[Onmyway82]

I am studying for FAR for the third time, I am using Becker and for this section I also got NINJA notes and Wiley Test bank, so I hoping adding these will help me pass FAR this time. But I am wondering if anyone else has any suggestions on how to pass. One specific question is about the journal entries, should I make sure I know all the journal entries on every topic in the book. I never really focused too much on the actual entries when I was studying before. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

FAR- 70, 68, 90
AUD- 72, 85
REG- 74, 83
BEC- 81
ETHICS- 90

CA CPA
CMA

[Anonymous]

The journal entries are really important to have down when it comes to the SIMs. There is a possibility that you can get SIMs that require whole sets of journal entries, so if you're not familiar with them it can really kill you.

My suggestion is to focus on governmental and not-for-profit accounting. These were topics that I was familiar with at all prior to studying for FAR, so I made special focus of them during my studying. It ended up that I scored stronger in both of those categories, and I'm convinced that had I not focused on them in my studying I would not have passed FAR (I got a 79).

[latenight]

I beat the hell out of FAR by knowing the big picture. How different accounts affect each other in a transaction, rather than memorizing journal entries. It sounds overly simple, but focusing on knowing which accounts have debit balances and which have credit balances. Know those hands down. The journal entries will come naturally from that knowledge and you won't even have to really think about what journal entry is required. In fact, even if you encounter something you've never seen before, you'll be able to put together the journal entry.

Memorizing journal entries works for some people though. So, if it's how you study, then it may be the better way to go. Some people swear by rote memorization, but it never worked for me.

Another tip is that you got to convince yourself that you love it. I hated studying for AUD and BEC and, although I passed, I didn't spank the exams like I wanted to. I knew I'd have to start loving this stuff if I were to pull off FAR. So a huge tip is to have a mindset that you love this stuff (or some other motivating factor). I think I would have bombed FAR if my mind wasn't in it.

AUD - 87
BEC - 76
FAR - 96
REG - 94

[Anonymous]

I focused heavily on j/e's, formulas and “classifications” (i.e. cash flow statement operating/investing/financing, trading/AFS/ HTM securities and whether the G/L go to IS or OCI, etc.) during my final review. Just knowing those 3 things can help you with both mcqs and sims. In fact, I was running short of time during sims, so I went through and filled in all the j/e's I could even though I didn't have time to do the calculations for all of them.

Another thought if you have the time/money is to order the Yaeger cram.

Good luck!

[makinthemagic]

Knowing JE's is important for FAR and AUD. I'm glad I did thousands of them at work before testing. Know em, live em, love em.

Bec 4/11/11 91
Aud 7/11/11 75
Reg 8/31/11 80
Far 5/24/11 86
Ethics - 98
California Licensed CPA
Illinois Registered CPA

[Author]

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