美國華人自己的CPA博客
在美國的華人為了能夠令自己得生活過的好一點,或挑戰自我,努力去考CPA.但又有幾人能明白大家的心情呢
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Financial is also a very hard section for the CPA exam. I am viewing the lecture right now and going to take in the late April. There are so many materials in it and I need some help. There are total 9 sections in the Becker's FAR review, and I am struggling with the following sections:
1) Basic theory, especially matching principals.
2) Consolidations. Not the whole thing but such as intercompany transactions.
3) Investments, like bonds.
4) I don’t know the outcome of the government and non-profit yet.
Can anyone of you can tell me do these materials appear in the exam a lot. I think governmental will be a big section since no simulations on these sections but multiple choices.
If you have any difficult points in the FAR, also can post them into the Blog and let’s solve them together.
Please support this Blog.
got my result letter today and I have finally passed all the four parts of the CPA exam with the grace of GOD.
It's been a journey of about 6 months - studying full time all my own at home with my laptop... what a life!!, but it finally paid off!!
Having said that, I still have to pass the Ethics exam and get my experience signed off in order to obtain certification.
My CPA exam experience has been one disappointment and three cheers - I passed BEC, FAR and AUD in the first attempt, REG second attempt.
I used CPA Excel as a review course to study all material and didnot have any big surprises (i.e. questions coming from material not covered by review course) except a few questions in BEC. I like the course because it splits the material into small lessons and you can attempt MCQs and Yes/No questions after you have read a lesson. I found it better than only just reading the material and attempting questions related to the material after a long gap. CPA Excel has a good forum as well where you can clear your doubts regarding the material with experienced professors. The only 2 drawbacks with CPA Excel I think is
1) a lot of typos
2) The simulated exam is not based on AICPA assigned % on the material i.e. for example, I attempted a simulated REG exam, and most of the questions were from Biz Law (but in the real exam only 20% is biz law)
For people still taking the exam, i would like to share my experience on each exam and tips I can suggest:
1) BEC - This is supposed to be easiest exam. A few (about 4-5) questions came from the material that was not covered in CPA Excel. I think I scored well in the financial management and cost accounting calculations. I had to guess some of the questions from IT. I think a good preparation technique for this exam is to familiarize with the material, especially the theory. The Accounting topics shouldn’t be new for a BS Accounting student.
2) AUD - We have to master the art of answering MCQs in this exam. I Practiced, Practiced and practiced a lot of MCQs - the reason being you find particularly in this exam 3 or all 4 answers may seem strikingly correct - however, we have to pay attention to "what the question asks". Simulations could take longer than other exams, as they are theoretical. I think I did well in the simulations as reflected in my score. A good technique is to practice lots of MCQs and understand how the answer was obtained. CPA Excel suggested to memorize the standard audit reports and I did not find this useful at all to be honest!!
3) FAR - It has a dauntingly huge syllabus, but I tried to understand the basics of every section (for example, the adjustments for Accounting for Income Taxes, the components of a pension cost etc). I didn't get questions from some of these topics. I also spent on Non-Proft/Govt section - and guess what I got quite a few questions from this part. I feel the simulations for this section can generally be long and hard, as I had tough simulations; I must have done well in the MCQs and not that well in the simulations as my score suggests as compared to AUD. A good technique is to practice a lot of calculation MCQs as well as know the basics of Non-profit/Govt section – a few questions are a must from this section – can be bonus marks – CPA Excel is quite good at highlighting these.
4) REG - The first time I took it, I didn't know that Tax was about 60% and Biz law + Ethics 40% - ended up spending a lot of time on Biz law probably 3 weeks and left 1 week for tax. When I went to the exam, I was totally blank maybe due to anxiety and thought I had answered only a few questions correctly, but thought I did well to get a 68.
Second time, I shifted my focus to Tax and Ethics (60+15%) - I prepared about 150 odd flashcards - went over them again and again, however spent too little time on Biz Law - after I took the exam, I was sure about most of questions from tax but not sure about the Biz Law.. I think my score suggests I did extremely well in Tax MCQs and not that well in Biz Law. Questions in the Biz law section of my first attempt came from all parts of the section, however in the second exam, most of the exams came from a topic that I did not review the second time. Simulations were hard as well, not as hard as FAR. The research part was tough but not as difficult as FARE. A good technique is to know the basics for each section – Tax/Biz law/Ethics.
Cheers everyone and good luck
Did you get your FARE score?
There is no exam questions on that website. You have to be really familiar with the AICPA database which you can find everything on that website. Try your best to research base on index not by key word. You will be fine.
Thank you for your response.
I will take FAR in July. I am nervous about research section because i didn't put so much time on it.
Can I find solution about the exam questions from the websit you give to me?
How come nobody mentioned anything on AUD Simulation?
好,先從複習過程心得和考試聯係起來說一說:
如果說REG BECKER 的特長是不過不失,評分85的話,FARE可以說是”超男超女”了, champion of the American Idle!!!! 100 分. 覆蓋率達100%,不是說一樣的題,而是題型和出題方向. 我這次把所有的題都做了1.5 次,考試的感覺還可以. 我相信你們做3 次就一定能行.
再說說考試的出題難度吧:
第一個MC容易啊, 40分鍾不到便完成了. 誰知道下麵的兩個MC 越出越長,都不知道是我對題目不熟悉呢嗬是故意的. 計算不多,但一定要清楚背後的GAAP. 1.5 分鍾一題, 準可以提前完成,見不會的千萬不要多想,否則到SIM的時候就徹底完蛋了,簡直就是全軍崩潰. 有一點搞笑的是,同一個問題用不同的方法問了5次啊!!! 三份MC都問了,回來對了答案都對了.還有同一份MC前後兩題竟然互通答案了(甲的答案可以在乙的問題裏找到).奇聞啊!! 我的第一個SIM 特長,但我早有準備了(是這個回憶錄的重點,下麵再說). 第二個SIM 短一點.
到SIM 了,經典啊.
兩個SIM竟然和我BLOG上的表格列出的重點一樣. 具體問什麽我不能說了,天機不可泄露啊.
綜上所述, (老土的政治課本) 就算我FAIL了,估計是73 ,74. 如果想拿CPA考試的單科狀元,做5 次題. 想混出點名堂的就做2-3次.想連中四元的話( 中國曆史上隻有不到10人連中三元,縣試,省試,皇帝老子的試都考第一) 四科一共做20次吧. 你們可能又說是廢話了,可這是個事實.
出題方向我的BLOG上都有,不出左右. 中獎的機會比買彩票的機會大一點. 請容許我再說一句廢話, 中獎率可不比大陸前一陣子炒股票的大啊! 垃圾變成金子的股票每天都有. 看來我要開一個股票BLOG. 點中兩三個就成名成家了.
我已經UPDATED那個表格了,BLOG的首頁可以看到.
CPA Exam Candidates: Free On-line Access to Professional Literature Package
This is the web link to it:
http://www.cpa-exam.org/cpa/literature.html
You need to sign up for the CPA exams first before you can use it.
How do you find stuff about research section?
Do you have specific website to find these materials?
I did not finish FARE second sim research part, because I did not split. What is strange is that I did not split for the first sim either, but I was able to transfer. Anyway, good luck to you. :)
終於考完FARE，下麵是我的experience.
感覺像Alice一樣，不是想象中的那麽難，但是我知道自己在幾個很簡單問題上犯了幾個基本的錯誤，大概還是概念不是很清晰的原因。
1. Becker 真得很好，基本上都cover 住了，而且有些題很像，就是換了個問法。最慘的就是這，我就給搞混了概念。
2.第一個testlet很簡單，非常簡單，第二個就有些難，第三個比第一個難，比第二個簡單。我的時間安排有些問題，每個testlet我安排了40分鍾，結果第二個和第三個就有些緊張，沒時間review，匆匆答完。 sim實在是太簡單了。第一個是最簡單的，basic的東西，第二個比較麻煩，有些陷阱，要仔細看，但是也不難。結果我檢查了3遍，提前30分鍾就出來了。這個後悔啊，早知道把時間給MCO就好了，腸子都青了#··￥#%
而且，對於research問題，很容易找，基本上一下子就找到。可是我又犯錯誤了。找到之後怎麽也transfer不過來，弄了快20分鍾，沒辦法，又把instruction看了一遍，才知道，原來必須split screen，你才能transfer過來，我真的是stupid啊！
其實sim就是考那些東西，猜也能猜出來，所以大家不怕。但是要仔細，非常仔細。我一開始就因為不夠仔細，取錯了數，後來檢查出來了。（我的老師教導我說，不到收卷，決不交卷，看來還是有道理的，要不然我怎麽檢查出來自己取錯了數呢。）
3. 個人意見，不要去摳那些難題，尤其是一堆計算的，算來算去，沒用。出的題都是簡單的，但是要求你對基本的概念有很深的理解，都是在這上麵變花樣，可能難就難在這上麵。
最後，good luck!!!
Here is my experience on the FARE test (4/23). I can assure you that I had started to wear a headband 24X7 in the worry that all the things I had learnt to prepare for FARE would split my head!!!
Anyway, I felt that the test did not have long and winded questions throughout the test. Testlet 1 appeared quite easy, Testlet 2 took more time than I had budgeted. T3 was probably not as hard as T2 (but more conceptual and/or nitpicky). I remember that in T3, I had marked 5 questions one after another. I had 80 minutes left for SIMS (I had planned for 90). Both the sims were OK.
Sim 1 was tougher not because of the material but just because the test wanted me to use their spreadsheet in a way that had preconfigured formulas. I was not sure if I found the Research material (spent about 3 mintues and then transferred to answer the closest I thought) - Took 40 mins
Sim 2 was quite basic and the research material popped out in 1 minute. The issue there was just one, one of the cells where I put a formula became RED in color (from orange) and I got a message "Data invalid, error). When I hardcoded the result in there, it allowed me to but the red color did not go away. The techs over there did not know anything about it. (I will send my issue to AICPA about it tonight).
I hit the "done button" 20 seconds before the 4:00 hour time limit. I took no break.
My view is that there are ten thousands of things that are there to know for FARE and they will ask you only 90. The time pressure creates some muddling in the mind during the test, especially as you get into T3. I recall one MCQ in T3 where the answer seemed too basic, but they tricked me on terminology.
My advise is to be thoroughly prepared for the unknown (if you don't want to take a chance) by "understanding" the General Rules and exceptions thoroughly and being able to apply them using predetermined shortcuts. If someone says "this area is tested heavily", don't listen - since an area that I have heard again and again is not tested heavily I got 4 MCQs and another 2 MCQs! And a third area that I was told is tested heavily was not tested at all. One chapter that I had mastered so well - only 2MCQs. Please give yourself about 2 days before the test to review each and every page in the book.
There were no real complex questions. They were a mix of concepts, right there (one small word in the Becker book in one page of the 1000 pages), and terminology trick questions.
Time will tell how I did. I will not be responding as frequently in the FARE site since my AUD test is scheduled in a month but feel free...
That is a great post. Thanks for your information, and have a great weekend.
Here is my story: I took FAR this Tue., feeling ok, not great but not too bad either. One thing really concern me is I didn’t get a harder testlet in the second one, so…..it means I didn’t do well in the first testlet, but good thing is the simulations are really simple, and I finished them. So, hopefully something good will come out.
For MQ, I don’t have a lot of calculations in my exam, very basic concepts, ratio is important. Questions are almost from every chapter. Becker did a great job by including all the points, no surprise at all. But Becker’s HW is much more difficult than the real exam. I didn’t do Supplemental Questions, I think it is fine to skip them if you don’t have enough time (Like me!). I even had couple of questions from Becker, not exactly the same, but really close (you will know).
For simulations, not hard, I have 4 tabs for each one, 30-35 mins should be enough for each one. But I spent a lot of time to try to figure out how to use the spreadsheet---this is sth I really can not explain to you, you have to “experience” it to understand what I am talking about, and I should not discuss that under AICPA either. But just be prepared and make sure to have enough time to do it.
Um……I think that’s about it. I hope I can pass it, but if not, I will just take it again. Good luck to all of you and if you have any other questions, please let me know.
P.S. Thanks for "Chunky" Cynthia and Kathy's supporting. Thanks a lot.
I took FARE yesterday. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still difficult. Questions were about 50% conceptual and 50% computation. I also feel that even the computational questions primarily focus on testing the candidates mastery of financial accounting concepts. For computational questions, I suggest skipping those you don't know. Answer the ones you know for sure, and go back to the others. Time management is critical with this part of the exam. I ended up running out of time on my second (harder) sim, because I spent too much time on my first (easier) sim.
I feel that my second sim was very difficult. The sim itself was pretty straightforward. However, it was made difficult by the fact that I had to pull information from tabs 1 and 2, then enter it in the cells on a tab 3. I then had to use the information from tab 3, to complete tab 4. I suggest allocating more time to the second sim, for every part of the exam. Maybe it's just me, but the second sim is always harder.
While each exam is different, I would suggest reviewing Governmental and Non-Profit accounting. These two topics make up a significant portion of the multiple guess questions. If you're using Becker, do a quick review of financial ratios, including Basic & Dillutive Earnings Per Share. Finally, you should know that you can and should use the research function in order to write your essay. I was able to get some really good essay ideas right from the FASB texts.
Hello Folks. I took the exam April 2nd and I wanted to share my experience. To begin with, this is my last section, I have taken all the other 3 and FAR is pretty unique. The first point I want to emphasize is time management. Time was never such a factor for me in the last 3. There are tons of questions and trust me u will not know the answer to all of them. U need to move on if you cant figure out the correct answer. There were some very long calculations that take a good 3 mins and others that take a second. Please know your NFP and gov't like crazy. I cant emphasize enough the need for time management and please practise sims before you get to the exam room. Its not enough to just know how to work it, you have to have seen it before to make it easier. The spreadsheet on the sims can lead to some confusion if you are not familiar with it. I spent about 15 mins figuring out how to work some spreadsheet.
You also need to get some sleep the night before the exam. Calcualtions can only be done efficiently when you are wide awake. The sad part is that for each wrong calcualtion you do, there is a supporting wrong answer.
The testlets also got progressively harder for me. There was a point where I was pretty upset because I kept getting very long calculations. Time management is the key. Preparing for SIMS is the easiest part. Once you master Becker SIMs i think u can pretty much work through most of the SIMS u will get after figuring out the linking of cells.
Thanks for your help, Your FAR advice are really helpful. Hope you love this Blog.
By the way, I am writing an article about the CPA exams, hope to publish it soon. I have to finish those crazy FAR homework first.
You won't get time-consuming MC question on exam. Ignore those really difficult ones on Becker if you do not have enough time to dig into it. I finished all my three MC testlets in 2 hours. Normally the first one is easy. They are straight forward. Make sure you go through those MCs you did not get right for the first time again in Becker.
If your screen gets frozen during the exam, do not panic. Give the computer couple minutes to respond.
Good Luck!
I had plenty of time for each simulation, like an hours left for each simulation. I think 45 minutes are enough for you to finish each simulation if you need more time on MC. Good luck.
May I ask you a question about simulation for FAR? How much time would you suggest me to spend on each simulation? 30 mins is it enough? Thanks.
Alice
WOW, that is a really good information. Thanks for the info, verified my previous researched. Please come again.