[kyle.brown]

Guys i really need some advice on how to handle my retake for FAR. I took the exam at the end of April so it has been a few months but i have Wiley CPAExcel and Ninja Book/Notes/Audio/MCQ. Any advice is appreciated since i am starting to stress out.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[UM1868]

I am in the same boat with the same materials. I believe I am going to do FAR book, Copy Ninja Notes for that Section after I read, until I finish the entire book. Then hit MCQ/Ninja Notes.

For Reg, I did CPA excel slides (pretty much the lecture) and then did Cpa Excel MCQ after each part. I didn't retain a whole lot, but I did retain some, then killed the wiley testbank and ninja MCQ.

I've all but given up on CPA Excel outside of the testbank because the text is so detailed and you simply can't retain it all.

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[kyle.brown]

Thats a great idea i will try that reading the Ninja Book and then the Ninja Notes section for that going through the entire book. Thanks @UM1868

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[Anonymous]

Postpone until September?

Don't take this the wrong way because I don't want to come off as insulting (it's 100% not my intention I'm just trying to help): A score of 60 shows that you have signifcant gaps in your understanding of FAR. There are entire sections of material that you don't grasp yet. As such you need to treat this as a brand new subject and go over the fundamentals again from the beginning. While you don't want to spend too long learning and reviewing the material 6 week is a very tight timeline.

I don't know if you're studying fulltime or not but I'd want at least 8 weeks for FAR and 10 is better. Again you don't want to take too long with FAR because with the amount of content you'll start to forget stuff but at the same time you need to give yourself the time needed to really learn the material.

[Anonymous]

I raised my score from a 73 to a 93 in 7 weeks but honestly I'm not sure if I did any reading except MAYBE Ninja Notes (struggling to remember now) – the main thing I forced myself to *learn* (not memorize) with FAR was journal entries. I started from scratch (with Becker) and worked all of their homework MCQs & SIMs then did the same for Ninja after finishing Becker but focused on writing and learning the flow of the journal entries with EVERY applicable problem. I would not have passed without *learning* the journal entries. Also, I don't feel that working the SIMs are a must but I did enjoy using them as a review and to pick out my weak areas. The SIMs on the exam are a complete luck draw – the SIMs on my first exam were hellacious and if I would have got the same SIMs on my second exam I would have been fortunate to pass, my second exam SIMs were seriously elementary level. Study hard, learn the topics and give it your best.

[kyle.brown]

@Angelwatch September is a non-testing month. And also that score on FAR was because i took about 4 months to study for it. It is my own fault and i realized that i needed to step up my studying which i did for AUD i took on Sunday. I have already paid for the exam also so at this point there is really no turning back.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[UM1868]

@AngelWatch 8 to 10 weeks of studying? How much are you studying daily? I should have mentioned that my study habits are a little different. I am more of a crammer, with high emphasis on the MCQ.

At least 3-4 hours a day for 6 weeks with 6 hours on weekends each day. Well over 120 hours of study time, which for me, is a lot.

I spent 40-50 on Audit and BEC each and around 80-100 on REG (which REG was my hardest test by far)

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[kyle.brown]

Thanks @UM1868 this is good news and gives me great hope that if i buckle down and really study then i can for sure tackle this.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[UM1868]

@Kyle.Brown

People study differently and retain information differently. By looking through the ninja book, it explains something, then has a problem right after. That is what works best for me, better than a bunch of text like my CPA excel stuff.

Quite frankly, with 6 weeks, you don't have enough time to read the Wiley Books. Either use Ninja Book, or do MCQ and understand why something is right and why the other three are wrong (Ninja MCQ does a great job of this).

Right now with my 6 weeks (roughly 40 days of study time), I will do 2 weeks on the book hopefully and another 4 on MCQ and reviewing.

Fortunately, I have PTO this week and can devote a lot of time (40 hours or more of study time) which will give me a head start on the book.

If you get within 7 days of the exam and you aren't trending in the 75's+ on Ninja MCQ, I would reschedule for October, which is my plan if I am not ready.

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[Anonymous]

Kyle: I meant October when I made my initial post. I was thinking August was the non-test month and September was the start of the 3rd quarter. Just got confused. I blame NASBA and the AICPA for making the windows so dumb. If you've already paid for the exam you still need to go back and relearn the fundamentals. You say that the reason you got a 60 was because you spent too long studying. I can understand that because FAR is the one exam that the longer you wait to take, the more you're going to forget. But the score is low enough that it tells me you have signifcant gaps in your understanding of Accounting. You need to identify those gaps and fill them in. Again, I'm not questioning your intelligence because it doesn't matter how intelligent you are if you don't have the foundation to work off of. I also don't know your situation. I do know that if it was me and I was working full time, 6 or 7 weeks, probably, wouldn't be enough to start over and get to a point that I felt comfortable with the exam. But, again, everyone is different.

UM1868: I used Becker with a little bit of NINJA for FAR and at the time I wasn't working. I started on July 7 and took the exam on August 30. That was about 8 weeks. Because I wasn't working I spent 6+ hours a day, every day, studying. We'll round down and say that was about 300 hours. This included Becker Lectures, MCQ and Sims. Plus I went back over my old accounting notes on some topics I had a hard time grasping (Non-Monetary Exchanges and Dollar Value LIFO). But mostly it was non-stop MCQ.

For the rest of the exams I was working while studying. I'd spend about 2 or 3 hours on weeknights studying and 6+ hours each day on the weekends. You can see my timeline in my signature. That worked very well for me. My goal was to study until I felt confident about the material and then go into the exam feeling prepared. I made it a point to take one exam per window and pass that exam (which I did). I didn't try to rush or push myself to taking two exams per window. That wouldn't have worked for me.

FAR is just different than the other three. FAR has a ton of material that CAN be on the exam and you need to know it all in case you get questions relating to those concepts. But the thing is that they rarely go into too great of detail for those concepts. Yes you need to watch your dates and look out for other little exam “tricks” but it's rare for the question to be overly complicated or complex so long as you understand the concept it's testing on. The phrase I use to describe FAR s a mile wide but only an inch deep. The other three go into much more detail. Especially REG. REG is all about the little details…

I'm not someone who crams. That doesn't work for me but everyone is different. I took the slow and steady approach and it worked for me.

[kyle.brown]

@UM1868 Can i still reschedule if my NTS expires in September and i have already paid for my exam?

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[UM1868]

@Kyle.Brown

No, you cannot. You would forfeit it.

So study as much as you can and give it the honest try. Focus on important things, you don't have enough time to read everything.

My advice would be Ninja Book, MCQ, and Notes. Audio if you have long commutes like me.

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[kyle.brown]

Ya at this point i dont have a choice so i will take your advice. Wish we could send PM's to each other its good to know someone else is in the same boat as me.

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[UM1868]

Yes I am, but note I have always been good at taking tests. I am the type of person who can look at three answers and tell you the fourth is the correct one without even knowing the stuff.

It sounds like Angelwatch and I are completely opposite when its comes to studying. Only you know how you retain information. You have to take the test regardless or it expires, so kill MCQ as much as you can.

If you have an idea of your weaker areas, focus on those in the book and MCQ.

Know your Journal Entries.

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[kyle.brown]

I am going to try your approach and just hammer out 3-4 hours a day during the week and 6-8 on weekends trying to get through the book in 2 or 3 weeks tops then hammer out MCQ. Do you know a good place to go and get the Journal Entries?

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[kyle.brown]

Any other words of wisdom for me out there?

FAR - Passed 4/2016
AUD - Passed 11/2015
REG - ?
BEC - 05/28/2016

[Author]

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