[karen]

Hi everyone,

I failed FAR. Humbling. It wasn’t my lack of knowledge – in fact, i found the MCQ’s to be fairly straight forward.

I opened the first SIM -= it had SEVEN info tabs across the top (memos, board minutes, financials, contracts, etc)….with a TON of info on the question page. I freaked, my brain froze and i never recovered. I got beat mentally – not with subject knowledge – but with mental tenacity. That was really humbling.

Anyway – i have 5 weeks to study for the FAR retake and need help from you guys on SIM prep so I don’t freeze again. is there a good way to approach these SIMS? Find out what they are asking, Read all the info tabs first, make notes, then try to answer each one by one?

It seemed like i got lost in the information, i kept clicking between info tabs but my brain wouldn’t connect as to what to do.

I felt NUTS. I am bright – study well etc. But I froze and never got my brain back.

Please help me figure out how to beat the SIMS.

THanks.

[Anonymous]

Yes they're intended to shock and awe, but after a while you realize they're more like extended research questions: just finding one piece of info in each document. Nothing to panic about, and as I like to say, the longer it is, the more chances to get something right.

[Anonymous]

@Karen-what study material do you use? Knowing concepts really well helps, but I think the more practice you can get the better. Becker SIMS are excellent in preparing you. for my retake I did all the SIMS at once at the end-it was both a great review and a great prep. There is a thread on the forum called “FAR SIMS straight from AICPA blueprint”. I highly recommend reading through it. The gist is that AICPA noted in a webinar back in November 2017 that anything noted as “analysis” on the blueprint is a fair game for a SIM. If you scan through the AICPA blueprint and read through analysis tasks, it becomes very obvious what kind of stuff you are expected to know (especially on the re-take) Both times the SIMS were very spot on in terms of subject matter and types of tasks. I relied heavily on the blueprint to study SIMS and also to make sure I knew how to do analysis and application type tasks. Try it-you won't be sorry. If you have Becker, do all the Skills Practices as well-like in two days time-it's the best way to review all your journal entries. Ninja SIMS are ok, but not as good as Becker.

[Becca]

I’ve only taken REG, but I had 2 SIMS that had multiple documents to go through in order to answer the questions. My method was to look at the first question to see what it’s asking, then skim through the documents for references to that one question, calculate the answer, then move on. Try not to second-guess yourself, because you’re probably right the first time.

[karen]

Anyatver – I am using Gleim. Great test bank – lots of SIMS – again i just got mentally beat.

Calvinus – thanks for the support.

Becca – thanks!

[Anonymous]

I am using Gleim too. Did you work out 3-4 SIMS per unit? If so, I'd imagine you would be ready for the SIMS.

[karen]

Von – yes i did. LOL one would think i wouldve been prepared. I just think i freaked. No other explanation.

[Fratty Redneck]

There is a thread somewhere that outlines the SIMS that should be focused on based on the blueprint. As far as I know, it is only for Becker, but there may be something out there for Gleim.

Instead of clicking back and forth between tabs, read what the question is asking, and make note of it on your scratch paper. Answer each question on the scratch paper and then go back and answer the questions on the first tab. That saved me a ton of time.

[karen]

Fratty – good tactic. Thank you.

[Author]

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