NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

SpongeBob the Accountant:

Back in the days… when I took my Intermediate Accounting Class the tax professor – Mr. G – used SpongeBob and his friends for quizzing the students during his lectures.

SpongeBob was raising the question and one of his three friends was holding the right answer. In case of disagreement, each student could come up with a fourth answer.

Mr. G was and is a very smart and great teacher.

He used fictional characters to challenge the class. A few times there was no right or wrong answer, but just a reasonable one. That’s accounting!

Yesterday I took the FAR test. I thought to be back in class with the ‘SpongeBob lessons’. Many questions seemed to come from nowhere, from a new topic SpongeBob wanted to teach to his friends and me. I couldn’t find the answer more ‘right’ than the others. I had to deal with the three friends of SpongeBob being all right and all wrong at the same time.

Well, it is done! I did my best. Now let’s wait a couple of weeks for the score and then… we will see.

By the way, as I was coming home, on my front step I found the package containing the books for BEC.

Back to study.

Stay tuned for more.

Claudio B.

The Daily Grind

I have been meaning to post for several days now, but everytime I jump on here something seems to come up.  Whether it be work or personal, it just seems like life keeps getting busier and busier.  My work load is gearing up again as pension plans and other 6/30 year end jobs begin.  I am also beginning to schedule travel dates for interim work which makes me realize that this is not going to let up anytime soon!

Basically I have been slowly reworking my way through the Becker program for Financial Reporting.  I am shooting for a late August test date.  I have not scheduled my exam dates yet, and I don't plan to until I am at least 75% done studying.  At this rate, and because I will be in Texas for a client the last week of August, FAR may have to wait until early October (darn those black out months!!)  Also, I downloaded CPA Review for Free's $10 FAR app (oxymoron?) available on the iPhone.  Does anyone know if it is available for Android or Blackberry?  I hope so because it is a great and inexpensive tool that keeps me in study mode on the go.

Sorry I don't have too much to report on these days.  If you just graduated GET THE EXAM DONE THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!  I really cannot stress this enough.  Do not hold off until you start work, it just gets harder and harder.  As for me that opportunity has passed, so I am looking ahead and staying determined to get this done by the end of the year :)

Happy studies,
Alyssa

I FEEL GOOD !!!!

Said James Brown in one of his famous songs. Was he preparing for a FAR test?

Probably not, but I do.

Less than 7 days to 'the Day' and scoring more than a 75% in the practice tests certainly makes me FEEEEEEEEELLL GGGOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDD !!!

AH AH

Stay tuned for more...

Claudio B.

On to the next: BEC!

I've been studying for BEC for the past week and a half and am currently on chapter two. Chapter one was a little bit of a shocker for me for a few reasons: (1) It's difficult to go from being so familiar with AUD to starting something new. It reminded me of how little I knew before I completed a whole section. I mean, when you start studying for a section, you really know nothing. There's common sense and all that, but it kind of feels like starting from scratch. Scary thought. And (2) BEC is COMPLETELY different from AUD (at least, I think so). AUD is from, well, the auditor's perspective and BEC is from management's. My whole thought process had to be flip-flopped. It took a while to get used to thinking this way.

I couldn't bring myself to write a post about this section before I started chapter two because, if it would have been during chapter one, it would have consisted of me saying: holy crap what the heck is this?! Now I am a little more comfortable with the concept of BEC. I have also discovered one (or two) saving graces: I learned a lot of what is in chapter two in college. We had a class my senior year which focused on management processes and economics, among other business topics. Amazingly, I am finding that a lot of these concepts managed to stick in my brain, which is definitely helping with the questions. Also, BEC omits the simulations and replaces them with a written section. I am going to pat myself on the back here and say that I am at least a little bit of a decent writer, so hopefully that part will be a breeze.

I'm not scoring as high on multiple-choice in BEC as I did in AUD, but I did notice that my scores are generally going up with every section I study. I'm hoping that, by the last
chapter, I will be an old pro at this. Forty-four days until my BEC exam and nineteen until I get my AUD score back. (Which, the more I think about, the more I want to faint -- can't I say that I only want it back if I pass?? I wish.)

Unfortunately, I won't get home until later tonight and will have to squeeze in studying from about 8:00pm to 10:00pm. Not my ideal time slot but it will have to do.

AND I've decided, after I pass the whole exam, I am going to buy myself a really, really good present. Currently, that (and the thought of having a life again) is what's keeping me motivated.

Happy studying!

Lauryn

2 and 2 = quality!

A couple of weeks ago I posted a 2-weeks-countdown for the 2^nd attempt of FAR. However, I had to move it forward for another couple of weeks.

I want to nail this test!

I am working on the quality more than on the speed on getting things done fast and maybe fail again the test.

On the first attempt I missed the mark for only 1 point (Yes, I got 74! … #$%@#)

Practice, practice, practice! It’s all I do anytime I have a minute.

 

Stay tuned for more.

 

Claudio B.

And now...I wait.

My feelings on Friday's audit exam are pretty positive. I think it went well…not 99 well (I'm not a genius nor a robot) but hopefully at least 75 well. Deep down I definitely think that I passed, although it feels very wrong to admit that sentiment out loud, or even in my head, and especially wrong to do it on paper (or a blog, for that matter). I feel that I knew all of the questions and that I did fairly well on the simulations, one of which was a particular topic I had been schooled in at a client by something called the Justin Method. This method, fondly named after the Torres Method from Grey's Anatomy (love that show), features my own Torres (cue Justin) ruthlessly grilling me on audit topics and forcing answers out of me until I have complete faith in my own knowledge, even when I am being tricked, doubted, heckled, etc. I highly recommend that everyone go out and find a Torres of their own because it really aids in the studying process. However, this could all be a false hope and I could be completely delusional and slapped with a big fat "F" on my score report. Let's hope not. I still have a little bit of faith left. I would like to see a "P."

Friday afternoon, free from studying for the first time in 2.5 months, I drive up with my boyfriend and my dog, Henry, to our family's farm (shown left) in PA. 45 minutes of traffic (hate rubbernecking!) and 4.5 hours of driving later, we arrived.

It was supremely nice to spend a weekend with family, barbecuing, riding quads, stuffing myself with hamburgers and hotdogs, and doing other quasi-redneck things that I usually don't do. Being in nature is super nice, especially after a stressful test and with a 4 month old puppy that is more excited than you've ever seen to be free from his leash.

So here we are today. It's Monday and I start my BEC study regimen tonight. If this past weekend was what it will feel like every weekend after I pass the whole exam, I would like to get there sooner rather than later. I know I can do it and I'll hit the books even harder now to get there. BEC, I'm coming for you.

Well This is No Fun ...

I just re-registered for AUD and FAR after failing them both by a few points.  To be exact 3 measly points just cost me $475.70.  Thank goodness for 0% interest rates!!!  Now I have six months to get everything together and pass this exam once and for all.  Today I am starting my new study plan.  I am going to take the slow and steady route and aim for 10 hours a week for 5 weeks to reprepare for FAR and then I'll move on to audit.  I'll post soon to let you know how it's going. 

Best,
Alyssa

p.s. Happy Birthday America!  Hope everyone enjoyed the 4th of July!

Please, God, Let Me Pass

To follow up on last week's post, I have three days left until my Audit exam. I'm taking the advice of friends and co-workers and doing flashcards and quick quizzes until I can't stand it anymore. I really like doing the quick quizzes because I feel they are an accurate depiction of whether or not I know the material from a particular chapter. For instance, there were a good number of quizzes I scored 100% on (not worried), some I scored 80-90% on (still not worried), and one or two I scored below my comfort zone. It's those chapters, the ones out of my comfort zone, which I have revisited. I re-read the chapter and did another quick quiz to judge if I had actually retained any information. To supplement the quizzes, I have been practicing the Task Based Simulations and looking over some released questions on the AICPA website. I will be foregoing all 4th of July
activities (and every last inch of my social life until I pass this exam) to study and have taken off Thursday as an extra study day to prep for Friday's exam. I feel pretty confident at this stage of the game. All I can do now is review and cross my fingers that the exam goes as planned!

I will not be taking a break from studying as I will be going right into the BEC section. I have already scheduled my exam date for August 31st -- positive thinking! I believe the score release for my AUD exam is August 6th, so I will keep you all posted -- hopefully with good news!

Wish me luck!

Lauryn