NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

The CPA Exam Challenge !!

Good Morning Everyone,

For those that are new to the blog, I welcome you all, My name is Ed, and I am an Audit Senior with Deloitte. I Have been battling the CPA exam for some time - Since 2009, I have had my share of score night sorrows and excitements. I am Married,- have been since 2006, and I have two children (Ed Jnr. & Eleanor) age 5 & 4.

Enough of myself, I have made a commitment to myself to finish this exam this year, and for those of you out there reading my post, that also feel that 2012 should mark the end of this challenge- "Let's get it done" - I am pumped... (lol).

Busy Season for me, was as usual- long hours.... lot's of coffee and weight gain (hahahaha) yes, I gained like 10 - 12 pounds sitting on my behind everyday for 12- 16 hours eating un-healthy lunch and dinners. Going to the Gym was impossible- I just needed to rest when I had some time.

Busy season is over now, and my second home is the gym- back to the salads, and water, no soda's, no burgers etc. I also have resumed studies. I lost my Regulation credit in January of 2012 - (Yes - I feel very bad), but also had a very tough time before that. My mum passed on late last year, and I tell you- I felt like half of me was chopped off - for real. In her memory, I have decided to work real hard to finish my exams this year, and I am sure she would be smiling down at me saying "Good Joe Eddie".

Enough of my ranting- I want to hear your experiences - How does the exam make you feel? For me I feel like every free time is a time to study, I don't have any more social life. It's a crime to watch TV these days, but - I also need to catch up on my HBO - Game of Thrones - Yessssssssss, I love that show, but have to record and watch later, because I have to study...

Now let's get to work......

Cheers Everyone

EEA

One down, three to go.

January is over!!!!  Which means we have two and a half more months to go until the end of my first tax season.

I must say, tax season has brought my studying to almost a full stop.  What is everyone doing to keep up with their studies!?  It has really become tough to study, work and keep a some-what healthy lifestyle.

Has anyone read January’s Accounting Today article titled, What's Up With Your Docs?  It talks about working in a paperless environment.  I lead the way to a paperless work place at my last employer.  It caught on rather quickly.  We kept a shared drive with the typical directory tree structure.  The firm I am with now, went paperless a year before my arrival.  We utilize CCH Document in addition to the shared drive storage.  I find Document to be very unreliable.  After months of pushing Document, I have went back to the shared drive.  It is dependable.  A few times I have searched for a PDF that was uploaded (or scanned) into Document, and came up empty.  (and I know, for a fact, it was sent to Document)

I've tried to go paperless at home a few years ago.  A few months into it, my hard drive crashed before I was able to implement a back up schedule, resulting with me reverting back to the old fashion way of keep personal records.  To be honest, I have thought about cutting back on the amount of papers I keep.  I have always kept receipts for all credit card purchases and every paycheck stub.  But I find it tough to answer the question WHY?!  Most of the information, if needed, can be downloaded from the internet. 

Is your office paperless?  How do you keep your personal finances?

MRD

No more Exams left - I just hope "This is it"

Hello Everyone,

So I took my FAR exam today at a center 2.5hrs away from home just to get a center open on Sunday.The Regulation exam I worked so hard to pass would technically expire by Midnight 2/1/12. So what's it gonna be? Pass or back to the drawing board again.

 I gazed at the computer screen so hard that I had a headache after the exam; I took my time to answer every question; I pleaded with the God's of the CPA exam to let me pass or hit 75. I hope they answer (lol).

I am not looking forward to score release next month, I really do feel like someone who has finished by just cannot get excited yet. It's really been a long journey, but I believe "this is it"

Good Night everyone,

Ed

Count Down!!

Hello Everyone,

Its count down to my FARE exam, I feel like a hunter with just one bullet left. Am I going to have to re-take Regulation.....No way, I ponder over this every day, and I just need to stop. My work load is not getting lighter, and this is not the time to take days off, due to our work season. The other night, I walked into the wall without paying attention. Is the CPA exam making my life unbearable ---"Yes", I honestly feel so, I feel like I need to know the whole of the text book to pass, but guess what....I am going to feel good about the exam when I write it, and feel like throwing up once I hear that scores are out. Two things would be on my mind, "Is is over? or Is it going to be another summer of studing" I just hope "No".

On my way to work today, the state police stopped me and said I was doing 90 miles on a 65. I told the cop I was just not feeling good, he asked me what was wrong, I told him I had a lot on my mind including my CPA exams...He said, he understands, because his brother had the same struggle with his exams before he passed them all... I just smiled, he gave me a warning, and told me to take it easy.

Do go speeding with this line "you would get a ticket  :)"

Cheers and talk to you all soon, let me know how you feel, we are all in this together.

Ed A.

 

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

So what is it your asking?

I recently sat for Audit and am still waiting to here back on my score. Overall I am confident and think I did well but the main question I find myself asking is, “what were they asking”. I have talked with a few other colleagues and they shared the same sentiment after they sat for the exam. We brainstormed together and came up with a few ways to tackle questions that are simply not worded clearly.

1) If you have a question in the multiple choice section that is confusing, not clearly worded, or missing information read it through once. Take a couple moments to think about it, and if the answer is still not clear then just flag the question and move on. The worst thing you can do is strain to long on a single question and end up running out of time for other questions.

2) Remember that not all questions are included in your score and that this maybe a new test question that was not properly vetted.  Many of the questions are complex and because the massive amounts of questions in the test bank are pulled randomly it is likely you will get a bad one every so often. Don’t stress. Realize a bad question when you see one and just try your best to ask yourself “what am I most likely being asked here?”

3) If you do decide to skip a question, come back to that question with a fresh mind. Reread the question as if you had not read it before and try to find any information you may have missed the first time around. Sometimes it may be a single word that changes the meaning of a question. It is probably clear to many exam takers who have also taken practice questions or used review materials but one word makes a whole world of difference.

These are just a few ideas that some of my colleagues throughout but if any other blogger or reader has any additional ideas or recommendations on what to do it would probably help us all to hear them.  The AICPA’s email address for CPA Exam related questions is: CPAExam@aicpa.org.

Best wishes to everyone receiving scores over the next few days.

 

-  Kevin

CPA Exams / Work-Life balance

Hello Everyone,

I have my FARE Exam scheduled for the 30th of November 2011, I have been studying very hard. I recently started doing something that I want to share with all of you. When I read a chapter in the book, I record areas that I need to memorize with my phone. I read it out and record it with my phone. I have over an hour commute to work and back, during this time I play back my recording and refresh myself on areas I need to remember. I only do this for difficult areas, and this has been helping me a lot.

So a typical week for me is " Monday - F1 lecture, - Tuesday, F2, lecture. - Wednesday - Review and record myself - Thursday - Sunday - Questions and Simulation practice" - This is how I was able to get through the lectures, and now I am just doing a lot of questions.

For Students that have just started working, I believe your work load is lighter; please spend a lot more time on your books now, because you get busier and busier, which gives you less time to study.

For those who have a family like I do, its even tougher to get done, but like I always say to myself -  "Ed, you need to stick to the plan" I motivate myself everyday with how life would be after I have passed all parts. Right now, I am a senior at work, I barely have time for myself, which is why I devised plans like the one mentioned above.

I can do it, and you all can do it, so we all can do it ------ I like this quote from Peter Olinto "You are on your way to a CPA" and I would add this to it "Believe in yourself"

Cheer everyone,

Ed.

 

Studying while working

Studying while working is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. Sometimes work weeks are inflexible, deadlines need to be met and it seems like you will never have time to actually get some studying in.  I have been trying to get up early around 5am and study for 2 hours and then go to work. Then after I get out I try to go to the gym, eat dinner and try to get in another 2 to 3 hours in before I call it a night. 

By the end of the day I am exhausted and am normally not as efficient (or awake) it is still 3 more hours of studying a day. If you break it down that’s 25 hours during the work week and a 100 hours a month. Then if you add in 10-12 hour study days on the week end you can easily cram in 180-190 hours of studying a month.

If you are a person that wants to enjoy your weekend or even one day of it you can easily do so by cramming in 5 hours a day. Also, if you are feeling like you are in need of a few extra z's to stay focused at work you can occasionally skip the morning (once a week, normally mid week, works best for me) session and still feel accomplished.

It sounds like a lot and will be exhausting when you are doing it. But if you plan around busy season and around the blackout months for the exam you can probably sleep in and not get up at 5 and still be able to get in a 120 hours or so of studying.  It’s definitely possible to take the exam during work and succeed at doing so but it will obviously be a challenge. If you are a new hire, such as myself, you will also be spending time outside of work learning how to use new tools and enhance your knowledge of how to most effectively do your job. I have found that a good strategy is to try to project how much time you will need to study to be prepared for the exam. Then make a schedule of when you will study and how long it will take you to reach you projected amount of hours you need to be properly prepared and give yourself a week of cushion in between. 

If you fall a week past the end of the test taking block you should consider whether it is worth taking the exam is worth it since even if you fail at least you will be able to take it again as soon as the block opens up again with a few more weeks to study. 

- Kevin

 

Work, Work, Work

Hello Everyone,

Its been a while, "I know", I have been super busy with work and trainings. I see its score season when our hearts skip a beat once we hear that scores have been released. I know the feeling; my exams have been on hold for some time, and its time to finish it. FIFO set's in January 31, 2012 otherwise REG is "Bye Bye".

This is my issue, I have one engagement that take up most of my time, and now I am picking up another one next month which require special skills (so more training). How would I get to pass my exams in the last window? The answer to my questions is "Yes" I am going to finish it for 2 reasons, - 1. I am tired of it, and (2) I am tired of it. - Sounds like I am loosing my mind- "Yes I am".

I would like to welcome the new bloggers to this journey " the cpa journey" I wish you all the best. Never say "I can't get it done" just make sure you have one plan (no plan b's) because if you keep having a "plan b" you are not planning to pass. Remember its in the mind. It was when I understood this concept that I started passing the exams. I am confidentthat the Oct/Nov window would be my last CPA exam window. I am CPA veteran, and I can answer any questions you have.

Cheers everyone,

Ed

Failing to Pass: It’s not the end of the world as long as your desire to succeed is greater than your fear of failure

So I got my results back this week for my first section of the CPA exam that I took in July (FAR). I was uncertain how I did coming out of the exam but didn’t have the highest of hopes. So I wasn’t extremely surprised when I received my score of a 73 this past Tuesday. My first reaction was frustration that after all the effort I still came up short but then I tried to find a positive out of the failure and also find a way to set myself up better the next time around. 

After ever section of the exam I sit for I try to reflect on the questions, struggles, and challenges that I had during the exam. Immediately after taking it I try to write a few notes that I can utilize if I need to the next time around. In looking for my positive from this experience I went back to my notes and realized how flustered I was coming out of the exam and how poorly I thought I did. Then I though to myself, “well I only missed by two points”. I looked at all of the areas I knew I could have done better on and realized that I had substantial room for improvement. If I only missed by 2 here then hopefully I fared better in the REG section for which I had a better feeling after the exam. 

I’m trying to examine where I stand now and what I need to do to reach my goal of passing all 4 sections before year end. I got a little bit of a boost mentally when I realized it was still possible, and began to rework my schedule to make sure I pass.  After taking a couple days cool down and realize that most people don’t pass every part of the exam on the first time. I am trying to keep a positive mindset and stay focused on where I need to be each week to attain my goal at year end.  The 73 has helped me realize that I am within reach and just need to push a little further to receive that passing grade.

  On a final note I was skimming  for a quote that I thought might encompass the fear of feeling we are all sure to experience at some point and found the following quote by Bill Cosby:

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. 
Bill Cosby 

 

Kevin