[Sandy]

I just finished my FAR test.
I would say definitely spent time reviewing
NFP (especially recent change of rules)
government F/S
Revenue Recognition
and subsequent event recognition
right before the exam.

Overall, it’s easier than Wiley CPA practice exam.
The difficulty of SIM is similar to Roger CPA SIMs.

[giveme75]

Disclaimer — didn't have time to do many sims before the exam, just looked over the answers to the ones on the AICPA website.

Just took FAR. Honestly have no idea what to think of it (as usual). Multiple choice felt okay, first testlet was more conceptual, second was more calculations but not too heavy/lengthy. Simulations were super tough, ended up leaving one whole blank (but then again I didn't have time to practice them) and pretty sure I got the research wrong even though I usually ace those ><

This is the first exam I took with the new software. I'm used to being able to use keyboard shortcuts when using Excel but this Excel didn't allow me to use all of them, only the basic Ctrl+C and Ctrl-V for copy and paste. I also didn't test out dragging formulas down since I usually Ctrl+V formulas down, but I was able to copy a table from the question into the Excel sheet (as mentioned above) easily/cleanly so that was nice. Feel like we could benefit from having two monitors during the exam because there were a lot of documents to look at and I spent a lot of time dragging the size/moving over documents to see info/questions.

Praying for a pass!

[TerriSilva]

@Troys22 – you know I haven't really taken enough time to look at the blueprint to tell you the truth. It looked too crazy to me LOL maybe I should have. As far as the analysis column (I just looked right now) I think they were very close. There was one I thought was insane and isn't in the analysis column so maybe that one was test. I did finish but I accidentally skipped a whole TBS which was stupid and lame of me. I totally forgot it was there and I hit submit…so one of them was blank and 3 of them were weird. MCQs were harder than I thought they would be.

I finished both MCQ testlets at the 2 hour break and had 2 hours for the TBS. I hope I didn't screw myself with that dumbass mistake I made! You'd think I would know better since it was my 6th exam and 2nd time taking FAR 🙁

[PTBP2018]

I took FAR for the 3rd time on Saturday. I prepared as much as humanly possible because I was working insane hours during both of my first 2 attempts. Some things threw me for a loop, and they could have really messed up my chances. I hope not, but you never know.

The first testlet was very heavy on calculations. Almost all of the questions were long and it took me an hour to get through it. I thought I did pretty well on it overall. The second testlet was way more conceptual. The questions were much less wordy. It makes me nervous, because actually I thought the second testlet was easier. This might not be a huge deal, because when I passed BEC and AUD, I felt that the second testlets got easier. Maybe it comes down to what I studied most.
To make things a little more interesting, my computer crashed in the middle of my exam. It just went black. I know this isn't anyone's fault, but it really made my blood pressure fly through the roof. The Prometric lady was super nice, and reassured me that this can happen sometimes, but reiterated that my work was saved, and everything would be okay. I tried to keep calm after I was moved to a new station (and my work seemed to have saved). I just worry that my resulting nerves made me less able to catch the little tricks in the questions. For things like this, I just wanted people to know – don't lose your cool in the event that your computer crashes. The work is saved, and they will just move you to another place. Above all, don't let it get the best of you!

Overall, I felt okay for most of the exam. My Sims were a lot, as usual. I think the key is to keep cool, read the instructions thoroughly, and go through each document as patiently as you can. Write down key points from each document. Then, use your dry-erase card or spreadsheet to organize the information. Then – attack.

The new format is pretty amazing. They did a wonderful job with revamping the functionality of the exam. I cannot stress enough how useful the AICPA Practice exam was for me. Take some time to play around with the functions on a larger monitor. It was so helpful during my study process.

Now, we wait until 6/27! I hope I don't have to go through it again, but you never know. My family might disown me if I don't finish this thing up soon! Lol!

[Anonymous]

@yackemo17 I feel ya. Just finished FAR today (3rd attempt) Work life balance during this whole thing has been crazy. Praying for good things to come out on June 27th.

The Sims were totally too much. Aint nobody got time for that, seriously. I worked them all, but a few I had to throw in the towel after getting about 80 to 90 % complete, just for time sake. There were a few I thought were too easy and I spent time fooling myself thinking I missed something.

If I missed the AL then the questions was wrong, cause I nailed it.

I feel much better than the last time I took.

One note on the new Excel tool. Way better. I did not have to open the calculator. (Granted I have been working finance in Excel for the better part of 15 years)

Good luck and prayers to all!

[Anonymous]

How did you find the new Excel Tool useful without having to open the calculator? I’m testing Excel at Becker SIM but I only see a spreadsheet with columns and rows. I was trying to create a formula but I keep getting this:
Spreadsheet Error
Your formula contains an invalid or missing argument.

[Anonymous]

Use your desktop MS Excel. Becker has not updated yet.
Don't use the becker spreadsheet.

[Sandy]

I am just glad the excel in the exam works like the MS excel on your computer.
I don't have to use calculator function at all.

btw, there's one SIM related to deferred tax asset and deferred tax liability.
But they use the other term. ( temporary taxable difference / temporary deductible difference)
make sure to understand those terms!

[setmefree]

@sofie, thanks so much for the heads up. Im actually getting confused with the terms.
DTL is temporary taxable difference and DTA is temporary deductible differences?

[Troys22]

@setmefree That is correct. Think of it as a Deferred tax LIABILITY as being a bad thing and Temporary TAXABLE difference as a bed thing. For tax purposes taxable is bad. On the other hand, think of Deferred tax ASSET as good and Temporary DEDUCTIBLE difference as good. For tax purposes, deductions from income are good. That's how I remember it and it seems to help me remember.

[setmefree]

Thank you so much for confirming. after failed Far for 2 times with a 73, Far just give me so much anxiety, have been studying for this beast for 2 months with 10 hrs of studying everyday but still not feel prepare.

[tnk712]

Just took FAR (3rd attempt also), MC was extremely straight forward and not as in depth as Becker. I only flagged about 7 MC in the first testlet (flagged meaning less than 90% positive its correct) and the second testlet was considerably harder in which i flagged about 11. Also fun fact, had the same question that appeared in testlet 1 and 2 (with different answers)…never had that happen before.

Sims were a beast. There was no way I could have prepared for them. Essentially was recreating financial statements, it was a mess but was able to use guidance and kinda work through them. Only felt confident on the research question and 2 other sims…hopefully my MC is enough to pass. What yankemo17 and Sohpie said was extremely relevant to my experience.

[Anonymous]

@tnk712 I actually had the same MCQ in both testlets on my first FAR attempt as well. Pretty weird. So would you say studying any sims are worthless? As this process of examination continues for me, I am seeing less and less value in using sims as a study tool. I second guess myself for not studying them though. I just feel like MCQ's and also learning material through lectures/notes/text is your best bet at making sure you gain enough knowledge to perform on the sims

[Troys22]

@The People's Champ I don't practice SIMS at all. I didn't practice them for REG, BEC, or AUD and I haven't practiced them for FAR either. I do the AICPA practice exam SIMS just to get a feel for the complexity of them. Like you, I believe that if you master the topics and understand the content and do well on the MCQs, we should be able to work through a SIM question. That said, everyone learns differently and everyone takes tests differently. Personally, I would just master the content that relates to the possible AICPA blueprint SIM category.

By the way, SKOL!

[Anonymous]

Do SIMs on your review course once to familiarize yourself with the layout and to figure out different ways to approach to tackle them as opposed to MCQs. Besides this, do not invest too much time on FAR SIMs..instead work through MCQs because if you understand the underlying concepts in MCQs, you're more likely to figure out how to tackle the problems in SIMs.

[Anonymous]

@Troys22 SKOL for life!

[Author]

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