[Anonymous]

Going to try flash cards for the first time, but is it really even necessary to memorize all this stuff? How useful did you find it on the actual exam?

[J King]

Bumping this thread. I would like to know as well as I have been thinking of adding this to my study method.

[Anonymous]

I know people that used them and it helped them. I bought them but didn't use them. However, I never really had the time to look at the flashcards. If you find that you are in a lot of situations where you are away from your book and computer and have opportunities to use the flashcards, then go for it. I am usually at school/library or at home – both of these places I would be reading the book and doing MCQ/SIMS, not using flashcards. If you take the bus a lot – it might work.

[msquared17]

I have the Becker flash cards. They are ok. If I use them it's when I'm in the car (as a passenger), waiting for an appointment, or even at stop lights. With that said, I don't use them that often.

[Anonymous]

i have the ones I made myself, I do try to flip through them….But i find they are helpful in the process of making them (writing helps you remember). For some reason I cannot use electronic flashcards.

[aaronmo]

I found the Becker flash cards useless…and if anything, they made it worse because they discouraged more efficient studying that I would have accomplished doing it myself.

Their flash cards were just the text book broken up in smaller packets. Worthless.

As far as the exam and memorization…it's a short term memorization heavy exam in my experience. Mixed with conceptual problems. I'd say memorizing helps a lot, especially on MCQ….

On FAR, I got small, detailed, questions about the names of financial statements for alternate entities. Lots of IFRS memorization (this was 16′). Audit was more concept. REG had a fair bit of memorization around the tiniest details of deduction rules. The various alphabet authorities. BEC was straight memorization for large chunks.

[Wanttrepreneur]

What I did was create my own flashcards based on the multiple choice questions that I found hard or confusing. For example if the multiple choice question (regardless of program used) asked “where is the cat” and the answer is the hat; I would rewrite the question in my own format on flash cards like “what animal lives in the hat” and have the answer of cat on the reverse side. Although the example I used has nothing to do with the CPA exam and is much easier than what is asked on the actual exam, it is the strategy that I want you to understand. This strategy helped me avoid memorizing questions and prepared me for the trick questions or the different formatted questions that the CPA exam is notorious for. Hope this helped. Good luck.

[murd]

I bought them but never really used them. Found that just doing the MCQs was better for me…

[aaronmo]

Every single section I memorized every major financial ratio. I don't think I ever got a single ratio on an exam. Did anyone else?

[J King]

I just thought that I could do flashcards for something like during a 15min commute to work. I am thinking of incorporating studying while having lunch, waiting in line, and being on plane. Are flashcards a good idea for those? Never used flashcards back in college, and now I have been really considering it.

[Anonymous]

So far I'm finding the flash cards very helpful for testing myself since my preferred method of study is to just read notes instead of doing MCQs.

[Go.For.Broke]

@calvinus I found Becker flash cards very helpful for FAR and AUD (my first two exams), but I found myself using them less frequently for the other two parts. They're easy to carry around when you're waiting in line, etc. I found them particularly helpful for my memorization of the Governmental and NFP sections of FAR. There are many mnemonics and other terminology you have to know, and I think the flash cards really helped me in that particular area. It really depends on your study method, but I'd say flash cards are good, but not essential to your success.

[Hold Steady]

I have the Becker Flashcards mobile version, but it's just a rehashing of the outlines. Often too much information per card. It's good if you're on the go.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. Took REG today and thought the flash cards really helped with picking up the easy points fast (i.e. NOL vs capital loss carryovers). Or it could've just been the fact that this was my fourth time taking REG. 😛

But REG is probably the most memorization-friendly as far as raw numbers and rules to remember.

[Author]

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