FAR Help!!!

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    Topic
  • #189711
    hadamski19
    Member

    So I know you can’t tell me EXACTLY what is on the exam, but I am really struggling with Leases and PV for some reason and I am wondering if a lot of MC questions require calculations or is it more conceptual questions?? I also think I am spending WAYY too much time trying to nail this chapter, when in the end, it may not benefit me!

    please help!!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 16 total)
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  • #616845
    iwana_PASS
    Participant

    you have to know leases and bonds in and out. i failed far two times ** Edited **. i still remember on one of the exam, my sims were terrible i was hoping ** Edited ** and i know if i picked wrong number my entire sims are bombed 🙁 this time i had a tutor he is very expensive and now i dont feel its challenging anymore its doable

    AUD - 77
    BEC - 78
    FAR - 79
    REG - 82

    #616846
    Rocky123
    Member

    That's my weak area. Leases and bonds. Ugh.

    I didn't pass FAR last window but that was because I didn't study much to begin with. But I agree, both topics are a must know.

    The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

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    Rocky123, CPA

    #616847
    hadamski19
    Member

    ughh!!! Thanks…well I guess I will be coming back to these then because I need to move on at this point!!

    It's not that I don't get it, I just have a hard time weeding through what numbers I need to use and not use in the problems!!

    #616848
    nicole2035
    Member

    this is what helped me on what to focus on, but basically if a calculation has a journal entry that goes along with it, you need to know it. It's highly likely it'll be a SIM or a MC question. With leases that incorporate quite a few different topics easily, so i wouldn't risk it. I think if you can get together a basic journal entry on an easy lease question, you will be fine.

    #616849
    noSleepCPA
    Member

    Definitely know the journal entry for bonds and leases. Got it twice on my SIMS!

    BEC-61,68,75
    FAR-63,63,58,77
    AUD-64
    REG-59,64

    When can I get my life back?

    #616850
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Prepare for the worst case scenario. I'd be doing you a disservice to tell you not to study something in great depth because you might not get any questions on it. There is no pattern. No rhyme or reason. My exam was entirely different than your exam will be.

    What I can tell you is my strategy for dealing with lease questions.

    1. What is the question asking for? (I always looked for this first. It helps you pick out the relevant info in the fact pattern vs. the stuff that doesn't matter.)

    2. Determine if you are answering from the lessee's perspective or the lessor's.

    3. Determine if it's a capital or operating lease. (Know the criteria. Period.)

    4. Determine if you're dealing with an ordinary annuity or an annuity due.

    5. Determine what interest rate you're using (implicit vs. borrower's incremental rate).

    6. Determine what time period you're dealing with. (A half year, a month, the 3rd year of a 5 year lease term, etc.)

    7. Know the journal entry(ies) you would use to record lease transactions.

    If you can do all these things, you should be able to answer nearly any question you get about leases. Get into the habit of quickly figuring out these details when you see a lease question.

    #616851
    Rocky123
    Member

    @CasyTX

    Thanks for the tips on leases! Have any for bonds?

    The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

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    Rocky123, CPA

    #616852
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am lucky that my job deals very heavily with accounting for bonds, so much of this topic was very familiar to me, but a few things I would focus on:

    1. Know how to calculate a bond issue price.

    2. Know how to set up an amortization schedule in a spreadsheet.

    3. Understand the difference between a bond interest PAYMENT and bond interest EXPENSE, and know how to calculate both.

    4. Know how to record bond JEs in your sleep. This alone can help you “logic” your way through many bond questions, including sims.

    The PV stuff just has to become second-nature to you through practice.

    P.S. Not to be a suck-up, but I think it would be really smart to listen to the NINJA audio on bonds and actually write out the examples as you're listening. There are a lot of moving parts, and I think it helps to see it all on paper and how they all relate to each other, rather than thinking abstractly about it or compartmentalizing all the different bond calculations you may be asked to do, like they're all unrelated to each other. They aren't. It's a puzzle, and if you can solve one piece of it, it will help you solve another.

    #616853
    Rocky123
    Member

    @CaseyTX

    Off the top of my head, bond interest PAYMENT is what is actually paid to the investor semi-annually? Face of bond x stated rate?

    And bond interest EXPENSE is the carrying value of the bond x market rate?

    And the difference between the 2 is amoritization of the premium/discount? Using the effective interest rate method, not straight line for amortization.

    The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

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    Rocky123, CPA

    #616854
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @Rocky, yes, it sounds like you have it down (assuming a semi-annual interest payment, and that is a good reminder … ALWAYS be on the lookout for whether interest is paid annually or semi-annually).

    This is one area where knowing JEs can really help. If you're thinking “I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CALCULATE THE AMORTIZATION!” don't flip out about it. If you can calculate the interest payment (which is the easiest part of bond calcs, so if you can't do that, you might as well get some cats and call it quits) and the interest expense (the next easiest part), and you can subtract the smaller number from the larger number (i.e. calculating the plug), well, there's your amortization.

    If you're using Becker, there's a really great page in Chapter 5 that has an example showing an amortization table and the journal entries for both the borrower (issuer) and the investor (purchaser). Understand that, and you're good to go. Notice I said understand it and not memorize it because there's no way in hell you will get the exact same scenario on the exam. So UNDERSTAND it. Understand WHY the numbers are what they are, not just HOW to get to them.

    #616855
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Bonds and leases are two of my strong suits…I was hoping to get a bunch on the exam… walked out disappointed…

    #616856
    Rocky123
    Member

    @cpanj22

    Yeah, I've put a lot of work into them lately. Probably won't see one question on them. FAR is so wide, who knows what kind of questions I'll get asked.

    That's why I'm trying to be fluent in every topic. For some reason, I see a sim on equity method/acquisitions/consolidations in my future. I better make sure to really know that topic. Lots of possible sims with that scenario.

    @CaseyTX

    Thank you!!

    The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

    AUD-PASS
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    FAR-PASS

    Rocky123, CPA

    #616857
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Put in good amount of time on GOV and NFP

    #616858
    Rocky123
    Member

    Yeah, I definitely saw my 16-20% on those 2 topics on my last FAR exam.

    The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

    AUD-PASS
    BEC-PASS
    REG-PASS
    FAR-PASS

    Rocky123, CPA

    #616859
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    A thing to remember is if you see a gov question which you don't know the answer, and three choices are a gov fund and one is an enterprise fund, the answers just helped you answer the question

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