

My First Post

Hi everyone! My name is Alyssa and I'm excited to be the newest contributor to the Exam Cram Blog. A little background about myself: I just graduated from Richard Stockton College in August and joined WeiserMazars' NJ office in September. Believe it or not, I landed my job through networking at the NJSCPA Scholar's Institute. So, those of you who are debating applying for a scholarship or SI, get to it the deadline is coming up!!

Study wise I am currently dragging my way through Becker's BEC review (self-study). I am on lesson 1 =/ I find it always takes me about a week to get through that first lesson and then the rest go by much quicker. The information in BEC is also very different from the other parts. While studying for REG, I vaguely recalled almost everything from one college course or another. This is not true (atleast for me) of BEC. I'm finding that the content consists of many, many definitions and mnuemonics I am being told to memorize (oh the fun).

In more exciting news, I found out last Thursday that I passed REG with a 91! REG was my first exam. Needless to say, I left the testing center feeling queasy. While I didn't think I completely bombed the exam, I had this awful feeling I would be right on the verge of passing and be stricken with a 73 or 74. Luckily, as I have heard from many test takers and now believe myself, there is no way to rely on a gut feeling about the exam, you just never know until you receive the score report.

With the holidays coming up, I am beginning to plan so I can relax AND prepare for my January 6th BEC exam. It's going to be a little hectic, but totally worth it to still make that ugly sweater party this weekend! I hope everyone is doing the same. Make a detailed study plan so you can have your cake and eat it, too!

Cheers!
Alyssa

Its been a long time!

I would like to apologize to the readers of this blog as well as the members of the NJSCPA for not making a blog entry for a complete month.

 

My studying and work has really taken control of my life.  Despite my efforts to keep a good work/life balance, the weight of the world continues to stand on top of my shoulders. 

 

On a lighter note, I have come up with an interesting way to learn more about accounting and the QuickBooks software.  A few years ago I bought the book, The Accounting Game: Basic Accounting Fresh From the Lemonade Stand.  The authors explain accounting in terms of owning a lemonade stand. 

 

I read the book in college but recently wanted to pick it back up to build a story line of company transactions.  My goal is to take these transactions and turn them into entries in QuickBooks.  Today, during lunch, I created a new company in QuickBooks 2011, called My Lemonade Stand, and will begin to enter in the events of the book’s story line.

 

We will see how it works out.

 

On a personal note:  How are the holiday plans coming along for you?  I have started to put together a shopping list, but have yet to kick off my contribution to the holiday lines.

 

MRD

More scores being released today.

Today, 7853 AUD, 4593 BEC, 7345 FAR and 8472 REG scores were released by the AICPA to NASBA from the October / November 2011 testing window.  This could mean early holiday presents for some of you.