[Lentilcounter]

During one of the most recent AICPA/NASBA webinars, the AICPA presenter bought up the CPA exam blueprints available on the AICPA website. He said that we should reference these blueprints in preparing for the exams and then there should be no surprises. He also said that any content group/topic that is tested at the analysis level is fair game for a simulation. I have created a short summary below. While the language in the blueprints can be somewhat vague, I think if you at least have a mastery of the topics below, simulations shouldn’t scare you.

Balance sheet/statement of financial position
A) detect, investigate and correct discrepancies while agreeing the balance sheet amounts to supporting documentation
B) calculate fluctuations and ratios and interpret the results while reviewing comparative balance sheets

Income statement/statement of profit or loss
A) detect, investigate and correct discrepancies while agreeing the income statement amounts to supporting documentation
B) calculate fluctuations and ratios and interpret the results while reviewing comparative income statements

Statement of comprehensive income
A) detect, investigate and correct discrepancies while agreeing the statement of comprehensive amounts to supporting documentation

Statement of changes in equity
A) detect, investigate and correct discrepancies while agreeing the statement of changes in equity to supporting documentation

Statement of cash flows
A) detect, investigate and correct discrepancies while agreeing the statement of cash flows to supporting documentation
B) derive the impact of transactions on the statement of cash flows

Notes to the financial statements
A) compare the notes to the financial statements to the financial statements and supporting documentation to identify inconsistencies and investigate those inconsistencies

Consolidated financial statements (including wholly owned subsidiaries and noncontrolling interests)
A) detect, investigate and correct discrepancies while agreeing the consolidated financial statement amounts to supporting documentation

Cash and cash equivalents
A) reconcile the cash balance per the bank statement to the general ledger
B) investigate unreconciled cash balances to determine whether an adjustment to the general ledger is necessary

Trade receivables
A) prepare a rollforward of the trade receives account balance using various sources of information
B) reconcile and investigate differences between the subledger and general ledger for trade receives to determine whether an adjustment is necessary

Inventory
A) reconcile and investigate differences between the subledger and general ledger for inventory to determine whether an adjustment is necessary
B) prepare a rollforward of the inventory account balance using various sources of information

Property, Plant, and Equipment
A) prepare a rollforward of the property, plan, and equipment account balance using various sources of information
B) reconcile and investigate differences between the subledger and general ledger for property, plant, and equipment to determine whether an adjustment is necessary

Payables and accrued liabilities
A) reconcile and investigate differences between the subledger and general ledger for accounts payable and accrued liabilities to determine whether an adjustment is necessary

Revenue Recognition
A) interpret agreements, contracts and/or other supporting documentation to determine the amount and timing of revenue to be recognized in the financial statements
B) reconcile and investigate the differences between the sales subledger and the general subledger to determine whether an adjustment is necessary

Account changes and error corrections
A) derive the impact to the financial statements and related note disclosure of an accounting change or an error correction

Contingencies and commitments
A) review supporting documentation to determine whether a commitment or contingency requires recognition or disclosure in the financial statements

Leases
A) interpret agreements, contracts and/or other supporting documentation to determine the appropriate accounting treatment of a leasing arrangement and prepare the journal entries that a lessee should record.

Subsequent events
A) derive the impact to the financial statements and required note disclosues due to identified subsequent events

BEC = 72 (6/08/16)
FAR = ?
REG = ?
AUD = ?

[Wannafree]

Are they still asking JE in SIMs ,I am asking because I see JE in Becker's under applications ? Ican see Cash flow in Analysis ,is it SIMable (LOL) ?

[Ana]

@Andrew and @wanna Easier mcq as the questions are short and not tricky at all. either you know it or you don't. there's maybe 1-2 like the hardest longest Becker mcq, the rest are easy Becker questions. check out the 2017 released questions, that's a great example. sims are harder because no longer do they have drop down options. if not a drs you have to fill in the numbers, for j.e., financials, etc. that becomes tricky bc sometimes numbers are dependent upon one another, also if you don't know it there's no way to guess the right answer. Knowledge of je's are a must throughout the test, but again basic-mid level. If you know Inventory is an asset and to increase it you need to debit then you're good. When I get to the test, on the paper I always write down the accounts and their normal balances just in case I doubt myself during the test (Asset, Liab, Rev, Exp, RE, OCI). As far as cash flows, I don't see how they can test je's with that.

[Andrew808]

no more dropdowns 🙁 well that's demoralizing!

[Andrew808]

@ana does the lack of dropdowns apply to journal entries as well? because I don't feel like they could require us to remember the specific account name / properly spell everything

[Ana]

no je's have drop down, I don't think any cpa exams (other than bec wc) have typing of letters.

[Earla Riopel (NYCARE)]

JEs are very much alive in FAR SIMs. The one scary part is with the placing ‘0s' & ‘blanks' requirement'. This can be problematic for some, since CPA practice app mimics the actual exams.

However, I read it somewhere, with one of @jeff's post, as per his inquiry w/ AICPA, candidates just have to read the instructions. The instructions will tell us if we need to place ‘0s' or/& leave the columns ‘blank'.

[Ana]

the instructions are very clear, whether to leave blank or enter a zero. make sure to read it for each and every sim.

[Wannafree]

Thanks Ana and Earla.

[Lentilcounter]

I went from a 64 to an 84! by using these blueprints to focus my studying. Don't avoid SIMs. Study them in addition to MCQ.

BEC = 72 (6/08/16)
FAR = ?
REG = ?
AUD = ?

[Sonny]

@Lentilcounter. Did you use Becker exclusively to study for the SIMS and ninja for the MCQS?

[cmcook]

Nice job Lentil – you have been so committed!!

[Lentilcounter]

@sonny Yes.

@cmcook thanks!

BEC = 72 (6/08/16)
FAR = ?
REG = ?
AUD = ?

[Ana]

Having finally passed FAR and used the blueprint to guide my studies for the Sims, I can definitively say that it works. Don't sleep on this, use it and you won't be sorry.

[JAStansel]

Definitely going to use this as I prepare for my retake in January.

[Right Brained Accountant]

Bump Bump, y'all.

Checking in to see if anyone was trending generally lower on the Wiley MCQ, but still pulled a pass with reviewing the AICPA blueprints and using any other study prep materials. I'm doing decent in Becker, but Wiley gets discouraging once you trend around 65 for a while (see some of Lentil's earlier posts.) I know keeping the material fresh is key, so trying to hammer a bunch of MCQ out while going back to conceptual understanding through focused Becker modules. Failing is not an option, but psychological self sabotage has the potential to be.

[Author]

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