FAR Study Group Q1 2015 - Page 55

Viewing 15 replies - 811 through 825 (of 851 total)
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  • #654969
    NAT
    Member

    Determined CPA and Dcarter246:

    Thanks guys for your counseling re: IFRS, your tips and good sources on it.

    Congrats again to both of you on passing FAR and even 80s scoring (Dcarter246).

    I realized the best way to remember IFRS easy way – to create your own spreadsheet GAAP vs. IFRS. I agree with Determined CPA, it is impossible to remember everything. I can tell you more, the most updated material I found was PWC (Price waterhouse) like 200 pages dated as October-2014. I almost got a heart attack, 200 pages !! But conceptual major things we must know, getting FAR…….for sure. Like IFRS rejects LIFO. And in general, IFRS DOES NOT ALLOW LOTS OF THINGS.

    FAR - 07/2015
    AUD - TBD
    REG - TBD
    BEC -TBD

    We suffer one of two things in our life. The pain of discipline or the pain of disappointments.
    When you are disciplined, there is no pain of disappointments.

    #654970
    jbarwick
    Member

    Congrats on the passes guys! I have my March planned out and ready for a 3 week final review before my exam April 3rd. I have 9 full-days as well as work days during the review time.

    I have found working the sims helps reenforce a lot of topics as I work my way through the Becker sims. I was saving them but now I am working a chapter a day and they are helping on topics such as construction contracts, journal entries, and some IFRS items. I will say my previous work in accounting used a trial balance A LOT and that is more helpful than just saying, what is X journal entry. One slip up I do have is “what account” does this go to as every organization classifies things under different names.

    Journey Started - January 2015
    FAR - 4/2015 - Passed
    AUD - 7/2015 - Passed
    BEC - 8/2015 - Passed
    REG - 11/12/2015 - Passed

    #654971
    ThumbsUp
    Participant

    Test friday, what should I do/look over the day before??

    AUD- 22, Just missed it...maybe next time!
    REG- 14, so close!!!

    #654972
    futur3CPA
    Member

    Hi Everyone

    How many weeks is a good amount to really get through all the material you need to know for the exam?

    #654973
    excel monkey
    Participant

    Good Luck ThumbsUp! I'm testing on Friday as well. It seems like the general consensus is to make sure you know bonds/leases, gov't/nfp, pensions, and IFRS. As for me, right now I'm focusing on pensions (took a practice exam and blanked on most of the pension questions) and IFRS. I also plan to look back over marketable securities (available for sale, trading securities, and held to maturity) because if I'm honest with myself, I need to refresh some of the early material. Other than that, I'm doing short progress tests in Becker and going back over the sections I miss questions in.

    FAR - 91
    AUD - 88
    BEC - 86
    REG - 79

    #654974

    Good evening everyone. I am taking FAR for the second time on Friday. It's more like my first time. FAR was the first exam I scheduled. Blew it big time. I really wasn't prepared at all. But I recovered and passed REG and BEC on my first try and got a 74 on AUD. Was so upset with myself but scheduled it four weeks later and got an 86!!!

    I have got to say that the Gov't Accounting portion is throwing me for a loop. I didn't allow myself enough time and I'm not feeling really confident. I plan on buying the Notes and the MCQs if I don't plan. Since I just went through all the Becker videos and completed the MCQs and SIMS but did poorly on a lot of it, is there any advice for how I should approach the exam on what would be my third attempt IF I don't pass?

    Thank you.

    #654975

    I'd love to know the answer to this question too. I took seven weeks but during my review, I had a hard time remembering the old stuff!!

    #654976
    JS867_5309
    Member

    I've been studying since mid-January and have a May 2 test date. I intended for that to be mid-April, but my testing center is already full. So all in all that will be approx 12 weeks, which has been my average on all prior exams. These last 3 I've changed my study schedule/materials, and that's what's put me into passing scores.

    Exam:I'm done 🙂 🙂 🙂
    REG - 71 (2/22/14); 67 (4/3/14); 74 (8/29/15); 83 (2/29/16)!!!
    BEC - 72 (5/24/14); 85 (1/3/15)!!!!
    AUD - 72 (8/23/14); 76 (10/15/14)!!!
    FAR - 77 (5/26/15)!!!

    Started in 2013 using Kaplan and failed REG, REG, BEC, AUD. Switched to NINJA suite in Sept 2014 and passed AUD...then BEC...then FAR!
    REG took 2 tries but I finally got it in too!
    I'm a hard convert - Using NINJA method with NINJA video/book/notes/MCQ

    Education: Check
    Experience: 3 months left! I hit 4 years on May 30 🙂

    #654977
    ThumbsUp
    Participant

    Thanks excel monkey, what things are you guys going to put on your note sheet during the 10 mins before the exam?

    AUD- 22, Just missed it...maybe next time!
    REG- 14, so close!!!

    #654978
    jbarwick
    Member

    I started studying in early January and am taking FAR April 3rd for the first time. I will have 3 solid weekends of studying by doing 30 MCQ sets and going over the sims just to get a feel.

    Currently Gov't is not very fun but still studying it. I understand most things when I go back over topics, it is just telling myself to slow down and read the question carefully. I have had quite a few MCQs where I read the question wrong and miss a key word.

    Journey Started - January 2015
    FAR - 4/2015 - Passed
    AUD - 7/2015 - Passed
    BEC - 8/2015 - Passed
    REG - 11/12/2015 - Passed

    #654979
    jbarwick
    Member

    Going through Governmental and I have a question: How do you guys remember “exchange” and “non-exchange” transaction differences?

    Journey Started - January 2015
    FAR - 4/2015 - Passed
    AUD - 7/2015 - Passed
    BEC - 8/2015 - Passed
    REG - 11/12/2015 - Passed

    #654980
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Anybody else to the point where even though you're looking at a topic you've obviously forgotten/don't understand well you can't be bothered to focus in on the topic and learn it?

    Part of my problem is that I made an 84 on the Gleim practice exam but in actuality there were many instances where I wasn't sure on the information and just put down the answer that sounded reasonable. I know I can't rely on luck or in some cases easily worded questions and its made it hard for me to really diagnose where to study. I just want to throw my hands up and give up studying and just take the exam to really see where I stand.

    I just hope the exam has a ton of not-for-profit, governmental (except budgeting/encumbrances), investments without getting into too much difficulty on derivatives, and long term liability questions. Those are the only topics that I understand well since I deal with similar topics on a daily basis at work. lol

    #654981
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    exchange transactions – you pay cash and get something in return (example: bread)

    nonexchange transaction – you pay cash for sales tax on bread and get nothing in return. The sales tax collected by the retailer may end up being used to help repave a road that you frequent, but it also may go towards paying for legal opinions in an issuance of debt that may partly be used to repave a road you frequent. In other words, in an nonexchange transaction you essentially get nothing in return since it is difficult to determine what benefit, if any, you get from paying the tax.

    #654982
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @Cpa chasing1

    I am to the point that i literally have to give myself a pep talk to be able to sit back at the computer for another set of MCQs without feeling like I want to throw up …lol..

    Contrary from you, I really hope I do not get many gov/nfp questions as those are areas I am struggling with. My greatest weakness: assigning the correct type of fund to activities provided.

    I have not yet been able to look over F10 and I doubt I will be able to before my exam tomorrow (It's so depressing to have forgotten areas I did really well on my MCQs – at least according to the saved stats..)

    @excel monkey

    I might have to pick your brain on your study method after the exam tomorrow (agree with someone else in a previous post stating that you should get a score over 90! 🙂 )

    Good luck to all testing tomorrow!

    #654983
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hello everyone,

    What is the PV of a note:

    a) face value X PV of $1 due in x years at yield rate or,

    b) maturity value X PV of $1 due in x years at yield rate,

    where maturity value includes face value + interest payable

    I have seen both formulas used in MCQ.

    Thank you.

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