BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 5 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
FAR-1 lectures are DONE! I feel pretty good about sticking to my schedule and I also feel pretty good about the material in FAR-1. Obviously I will need to go over the information in detail several times, but FAR does not seem impossible. I also really like Peter Olinto and think he does a great job with the lectures. FAR-1 had quite a bit of IFRS comparisons that I hope I can keep straight. On to FAR-2 and hopefully a little of FAR-3 tonight. I will use the Becker flashcards for FAR-1 before bed so that I don't totally forget what I just learned!
I am going to try to keep up with posts better than I did for BEC. I think it is helping me stay focused and reminds me that I am not alone in this...I appreciate those of you that have taken the time to read my blog, post comments and share the pain...
April 26, 2011
April 17, 2011
Time to move on...
BEC: 111 hours/(Time to pray)
FAR: 3 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I decided to forget about the CPA for an entire week! I think my motivation was really hurting as a result of my experience with BEC. I couldn't motivate myself to open my FAR book at all, especially since FAR is supposed to be the most challenging section of them all. BEC kicked my butt! I spent this week catching up on homework for my online classes, had an exam in both of them and a project due...it's not like I was going to have a ton of time to work on studying anyway. I also spent some time this week reflecting on how I prepared for BEC and realized that I was trying to master everything which resulted in me mastering nothing!
I spent my final week of review by going through the cards, chapters and homework questions all over again. I took notes on areas I was still struggling with, made a formula sheet for pretty much all formulas, studied Jeff's NINJA and did most of the questions over at cpareviewforfree. I felt well prepared heading into the testing center and horrible leaving the center. I think that I was trying to hard to get every detail straight, I really just ended up confusing myself during the exam. COSO questions were somewhat confusing because they were worded oddly, as were several other questions. There were also several questions that were not covered by Becker. These questions made me the most frustrated because I was having to make a blind guess on them.
The written portion of the exam was not too bad actually. I had 1 hour and 8 minutes remaining when I started the WC and decided to use the entire time to ensure my answers were polished...I was hoping to redeem myself from the MCQ. I would suggest that anyone using Becker practice at least a few of the written examples Becker provides in order to nail down the format and time management. Becker suggests 15 minutes per memo and I think that is very realistic. I had all three of mine written and proofread in about 40 minutes...Becker also warned that the WC may cover topics from other sections of the exam and this was true in my experience, but if you have any kind of accounting background, you can certainly formulate a decent answer. Apparently, the AICPA is not grading them based on how technically correct they are, but more on writing ability. I am a decent writer, so I didn't focus much energy on preparing for this part and I am glad I didn't...
Overall, I would suggest any and all of the resources I mentioned above to help you prepare. Although I seriously doubt I passed, I think this first section was a big learning experience for me. Jeff's NINJA suggests watching all the videos before working any of the problems because trying to remember anything from FAR-1 when you finish FAR-9 is unlikely. This was certainly part of my problem with BEC. I would watch the lectures, read and then do the homework for each subsection. I was scoring above 75% on the homework most of the time, so I felt like I was comfortable with the material...but when I went back after finishing everything, I found myself a little lost with the beginning information. It is amazing how much you think you know, but you really don't...
Starting today, I am going to stop worrying about BEC and have decided that FAR is now my main focus. I made a spreadsheet schedule with predetermined study times, dates and hours from today up until my FAR exam on May 26th. I know that I cannot push that date back like I did twice for BEC, so I made a strict schedule I am going to stick to. I have a total of 172 scheduled hours, but my goal is more like 150. I will also take the NINJA's advice and watch all the lectures for FAR before working any homework problems. I am hoping this section goes better for me...
Good luck to anyone else out there going through this wonderful experience...
FAR: 3 hours/??
AUD:0 hours/??
REG: 0 hours/??
I decided to forget about the CPA for an entire week! I think my motivation was really hurting as a result of my experience with BEC. I couldn't motivate myself to open my FAR book at all, especially since FAR is supposed to be the most challenging section of them all. BEC kicked my butt! I spent this week catching up on homework for my online classes, had an exam in both of them and a project due...it's not like I was going to have a ton of time to work on studying anyway. I also spent some time this week reflecting on how I prepared for BEC and realized that I was trying to master everything which resulted in me mastering nothing!
I spent my final week of review by going through the cards, chapters and homework questions all over again. I took notes on areas I was still struggling with, made a formula sheet for pretty much all formulas, studied Jeff's NINJA and did most of the questions over at cpareviewforfree. I felt well prepared heading into the testing center and horrible leaving the center. I think that I was trying to hard to get every detail straight, I really just ended up confusing myself during the exam. COSO questions were somewhat confusing because they were worded oddly, as were several other questions. There were also several questions that were not covered by Becker. These questions made me the most frustrated because I was having to make a blind guess on them.
The written portion of the exam was not too bad actually. I had 1 hour and 8 minutes remaining when I started the WC and decided to use the entire time to ensure my answers were polished...I was hoping to redeem myself from the MCQ. I would suggest that anyone using Becker practice at least a few of the written examples Becker provides in order to nail down the format and time management. Becker suggests 15 minutes per memo and I think that is very realistic. I had all three of mine written and proofread in about 40 minutes...Becker also warned that the WC may cover topics from other sections of the exam and this was true in my experience, but if you have any kind of accounting background, you can certainly formulate a decent answer. Apparently, the AICPA is not grading them based on how technically correct they are, but more on writing ability. I am a decent writer, so I didn't focus much energy on preparing for this part and I am glad I didn't...
Overall, I would suggest any and all of the resources I mentioned above to help you prepare. Although I seriously doubt I passed, I think this first section was a big learning experience for me. Jeff's NINJA suggests watching all the videos before working any of the problems because trying to remember anything from FAR-1 when you finish FAR-9 is unlikely. This was certainly part of my problem with BEC. I would watch the lectures, read and then do the homework for each subsection. I was scoring above 75% on the homework most of the time, so I felt like I was comfortable with the material...but when I went back after finishing everything, I found myself a little lost with the beginning information. It is amazing how much you think you know, but you really don't...
Starting today, I am going to stop worrying about BEC and have decided that FAR is now my main focus. I made a spreadsheet schedule with predetermined study times, dates and hours from today up until my FAR exam on May 26th. I know that I cannot push that date back like I did twice for BEC, so I made a strict schedule I am going to stick to. I have a total of 172 scheduled hours, but my goal is more like 150. I will also take the NINJA's advice and watch all the lectures for FAR before working any homework problems. I am hoping this section goes better for me...
Good luck to anyone else out there going through this wonderful experience...
April 16, 2011
BEC was a BEAST!
Quick post to say I took BEC today it is was horrible! For this being my first section, I am really worried about what to expect on the next 3 sections. I will post more details on my experience tomorrow, but only a miracle (like a complete scoring malfunction adding 25 points to my score) will help at this point. I doubt that is the end of BEC for me and my goal of passing all 4 sections before I start my job in October is looking to be a fat chance at this rate. BLAH!
April 6, 2011
Countdown: 10 Days
BEC: 88 hours/??, FAR: 3 hours/??, AUD:0 hours/??, REG: 0 hours/??
I finally finished the Becker Course (way way way behind schedule...but at least I did finish...). I can't believe it took me 88 hours to complete the review course, but I do feel like I learned a lot! Here is how I spent that 88 hours:
*Lightly skim book before each lecture
*Watch the lecture and take notes
*Go back and CAREFULLY read each section
*Do the MCQ for each section until 100% correct
*Go through Flash Cards at least twice for each section
That means I have been through the material at least 3 times, but that does not mean I KNOW the material!! Also, whenever I missed a question, I would carefully read the correct answer as well as the incorrect answers in order to ensure I understood why they were wrong. I actually tended to do this with most questions because Becker did a lot of explaining and I felt like if the info was there, I should pay attention to it. Now I need to go back and really memorize formulas! There seems to be quite a bit of them to keep straight and the way my luck has been going lately, I will be asked to calculate something I can't remember the formula to use...
One last note, I decided to move the exam again to Saturday April 16th at 1:30. I just didn't feel like I was going to be prepared by Monday and I would rather pay a rescheduling fee than pay for a new NTS because I failed...I want to PASS the first time around...
Goal for the next 9 days: MCQ, MCQ, MCQ
I finally finished the Becker Course (way way way behind schedule...but at least I did finish...). I can't believe it took me 88 hours to complete the review course, but I do feel like I learned a lot! Here is how I spent that 88 hours:
*Lightly skim book before each lecture
*Watch the lecture and take notes
*Go back and CAREFULLY read each section
*Do the MCQ for each section until 100% correct
*Go through Flash Cards at least twice for each section
That means I have been through the material at least 3 times, but that does not mean I KNOW the material!! Also, whenever I missed a question, I would carefully read the correct answer as well as the incorrect answers in order to ensure I understood why they were wrong. I actually tended to do this with most questions because Becker did a lot of explaining and I felt like if the info was there, I should pay attention to it. Now I need to go back and really memorize formulas! There seems to be quite a bit of them to keep straight and the way my luck has been going lately, I will be asked to calculate something I can't remember the formula to use...
One last note, I decided to move the exam again to Saturday April 16th at 1:30. I just didn't feel like I was going to be prepared by Monday and I would rather pay a rescheduling fee than pay for a new NTS because I failed...I want to PASS the first time around...
Goal for the next 9 days: MCQ, MCQ, MCQ
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