I’m Running Out of Time!

It hit me earlier this week that I am running out of time to study. I looked at my calendar and saw that August 20^th is next Saturday! I can’t believe the month of August is almost halfway over!

Sometimes while taking the CPA Exam, you get a similar feeling that you are almost out of time but you are only in the middle of the Exam. They always say (and I have learned through experience) that people run out of time the fastest on FAR and REG. However, this can happen on any part when you don’t properly budget your time.

As you know, I am using the Roger CPA Exam Review Cram Course and Roger explains how to budget your time in this video.

You can do this before you sit for the Exam. I like to memorize the breakdown and jot it down on the scrap paper as soon as I start the Exam. This gives me a guideline I can use to pace myself to avoid running out of time.

For example, with FAR, you are given 4 hours (240 minutes). You have 3 sets of 30 multiple choice questions and 7 part task-based simulation questions. For each set of multiple choice questions, you should budget 45 minutes (or 135 minutes total). This leaves you with 105 minutes to complete the task-based simulation questions or 15 minutes for each task-based simulation question.

The breakdown is as follows with the Exam clock:

                4:00 – start
                3:15 – finish mc 1
                2:30 – finish mc 2
                1:45 – finish mc 3
                0:00 – finish TBS

Do you budget your time on the Exam to stay in control of your progress or do you just answer questions and hope you don’t run out of time?

Study Progress this Week

So I received my Roger CPA Review Cram Course book for FAR. The book is huge and heavy – I was not expecting that from a Cram book! It is even thicker than my Wiley CPA Exam Review 2011, Financial Accounting and Reporting book!

The Cram is accessed online. Roger recommends you set aside time to watch the lesson. This is good for me since it forces me to make time to study and watch each section.

I watched the introduction and a few sections this week. I was so relieved to see that Roger discussed IFRS and the IASB Framework in general. He also spent a lot of time on the major differences between US GAAP and IFRS in financial statement presentation, revenue recognition, inventory, etc. There is also a great two and a half page chart in his Cram book which compares US GAAP vs. IFRS rules by topic.

I really like Roger’s teaching style. He has a lot of energy and really gets into the accounting topic instead of just reading directly from the book. His mnemonic devices are different than those used by the Yaeger course and the old Person/Wolinsky course I took many, many years ago (does anyone remember them? Nick Dauber and Co. sold the course to Becker in the early 2000s).

There are questions throughout the Cram book including multiple choice and task based simulation. The questions are at the end of each section plus recently released multiple choice and task based simulation questions in the back of the book from the AICPA. I need to do as many questions as I can find!

I was also snooping around Roger’s website and found the following helpful links:

- 3-, 6- and 9-month CPA Study Plans

- course breakdown outlines

- videos for each section and the CPA Exam in general

- and the coolest one is a link to Quizlet which has many ready-made Flash Card sets. I searched for CPA FAR. Enjoy!

Let me know how your studying is going!

CPA Exam Study Progress so FAR: Feeling Out of Touch with the Material and a Cram Course to the Rescue

I am not one to complain about feeling old and out of touch since I usually feel young at heart (I wore Hello Kitty and Star Wars bandages this week). And I know that it’s perfectly normal for financial accounting rules to change over the years. But when the fundamentals change, it can cause some fright and panic. Even scarier, it can make you feel out of touch with the material.

If you haven’t taken FAR yet this year and you are like me (more than 10 years out of school and haven’t worked in public accounting for a few years), here are some changes you will notice while studying for FAR in 2011:

• Forget SFAS 109 Accounting for Income Taxes; it is now known as ASC Topic 740 – Income Taxes (check out this link explaining the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC))
• You have to know the rules for IFRS vs. US GAAP
• You also have to note the differences between the FASB Conceptual Framework and the IASB Framework

As I am slowly progressing through my FAR studies (I’m working on Financial Statements this week), I can’t help but feel a bit out of the loop on certain rules. Things I had learned in school, as an auditor or while preparing financials for a public company have all changed. It’s like the ground has shifted underneath me. I am getting through the material, but I just need some reinforcement.

In order to kick things up a notch, I decided to order the Roger CPA Review Cram Course to supplement the Yaeger course that I have been using for FAR. I have used a Roger Cram Course for REG before and he did a good job explaining difficult concepts, so hopefully, this will help. I expect to receive the Cram later this week and will be sure to write something about it.

What has helped you get back in touch with the material when you’ve felt lost studying new or significantly changed topics?

Preparing to Re-take REG

I am going to start studying for REG on Tuesday night (3 days after taking AUD). I have my new Wiley book, my Yaeger Home Study DVDs (from last time), and my Wiley Software all ready to go.

Since I used the Yaeger Cram DVD for AUD, I want to purchase a Cram for REG. I used Yaeger’s Home Study but no Cram the last time I took REG. I was 9 points away from passing, so maybe something new can shake things up a bit and make a difference in my performance. I don’t want to spend the money for another course right now since I’m unemployed, so I am looking for a Cram.

I went online to check out Roger CPA Review’s Cram since I keep reading that CPA Candidates like his energy and enthusiasm. The price for the online version is more than the Yaeger unlimited-use DVD. I watched a 7 min demo for Roger’s regular Tax course and I was really impressed. The instructor possessed a great deal of energy and emphasized key points. I recommend checking out the 7 min demo to see his mnemonic for Adjustments To/From AGI (Roger Demos). *10/21/16 update: The demo is no longer up, but you can check out Roger's Cram course here.*

Like I said I was really impressed with the demo, so I am seriously thinking of trying out the Cram. Has anyone used the Roger Cram? Let me know what you think of it. Any info would be helpful! Thanks!