[nshah1824]

I was planning on taking FAR at the end of August/beginning September before I start working full time. Anyone have any study tips for FAR? Is 8 weeks plenty of time for FAR? I’ve been using Becker and Roger’s review course to study so far.

[Nate]

I took off work for about a week and a half to study (becker), definitely needed to study more considering I failed it twice over a year ago. Couldn't get through all material let alone review but just got my score back today.. an 82 by some miracle. The only thing i had going for me was I had passed the other 3 so I knew what it took to pass an exam and I had been taking classes the past year to get my MS in accounting so I had a lot of accounting theory going through my head. If this is your first time taking a test/studying for one you might need more than 8 weeks for far- it is by far the most material. My first time taking Far back in 2016 I studied for like 2 months, but i didn't really know what i was doing so I failed by a lot.

[Anonymous]

my tip is do as many MCQs as you can and as few sims as you can. Use the blueprint to identify the specific tasks that will be the subjects of test simulations. Only practice sims that correspond to these tasks. Don't waste a second of time practicing sims that do not align with one of the tasks. Use the rest of the time to hammer MCQs.

[raj]

I studied from first week of January and took it on April 25th. Got my score today and passed with 87. I used Becker and did one chapter per week because I was working 40 hours for a majority of this time. I think 8-10 weeks is enough for FAR, esp if you are not working. I went through the chapters in Becker and then I used NINJA as a supplementary material. I rewrote the NINJA notes and read them a bunch of times. Then I did NINJA mcqs for almost three or so weeks, while practicing SIMS on Becker. So, that was my approach. Hope that's helpful to you. Also, during this process, I was getting a lot of mcqs wrong initially, like while reviewing and same with SIMs. I just kept writing why it was wrong and practiced the problems again. So, try to stay as positive as possible, it's not easy, but you just have to take it day by day. Last thing, make sure to practice lots of MCQs for Not for profits and Governmental, because those are always on MCQs in the exam. Best of luck

[nshah1824]

Thanks everyone! @AF How'd you figure out which areas to focus on using the blueprints? Is it all the areas checked under analysis?

[Anonymous]

@nshah1824 yeah. all the sections checked as analysis. Next to it they list a very specific task associated with skill that is checked. Those tasks are the subjects of the sims. I spent 0 time doing sims not listed as one of those tasks. Doing SIMs is an inefficient use of study time compared to MCQs, so you should limit the time you spend on SIMs to things the blueprint says will be tested.

[kaylab]

@af any other tips on how to read the blueprints for what to study? i am feeling overwhelmed and need to narrow down some topics! 🙂

[Anonymous]

This might be a stupid question, but how do you find specific SIMS that are mentioned under the blueprints? Like I get not studying all of them, but how can you narrow down what you need to really study?

[Anonymous]

@kaylab I didn't do all the SIMs that i thought tested the same skills, like reconciling General Ledger to Subsidiary Ledger. Like if I practiced it for one topic, I wouldn't practice SIMs that wanted me to reconcile different GLs to their requisite SLs. It's redundant. If you can do one, you should be able to do the others.

@divs I would go through the list and let's say I wanted to practice the Balance Sheet Analysis topic, which I believe is use source docs to adjust the BS (per blueprint), then I would go to the gleim chapter on Balance Sheet and I would skip through the SIMs until I got to relevant ones, do those and continue. I believe there is a thread that associates Blueprint topics with their corresponding Becker SIMs.

[Anonymous]

FAR was brutal to study for. To this day, I wonder how I scraped by with a 76 (first try no less!) on the exam.

But from experience, I can tell you this: definitely read the Becker book and thoroughly understand any examples provided (do them over if you have to) and then really dig deep with the sims. Even if you got the question right, read the explanations/watch the videos and understand the process of getting the answer. And after each chapter, loop back to the beginning chapters to keep the material fresh in your head.

Also, you might not think it's important to study, but make sure you understand Non-Profit and Governmental Accounting, because every point makes a difference between passing and failing.

[kaylab]

@af and @Aash thanks! everyday is a struggle for me on if I can do this or not… I just need to keep trying 🙂

[Anonymous]

That makes sense, thank you. If you happen to come across the Becker blueprint thread, please pass it along to me.

[kaylab]

When people are saying use the blue print…. does that mean a check under the application column is likely to be a MC question and a check under the analysis column is likely to be a SIM?

[kaylab]

@divs I found one Becker blue print thread… if you search “Becker Blue Print' a list of results come up… then click on the Oct 19, 2007 one “Potential FAR Simulation Tops straight from the AICPA”.

However, I am still confused on how to read the blue print found here: https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/becomeacpa/cpaexam/examinationcontent/downloadabledocuments/cpa-exam-blueprints-effective-july-2018.pdf

It literally lists like every section in the Becker review course… so how do I break this down more…is a check under the “remember and understanding” and “application” columns likely to be a MC question and a check under the “analysis” column likely to be a SIM? Is there a better way to break this blue print up or identify sections that are rarely tested and can be skipped… I know technically anything can be asked but I'm not trying to get 100% I am trying to manage in a pass while working full time(I know everyone else on here also has to work but I need a break here! 🙂 )

[Anonymous]

Hello!

I was also studying full time while studying for FAR, and I spent about 5.5 weeks on FAR using Becker only. I personally liked the faster pace because it prevented me from forgetting as much, but to each their own!

I spent the first 3 weeks going through the material for the first time. This included handwriting notes and doing legit everything Becker offered (all sims, MCQ, Skills). I also handwrote flash cards.

My review was where I actually cemented everything. I reread and typed super to-the-point notes for each module and redid skills, mcq, and sims (no lectures). I definitely spent more time on governmental and some of the other tough areas during review. Seemed to work!

[YouCanDoIt]

Because typing is faster than writing, I keep a MS-Word open on the side to take notes as I go through the NINJA MCQs.

I don't even look at how many pages I end up writing with examples, long as I understand the reasoning. Just be sure to keep your note sections together, so you can CTRL+F to easily navigate your own notes for quick references and examples!

FAR: 76
REG: Currently studying
AUD:
BEC:

[Author]

Replies