I finally sat down and got started reviewing for BEC this weekend. So far, chapter 1 hits on a lot of topics that are familiar from studying for REG, like partnership formation and authority.

Flipping through and seeing what the other chapters cover, it looks like quite a mish-mash of topics. I’ve studied a lot of this material in college, but it looks like it covers several classes worth of topics.

1. Business structures. We touched on these in several of my undergraduate business classes. In my graduate Tax class, we also learned about this in more detail, since we had to learn how different structures are taxed differently.

2. Economic concepts. Now we’re back to macro- and micro-economics. I took those classes several years ago, but hopefully I’ll remember the basics. We’ve also touched on some of these concepts in finance classes.

3. Financial management. Looks like this will be similar to basic finance class subjects.

4. Information technology. I’ve heard from several students who took BEC that they were surprised by how much of the exam seemed to test knowledge that we learned in our Accounting Information Systems class. It looks like this section is around 25% of the exam, so I can see why it’s a big deal. I foresee this being the hardest section for me to deal with.

5. Planning and measurement. Looks like this will take us back to good old cost accounting. Luckily, I actually quite like cost accounting, but I know that many of my fellow students hated that class. In either case, the impression I get is that people find this material boring, but not particularly challenging.
A couple people get annoying by this class because cost accounting doesn’t have as many clear-cut rules as financial accounting does. Of course, remember the 7 deadly myths of accounting-myth number 1: “learning accounting is like learning the rules of a game.”

I’m currently taking an Advanced Accounting course at my university, which covers consolidation accounting, governmental accounting, and accounting for foreign currency exchanges.

All of these were topics on the FAR section of the CPA exam, and now that I’m learning them in depth, and seeing how confusing they are, I am ever more grateful to Roger CPA Review course for teaching me everything I needed to do so well on FAR.

I mean, I did a consolidation worksheet on my exam. And had lots of governmental accounting questions. But now that I’m learning them properly, in a focused, semester-long class, they’re so confusing!

I mean, it’s good to really learn these accounting methods in depth so I can remember them if I need them in the future, but I am really impressed at how Roger took these complex topics and gave me a simpler, condensed version that allowed me to get a 93 on FAR.

Luckily, I passed FAR several months ago. However, for those of you getting ready to take FAR, the Roger CPA Review course blog has a free cpa review video of how to account for investments.

If you want to get a taste for what Roger CPA Review videos are like, or just get a quick review (it’s only a five-minute clip) of how to account for investments, you can see the video here.

Yay! 3 down! I hope I passed Audit on Saturday, but it was more difficult than I expected. On my first two sections of the CPA exam (FAR and REG) I didn’t really think that the testlets got harder as I progressed through the exam, which they’re supposed to if you do well on the prior testlet.

So, when I sat for AUD on Saturday, I kept track of how many questions I was unsure of. In my first testlet, I felt pretty shaky on 8 of the 30 questions. On the second testlet, I was unsure of 13 of the 30 questions. So there was a difference, and I noticed that the questions seemed to ask for more obscure details in the second section.

In the third testlet, I was unsure of about 11 of the 30 questions. I’m not sure how to rank that for difficulty. We seemed to go back to topics that I knew more about there, and that I think probably come up more in the daily tasks of your average auditor.

My methods of marking questions as unsure is hardly scientifically rigorous, and my samples of questions weren’t really big enough, but it was an interesting experience.

Another little statistic I compiled was my performance on the Wiley multiple choice questions that come as part of the Roger CPA Review package. When I get my AUD score, I can see how these raw statistics compare to my score on the actual CPA exam.

Note: The first time through, I did each problem set right after finishing the study unit on them. The second time, I did all of the problem sets in the span of one week right before I sat for AUD. As you can see, my scores improved quite a lot the second time, demonstrating how doing the practice questions themselves can help you learn.

I’ve been neglecting my Roger CPA Review materials over the last few weeks, but I’ll be taking AUD in less than 2 weeks, so it’s back to multiple choice questions!

It’s the time in the semester where the first big tests are happening, and the first big cases are due, so there is plenty to distract me. Roger’s review materials come with software that simulates taking the exam though, so I’ll be sitting down with that over the next two weeks to complete my preparations.

In other news, apparently auditors have been noticing an increase in fraud recently. This article from WebCPA has some troubling statistics about the increase in fraud over the last year.

The scary part is when you stop to wonder how much fraud they’re not even finding. For every fraudster that is caught, how many are out there still getting away with it?

I finally got the notice of my REG score! I passed! I guess that just goes to show that it’s true what they say about how you can feel like you’ve failed when you did just fine.

On the other hand, the online score checking option definitely didn’t work for me. I don’t know why, or if I should contact anyone, or if it’ll work for the next two sections because I scheduled those with a different NTS. Mysterious.

Anyway, good luck for anyone studying for the CPA exam now, or waiting for your scores! If you put in the study hours, and study the right material (which Roger is great at pulling out for you) you’ll do great!

Also, a photo of my dog in a RogerCPA shirt: (it’s a little small for me, and it’s a good color on her no?)

I always make the mistake of thinking that holidays will be a good time to study! They just feel too darn much like… well, holidays! The time ends up getting spent on other worthwhile things, like spending time with family, sleeping, and reading.

I’ve managed to get at least a little bit of studying done each day since we finished grading though. The easiest thing is to tell myself to do at least 15 minutes – to at least settle down and get the books out. Once there, it’s a bit easier to keep going.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves! I had a lovely gift waiting for me when I got to my parents’ house – Roger CPA Review t-shirts and flashcards, care of Jr. Deputy Accountant. Thank you Adrienne! My mother says the t-shirts are a “lovely color.” (I agree.)

I (very luckily) have a position as a graduate assistant this semester, which means I get to help one of the accounting professors grade things and whatever else they need done.

So, the last final we have to grade was yesterday morning, and since then we’ve been in final-exam-grading-frenzy mode. I can only help with a limited amount, because grading problems can be pretty subjective sometimes. I have tried to help out as much as possible though, as the other grader has so much work to do!

Grading problems is actually kind of fun though. It can be hard to decipher what students are trying to say sometimes, but that makes life more interesting. And the problems I’m grading relate to some of the stuff on the AUD exam so I even get to review a little, although this test is much more in-depth on some points than the CPA exam is. We should be done sometime tomorrow, if all goes well.

Hope everyone else is doing well, and hopefully you’re all through finals (if you have them) and are looking forward to the holidays!

On Monday, I have my only final exam for the semester – TAX. (My other classes had time-intensive projects which are all done!)

So, I’m working on studying that. It’s hard to sit down and focus on tax. I’d much rather be watching Roger’s CPA Review videos and learning about Audit.

Roger’s blog had a nice little summary of some changes that’ll be coming to the CPA exam over the next few years. It’s interesting to see how they’re changing the simulations. I wonder if it’ll make it easier. I wonder if it’ll make it a better test?

A few years ago, you had to take the CPA exam all at once. From what I’ve heard, you had a two day window and took two parts each day. That wouldn’t work very well for my study style, so it seems easier the way they present it now. But I’m sure there are other students who don’t like to drag out the studying the way I do! So, I wonder if they have shifted the difficulty from endurance to more difficult questions since then?

So, I’m working on my notecards for Chapter 3 of Roger’s CPA Review course. I’m about halfway through the initial review!

Studying slowed down a bit this weekend, as finals are approaching more rapidly than my Audit exam!

Last night I was busily working on a group project on my laptop, when I turned around to see my dog surrounded by bits of paper. My note ! And a little corner of my Roger study book. Luckily, I write in waterproof (and slobber-proof) ink, so the damage was limited.