NJSCPA Exam Cram Blog

See Ya Later, Social Life

I suppose, as this is my first official Exam Cram post, I should introduce myself:

My name is Lauryn and I am a staff accountant with WithumSmith+Brown in Red Bank, NJ. I graduated May of 2011 from Georgian Court University, on a Friday, and began taking a Becker CPA Exam Review class the following Monday. Needless to say, the lack of break probably wasn't the best move on my part as I did not pass my first round of exams. You see, I am not the type of person who can read something out of a book and memorize it. I need real-world experience in order to really feel comfortable with a concept. So here I am, first tax season behind me (and appropriately documented) and ready to once again jump into the jungle that is studying for the CPA exam. Current task? Audit, with an exam date of July 6th.

I am a little behind on posting as I have been studying for about three weeks now. I gave myself ten weeks to study. I think, during my first round of exams, I rushed myself and sat for tests I wasn't necessarily ready for. This time around, I am giving myself a week-and-a-half per chapter, with plenty of time for a final review.

My strategy this time around is to re-read all of the chapters, watch all of the Becker videos, and answer all of the questions. I read somewhere that if you keep telling yourself, "All I need is a 75%," you won't pass. You have to aim for 100%! That way, if you mess up a little, you still have some wiggle room. If I don't do well on a set of questions (which has only happened once so far, thank God) I plan on skipping that set and coming back to it during final review. I would like to use that time to really dive in to the topics that I don't understand. I also plan on asking my co-workers about these topics. I find that I learn more when I talk something out -- so hopefully I can find someone who can talk out the tricky concepts with me!

I plan on starting chapter three today, which is sure to be challenging with Memorial Day weekend BBQ's clogging up my calendar. I have a huge stack of flashcards I'll be toting along with me if I do venture out of the house. Yes, I will be that girl at the party! I'm hoping I can make a decent dent in my study schedule over the three-day weekend even if that means kissing my social life goodbye. Next post, I'll try to include some of the challenges I stumble upon on the road to the exam. Maybe I'm not the only one!

Here's to conquering Memorial Day Weekend.

Wish me luck!

Lauryn

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

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.

 

Time flies when you're having... (fun?)

Hi Everyone -

Like FAR, REG left me feeling utterly defeated. I walked out of the exam stunned at how little I knew, even after studying for over a month. My advice for those who haven't taken REG yet, is this:

Study the 'Ancillary Materials' that Becker provides, and please, take the time to memorize the minuet details/mnemonics. I can't stress enough, how important it is to know the minor details. Don't overlook anything! And again, (in my opinion), Becker doesn't adequately prepare you for the Simulations, so don't harp over working through the Sims, focus your time on knowing the 'ins' and 'outs' of the core concepts. Also, be sure to save at least an hour on the exam to complete the Sims - you will need as much time as possible!

On a more positive note, I am finally getting acclimated at PwC, and I am pleased to find how understanding the Firm is about working towards the CPA exam. Today marks my last day of 'training', as I start on my first engagement Monday. They say that 70% of learning occurs on the job, so I am excited, but also very nervous.

I am still struggling to get motivated to study AUD after working 8+ hours and commuting over 2 hours...any words of advice, tips or tricks, would be greatly appreciated. I can't even enjoy my birthday this weekend, as I only have 3 weekends left until the exam. Talk about 'crunch' time.

Until next time...

Shell-Shocked from a FAR...

Hi Everyone –

Well, it is officially ‘black-out’ month for the CPA exam, but it is, nevertheless, a busy one. I am anxiously awaiting my exam results, as I am sure most of you are too.

Despite being shell-shocked from FAR, I am putting a great deal of effort into studying for REG before beginning work on September 19^th. I am scheduled to sit for REG on October 1^st and AUD shortly thereafter. I am a little apprehensive about being able to study once I begin work, so I’ve made a detailed studying plan and hope to follow it closely. Although, I have to admit, living in a college town is not the most conducive study environment. Quite frankly, I am having a hard time accepting the fact that college is really over. Granted, I can still pass for a college student, but it’s just not the same. Where has the time gone – in just 10 days, I will be in the ‘real’ world – yikes! On a more positive note, I am much more comfortable with the REG material than I was with FAR; however, there is still so much material to review and little details to remember.

As for the FAR exam, I felt that Becker, a great review class, did a lousy job in preparing me for the Task-Based Simulations (TBS). The multiple choice questions that Becker publishes are very similar to the ones found on the exam; however, herein lies my problem… the TBS’ that Becker provides were extremely easy, much easier than the multiple-choice. In fact, when I took the 2 Final review exams with Becker, I finished the TBS section in less than 40 minutes, with a majority of them correct. So, during the actually exam, I only reserved an hour for the 7 TBS’s. Unfortunately, they were MUCH more labor intensive and convoluted than Becker makes them out to be. Not only was I pressed for time, but the testing center led me to believe that I had a “scheduled” 10 minute break (where the clock would stop) between the 3^rd multiple choice section and the TBS. So, under false pretenses, I took a 10 minute break. When I returned to my computer, the clock was still running, leaving me with only 50 minutes to answer all 7 questions. I could have worked on those questions for at least another hour after my time expired, and I still wouldn’t have finished.

Also, I was overly surprised at how many IFRS questions appeared on my exam. Obviously, there are some ‘tester’ questions on each exam, so I am hoping that a majority of the IFRS questions were just that; however, I strongly recommend that you take IFRS seriously. Governmental and Non-For-Profits were also heavily tested.

On a side note: It is discouraging how little IFRS is taught at the undergraduate level, although it is somewhat understandable given that it is a new concept. Becker was my first interaction with the differences between GAAP and IFRS, and although, there are mostly small differences between the two, they make a BIG difference on the exam.

Also, one more piece of advice – be sure to check the Becker 2011 Edition Course updates – especially for FAR and REG. They can be found here: https://beckerkb.custhelp.com/app/answers/list

As a newbie, I didn’t discover this site until the day before FAR – talk about a panic attack. I now know to look at the updates while studying each chapter, so that I have the most pertinent information, and I also highly recommend that you download the software updates found on this site.

With a big learning curve, I will continue my studies – so long, for now!

Roger Malfunction!!

Monday evening, after work, I sat down to watch another FAR lecture with Roger CPA Exam Review course.  The video was about an hour long.  Just as Roger said his last sentence, a “Device Removal” error popped up on my screen.  The USB drive crashed, leaving me with bookwork the entire week.  I will continue my rant….

 

After playing phone tag with the people at Roger for two days, they agree the USB drive was bad and I need a replacement.  The tech support representative told me I would receive the package in one or two days.  I wanted to get the drive quickly, for obvious reasons.  Instead, I get an email from UPS informing me the item has been shipped and the estimated date of arrival is August 25.  Now, I have to wait eight days to get my replacement. 

 

I was writing a complaint email to them last night after I received the UPS notification, but ended up not sending it because the item has already been shipped.  Even if they wanted to, nothing can be done at this point.

 

Due to the CPA exam’s 18 month deadline, I really thought the people at Roger would be a little more mindful of their students’ needs.  Now, I am out of new study material for two weeks over a used USB drive.  (They re-use the drives, since they are rented.)

 

Well, enough of my rant!!  How is your studying going?

 

MRD

Update your study materials before you study , I learned this the hard way

Make sure you update your resources and Study material. The CPA exam is updated every few months and you need to make sure convergence or other GAAP changes don’t conflict with the rules you have been memorizing for the past few months. The AICPA has these updates posted on their website if you are willing to scroll through the website and find the updates. This does take a little while though and it is much easier (if you can afford it) to just use the updates of a review program. I currently use Becker and they have specific updates that you need to know and are more likely to get tested on the CPA exam (I’m sure the other review courses do something similar). These updates are posted on their website in a one or two page summary for each topic that help you quickly isolate major updates that you will need to know and bypass the items that are unlikely to be tested. These are updated every few months (during the blackout period when the exam is modified) to ensure that your materials don’t become obsolete and stale. To ensure you’re not memorizing material that is going to lose you points on the exam it is probably a good idea to check the updates before studying because there are some big updates that you will need to know especially for Reg and Fin. Trust me I learned the hard way.

- Kevin  

 

Scheduling & Roger vs. Wiley Software

My goal for this week is to start the application process to sit for FAR in the fall.  As you all know, my first step is to submit an application and a check to the board.  Then wait for my NTS.  I am starting to feel the pressure even more now, then before, but that is all part of the studying process.

 

The Roger CPA Exam Review course breaks down into sections.  Before moving on to the next section, I would like to master questions (both simulation and multiple choice) of the current section.  The software and the online test bank from Wiley do not use the same section titles as Roger.  So questions that we have not covered yet are being mixed in with current questions.  (Think: current and non current assets/liabilities – :-) )

 

Anyone else experience the same problem?

 

Other than that, it is another week of fun ahead! 

 

MRD

Too Much free time: (Becker helps you Plan)

Too much free time can be a bad thing if its causing you to be inefficient with the amount of hours you are logging studying for the exam. Sometimes too much flexibility made me less efficient, or less focused so I made sure that I set a time frame during which I was going to study and during which I made sure I focused as hard as I could.  I know that I work better when I am able to get into a routine and when I feel that there is even some form of deadline approaching. That’s why I tried to use the calendar I made before starting to studying to help me evaluate my progress each week and ensure that I was staying on pace with where I wanted to be.  If I ended the week behind I knew I had to kick it up a notch or if I was ahead I tried to edit my schedule to help myself be able to maintain the pace. Becker’s software has a really good calendar built into it and the software tells you where you should be on a daily and weekly basis. I use this regularly to help me stay on pace and it prevents me from potentially being inefficient and recalculating multiple times a month what stage I should be at.  I found it much easier to retain the material when I had a reward system in place for myself such as taking off a day or 2 a week. Rewarding a long days study by watching a tv show you like, going to the gym, or meeting up with a few buddies definitely helped me power through my first section. 

- Kevin 

New beginnings!

 

Earlier this week, I received my Roger CPA Review course for FAR in the mail.  From the moment I watched Roger’s thirty-minute introduction, I felt relieved!!!!!  Relieved because I thought that it would not be much different from my previous review course.  I can really see why Roger is top rated review course. 

I am happy to report that in addition to liking the course, I am also on schedule with my study plan.  Allow me to explain my plan of attack.

Bottom line….. I just want to get these four exams out of my way!!!  Even though I have eighteen months to do so, I want to complete the exams much MUCH sooner. 

From Roger’s web site, I downloaded their three-month study planner.  Basically, it is twelve weeks of CPA studying and test taking.  But at the end, all exams have been taken.  I like what I see, but I am going to expand on their schedule a tad bit. 

The FAR exam is my biggest worry.  My main focus is to get this one over and done with.  My plan is to follow their study guide for FAR which allows me to complete his course in four weeks, and follow up with a TON of practice questions from his homework book as well as the Wiley Test Bank CD.  I mean get to the point where I am getting 9 out of 10 right, if not all of them.

Once FAR is out of the way, I can then continue on with the other three exams.  By completing the lectures with Roger earlier in my “window of study” I can really put what I learn to practice for a longer period of time. 

Your feedback is welcome!!!!

 

MRD