[jeff]

Hey! The NINJAs are giving away 3 pair of Powerbeats 2 Wireless earbuds – your choice of color.

In the video, I said that they were $200-$300, but they’re actually $150-ish (the mall walker distracted me, I think and I was thinking of the over-the-ear headphones). SO … I’ll give away 3 pair instead of 1.

To Enter: Post your best advice or “tip” for anything CPA Exam or accounting related…it can be CPA Exam, Busy Season, Resume, Big 4, Interview, Getting Hired/Fired, etc. Please label your tip.

Example:

[CPA Exam Tip]: Always take the 1pm exam – never the 8am. You’ll have more time to study and there’s no risk of oversleeping

or

[Big 4 Tip]: During networking events – don’t be the dude throwing back the beers. Nurse it. You can pound beers later when it won’t matter if you make a fool out of yourself.

etc.

**Please do NOT post something like “buy company ____ and you’ll pass” … that’s spam, not a tip***

(Unless it’s NINJA – then NINJA spam is always welcome, encouraged, and appreciated.)

Who Wins? On Friday (1/29 – deadline to enter is 12pm Eastern), I will randomly pick three posters from this thread. I’ll use the RANDBETWEEN function in excel to pick the post(s).

No purchase required to enter…void where prohibited…must be 18 to win, etc.

I will also toss in a NINJA Audio of the winners’ choice – since it goes so well with the earbuds 🙂

One entry per person, please 🙂

[lando]

[CPA Exam Tip] Since I haven't taken the exam yet or know what to expect, I'll give the advice that was given to me from friend that just passed the exam. Don't take a break after master's graduation to begin studying for the exam. It is easier to keep moving once you are in motion, than it is to stop and then try to start up again.

[shanglin]

It is very important to stay motivated while studying for the CPA exam. I have a notebook of all the inspirational quotes I like, and I read them whenever I feel like giving up. I also have a song list of positive songs to listen to (Rocky Balboa, anyone?). Visualize success as you think of how proud your employer, family, lover (if not divorced by then) will be when you get licensed.

I just offered three tips, Jeff. Shouldn't they count as three entries? =P

[ratman22]

[CPA Exam Study Tip] Remember…an important aspect of studying is sticking to a schedule. If you have 10 sections to study for (FAR) and 8 weeks to do it…simply plan out each day of the 8 weeks factoring in 1 day off per week…and time to do the MCQ's. Refer to your schedule everyday and adjust as necessary. Do not wait until the last week to figure out that you still have 3 chapters to read and questions to answer. Be a professional! This is your life's work! It needs to be important!

[CPADrummer]

[CPA Exam Study Tip] When initially creating your study notes, do so on a word processor or even a Google Doc. When you add to them the answers you get wrong on practice MCQs, you can easily search through your notes to see if you've written a previous note already so you can add to it before creating a new one, and thus not create duplicate notes. You can also asterisk important concepts or facts you can't seem to remember, and then do a quick search/find in your notes for the asterisk during your review.

[FabCPA]

Busy season tip: ask as many questions as possible when you don't understand something and let your supervisor know if you get stuck. Also, take notes when somenone is explaining something that's kinda difficult because most likely you'll see it again.

[ReddieCPA]

[CPA Exam Study Tip] Remember that how you react to failing determines how you will succeed. Do not let yourself be discouraged if you have failed a section or four. Part of keeping a healthy mind is staying positive and not dwelling on your failures so learn from the mistakes and keep on fighting- you eventually will succeed.

BEC: 77 (5/15)
FAR: 60
REG: 57
AUD: 64

[gdbenedict]

[CPA Exam Study Tip] If you take the morning exam, eat a good breakfast or your stomach growling through the whole test will be distracting to you and others in the room.

[Stfdezio]

Quality > Quantity
Yes, it is important to put the hours of studying and effort in, however, you need to make sure all of those hours are spent effectively studying. This begins with finding the study methods that work for you. Just because you've heard people had success only watching videos and practicing questions, doesn't mean that is the prescribed method for you. Look around at the different courses and find one that you enjoy the most (not that anyone truly enjoys studying all of this 🙂 ). I have found that putting in a quality 4 hour hours of solid studying, no facebook or texting, then going out to dinner or a movie is OK! Everyone needs to take breaks and live a little. Life happens, as we can all agree on. That's not a bad thing as long as you dedicate yourself to the quality time.

Happy studying 🙂

[cmckenzie]

[Study Tip] Don't stop! Keep going — and know what works for you! I was spending a lot of time on videos and re-re-re-reading material to no avail… even though I have known I'm an auditory learner for many years. So, I'm stopping how everyone else tells me they studied for the exam, and spending my time wisely! I even find a lot of the material I'm studying now for REG comes up in regular conversation this time of year… so simply by talking to people I'm able to revisit concepts.

Thanks for the giveaway!

[atx15]

[Career Tip]: Never be afraid to ask questions. It's better to ask a question that you think is stupid and have it answered then to do stupid things and make stupid mistakes and have your peers and superiors think less of you and your abilities.

AUD - 72, 83
BEC - 71
REG - 74, 77
FAR - Aug 2016

[mvojy]

Take Jeff's audio everywhere. I take Jeff with me on the bus, walking, showering, exercising and even when I'm at work. The more I listen to them, the more the info sinks in. Everyone has a different style of learning so you have to do what works best for you.

Just remember: We are all intelligent accountants and the CPA exam is just affirmation of our talent.

[Anonymous]

This tip may not work for all because people have different learning styles. But my best advice is that when you do the MCQ if you get it wrong or if you guessed and got it right but don't really know the material – write down the theory behind the correct answer. The process of taking the info and writing in your own words helps you to retain the material better. And if you are like me it can help you from repeating the same thought process errors that made you select a wrong answer in the first place.

[ecg19]

[CPA exam tip] On the day of your exam, if you are ready, turn up to the parametric center early. They will more often than not let you in early and then you can get started straight away.

Military spouse living in Germany

REG 1/13/2016 - 82
AUD 1/15/2016 - 82
FAR 5/24/2016 - 80
BEC 5/27/2016 - 85

CA PETH 6/19/2016- 86 BOO
CA PETH 6/21/2016- 90 AND NOW I AM DONE!

[Anonymous]

[CPA Exam Tip]: Re-write your notes over and over. Just when you think you know them rewrite them again!

[katrice61]

I had to find what worked for me. Some people can do these massive study sessions and retain the information, but for me I found that frequent short sessions work the best. I study for about 50 minutes and then take a 10 minute break.
Be persistant and consistent!

[Author]

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