Now that I’m done lamenting about my failure, I’ll provide my thoughts and hope this may help candidates who are getting ready to take FAR soon.
I took FAR at the end of Q4 2012 and scored a 67. I was really shocked about the grade I received and was eager to see my score report. When I got it, I find out that I aced the MCQs (3 “stronger’ and 2 “comparable” = stronger for “overall” MCQs). I was weaker in Sims. My testlets were getting ridiculously harder. T2 was much harder than T1 and T3 was something I’ve never experienced before because I literally blindly guessed more 18 questions out of 30. I thought for sure that I will fail because of T3 but I was wrong.
The best and biggest lesson I’ve learn from the report is that “perfection is not necessary” for a CPA exam. AICPA is absolutely right when they say that the grading is not based on how many questions you got right or wrong but instead it’s based on a complicated matrix including how well you did comparing to other candidates. Logically, I couldn’t have had an overall stronger in MCQs because I royally screwed up in T3 but because my performance in MCQs was (Medium – Hard – Hard )(I’m guessing based on my report), I ended up with an overall stronger in MCQs. All I needed to pass was a comparable in Sims.
The real problem I encountered was, with no surprise, poor time management. I wasted a lot of time trying to excel in MCQs including questions that were most likely pre-test. With only 54mns for Sims, I panicked, moved too fast and had to fill in 0s for 2 of them.
I knew the material fairly well but did not manage my time well. I’m retaking FAR on Jan 7 and have not been able to really study because of the holidays and a sick child. However, I’m very surprised of how much of the material I still remember because when I take a progress test I’m scoring in high 80s based only on what I’ve learned during Q4 2012.
My strategy on the 7th is to move fast fast fast. I think I’m even willing to sacrifice on of my testlets. I need at least 1h 45mn for the Sims. I will not try to get every single point in MCQs because it will backfire in the Sims. If I don’t know the answer to a question or I know it, but it will take too long to calculate, I’ll just guess it and flag it for review. Once in the Sims, I’ll slowly do the ones I know well without pressure due to time and then do the other to the best of my ability and perhaps use the authoritative literature for the first time.
I’m now a strong believer that you don’t need to know everything in FAR, you just need to know enough to pull a passing grade. Perfection is not necessary. Fair knowledge and great time management can get you through FAR (in my opinion). At this point I don’t care whether I’ll pass or fail, I just want for the first time since I’ve been taking CPA exams, not to feel the time constraint. I’ll let you know how that goes.
REG: 68, 75
AUD: 80
BEC: 77
FAR: 24, 67, 69, 72, 80 Thank you Lord!!!!
Finally Done! Perseverance is the key to success
NYS Licensed CPA - 2013
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