[jeff]

Welcome to the Q2 2016 CPA Exam Study Group for REG.

Some BLITZ videos to help your exams: https://www.another71.com/ninja-blitz

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[Claudia408]

allaboard – i think Roger is great for Reg and i think SIMs for corporate, individual and Partnerships are the key to passing. at the same time I think the review courses are lagging on the topics that are tested.

BEC - 75 (3x)
AUD - 78 (3x)
REG - 67, 66, Aug 1
FAR - 54, Sept 8

[Anonymous]

yeah, my plan as of this minute is to finish re-writing my notes tonight and tomorrow. Then I have Friday off work, so I'm going to focus on tax – especially individual because the phase-outs in individual kill me every single time. And then I'll have Sunday to cry. I hoping doing that will improve my trending score enough that i'll at least feel like I should be confident going in Monday.

[Claudia408]

allaboard – do you think Roger questions are easier than Ninja? I feel like Ninja has so many little random questions that won't be tested.

BEC - 75 (3x)
AUD - 78 (3x)
REG - 67, 66, Aug 1
FAR - 54, Sept 8

[Anonymous]

Yes, and I can’t figure out why because I've used both and I see some of the same questions. I don't know if Roger supplements his with his own questions or how it all works. Ninja definitely has more random where did that come from specific facts questions – I guess I like that because it's typically stuff that neither review went over and if it pops up on the actual exam maybe I'll have a shot at getting it right simply because I saw it before. With that said, I tried some of the SIMs for AUD and I think Roger’s are more realistic.

I think they actually mentioned they will be updating this, but Roger sucks at giving you random questions. I’ve tried to do sets of 30 in there and it gave me clumps all from the same section and only covered 1 or 2 sections when I had selected all the sections. Obviously this isn’t as much of an issue if I’m going section by section anyways, but yesterday when Ninja was down I tried to use Roger and I think I got all commercial paper and a few warranty questions. This is not going to get me ready for my test, Rog!

The one thing I will say for the Roger IPQ is the setup /functionality is a good practice for the actual exam. If I have time I'm going to run through a practice exam so I can get use to not getting immediate feedback after each question & flagging/reviewing questions before I click finish. I feel like Ninja accustoms you to knowing right away if you got a question right or wrong and it lets you assess how you feel you are doing as you are going along – when I didn’t get that during the AUD exam it really threw me. Plus, even when I got Ninja questions wrong it immediately explains why and I can apply that to later questions – you don’t get that on the real exam. Ninja also trains you to pick an answer and not go back to it to review your answer – I had PLENTY of time to review during AUD but I didn’t and I think part of that was because I hadn’t trained myself with the option to go back and re-analyze the question; I was use to picking an answer and moving on. But maybe both of these issues would be solved if I actually made it to the review portion :X

How are you feeling for Monday?

[Martin]

Do any of you have information regarding owner's share or capital invested that's exposed to risk? What comes to mind when you think of Reg and the words At risk?

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[Claudia408]

I like Roger's questions bc it focuses on a topic, like if I just want Corporate that's what I'll get. I think the order of the questions does try to hammer a concept too. But with Ninja it's clumped with S, Partnership and Estates… so I can't really focus on Corporate, and I think it's based on what it thinks you know and don't know instead of just trying to hammer a concept into you like Roger. Plus I feel like some of the Ninja Qs are super old? I heard Becker tells you when the questions were tested. So if there is a random question from the exam in 2002, and I get it wrong, I'm not gonna be too worried about it. But I actually like Ninja SIMs better… although I highly doubt any of these SIMs will look anything like the real ones… same concepts of course but different formats. Like will they really give me a small section of an 1140 to complete? That's so tired and old right?

As for Monday, I'm feeling pretty good since this is retake. I think a few lightbulbs went off for me this time so hopefully that will translate into a pass. Just hope I don't get screwed on the SIMs.

BEC - 75 (3x)
AUD - 78 (3x)
REG - 67, 66, Aug 1
FAR - 54, Sept 8

[jbarbarito]

I just took REG for the second time, and found the MC to be relativily easy (no real difficulty in testlets) and the simulations to be much easier this time as well. Has anyone had this experience and pass?

BEC- 75
AUD- 84
REG- 81
FAR-

[Anonymous]

@ Claudio408 – you can customize the MCQs in Ninja > custom & sims > select categories. However, Ninja does not let you select a category of simulations.

[Anonymous]

I'm studying c-corps today and tomorrow. Can anyone please provide any useful videos on how to calculate AMT? thanks

[csvirk]

om Lewis, a single taxpayer, received a $1,500 state tax refund in 2015 for the prior-year (2014) overpayments. In 2014, Tom was not subject to the alternative minimum tax and was not entitled to any credit against income tax. Tom's 2014 taxable income was $40,000. Tom's total itemized deductions for 2014 amounted to $6,400, which included $3,000 for state income tax withholding. Tom's standard deduction amount for 2014 was $6,200. How much should Tom include in gross income for 2015 as a result of the state tax refund?

A.
$0

B.
$200

C.
$300

Incorrect D.
$1,500
COrrect answer is B. But what is concept behind this question? Thank you

FAR: 71, 77!
AUD: 69, 80
BEC: 72
REG: 84

[Anonymous]

@csvirk – the taxable amount is the lessor of

1. refund received ($1,500), or
2. benefit received by using itemized instead of standard deduction on previous return ($200 = $6,400 – $6,200)

I'm sure the actual rules say that second option much more gracefully/effectively, but that's what I took away from it.

[Anonymous]

Here's a helpful youtube channel that contains numerous accounting lectures on reg topics:

The C corporation property are very good – much easier than reading a textbook!

[Just3Letters]

MACRS question:

If you are deciding whether to use Half-Year or Mid-Quarter for personal property you have to use the 40% last quarter rule.

Is only other personal property purchased during the year relevant for the 40% or is realty also included?

Example:

A computer was purchased on March 30 for $10,000. A building for office use was purchased for $400,000 on November 30. Obviously the 400k meets the 40% requirement, but are buildings relevant here or is it just other personal property?

Thanks!

FAR- 81
REG- 81
BEC- Aug 22, 2016
AUD- TBD

[Anonymous]

I would think you would just look at other personal property. The real property has to follow mid-month so it wouldn't be affected by the rule. One of the audio courses I listened to said the purpose of the 40% test was so companies couldn't buy a bunch of equipment at the end of the year to offset their taxable income. So it would make sense that you would only look at personal property.

[Just3Letters]

That's what I thought. It was more of a sanity check than anything I think

Thanks for the help!

FAR- 81
REG- 81
BEC- Aug 22, 2016
AUD- TBD

[Author]

Replies