[cpaplzgoaway]

Sorry guys, i have failed Far twice in a row with 60,then 65 this time. For those who have passed FAR, how did you take notes effectively? Should i follow the ‘no notes’ approach and just focus on hammering the MCQs?

[j3cpa]

For me, journal entries were helpful. So I wrote and study journal entries and t accounts to death for FAR.

Write down the T accounts for each answer and it will click to you.

Study Material:
GLEIM
BEC - FEB/2012
AUD - FEB/2012
FAR - JULY/2012
REG - JULY/2012

[Anonymous]

First, off, with SIMS being 50% of your grade, I would focus on the SIMS and of course MCQ to make sure you have the grasp of the material conceptually. I don't think it's about taking notes per se. I agree with @j3cpa. by the end of my studying for the FAR re-take, I made myself write down everything I knew about a topic conceptually, in my own words off the top of my head, and journal entries. For example. Inventory-write down everything you know about how inventory is recorded, write down journal entries to record it to write it off, etc. Same with bonds, leases, etc. If you can't write it down in your own words and don't know the journal entries off the top of your head you don't know it well enough. Finally, make sure you know how to construct a BS, IS, Statement of Cash Flows, know how all these Financials work together. I think then you will feel ready. Notes are helpful of course. For my re-take, I re-wrote all my notes, and all my flashcards into a new notebook and I was re-writing them I was going through the Becker book and adding to my notes. I would also highly recommend searching “FAR SIMS straight from AICPA blueprint” thread here. I swear this approach works. It gives you areas of study to focus on and know for the SIMS. Anything that is labeled “Analysis” is a fair game for a SIM. If you read the blueprint you will realize that SIMS are definitely drawn from these areas. The good news is that you are trending in the right direction! Good luck!

[Defo]

There is no one size fits all. One person might have great success with a few pages of notes, while another could write down the entire book and retain nothing.

Make sure you are engaged in the notes you are taking. If you aren't already doing this, you should be pausing before you take a note, internalize the concept and then write it down in your own words without referring back to the text. (if you can explain the concept to yourself without reading it then that should translate to answering test questions)

I think MCQ is the best way to learn this stuff though, so if you are wasting alot of time with notes it may be better spent answering more MCQ.

[Author]

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