*This is my 2nd attempt at the CPA exam. For all of you who have failed this exam many times, given up on it, or taken a break like me, remember that it is still possible to finish what you started...failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently 🙂
Morning all. Just checking in. Put in 4 hours yesterday and once my head started to ache decided to spend the rest of my time compiling my notes from the last 4.5 weeks. It's amazing how much I was able to grasp by looking up and filling in the gaps that I either couldn't read (terrible handwriting) or didn't make much sense now weeks later. Those little holes (I guess Jeff calls them fact nuggets) like that Tstock question that stumped most of us (added that little tidbit to my notes for sure) could be the difference between a 74 and a 75.
I've also decided to just add Govt. and NFP NINJA notes to my personal notes and take most of this week as an additional week of prep. Still going to test myself heavily on them and add nuggets to my notes as I go, but I just don't see myself being an expert in either of them by weeks end. Time at this stage in the process is just too valuable to spend banging my head against a rock on areas that won't add much value.
Thanks CPAMom! I hope it doesn't come back to bite me with a Government SIM or something hah!
23K-This is my first exam so I may have no idea what I'm talking about here…but I would warn against too much repitition with with FAR MCQ. AUD/REG appear to be exams where memorization is key, so perhaps MCQ repitition is important. With FAR, conceptual understanding is key for most of the material. I would suggest to perhaps use repitition when it comes to the holes in your knowledge (reviewing notes in your weaknesses), rather than with the MCQ themselves. For me, I know I would begin to memorize the question and answers and I think it would give me a false sense of security come exam day. Of course, everybody is different so just throwing out my $.02.
@moreinfo–Know the amortization tables and the corresponding JE entries for both discounts and premiums. Know how to calculate interest paid and what is booked to interest expense versus amortization of premium/discount.
@lexus–We've thrown some out here and there, but we don't have a complete list. My personal favorite was created by someone in the thread:
MAMA–Modified Accrual is relized when Measurable and Available. (Goverment Fund Accounting)
PUFER–Pension Adjustments, Unrealized gains/losses from AFS securities, Foreign currency items, Effective portion of cash flow hedges, Revaluation surplus–IFRS only (Items found in Other Comprehensive Income)
For bonds…The biggest issue I had and what seems most people have is keeping a clear distinction between cash flow and expense. The interest paid (Face × Stated) vs. Interest Expense (Carrying Amt x Market Rate). The rate the bond is paying will rarely equal the rate the market is paying. The $$ impact of the difference is essentially the discount/premium. Once I understood how they all relate and connect, effective interest became a piece of cake..
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
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