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Thought to share this. I was really really anxious the two weeks before the exam because I didn’t know where I stand in terms of timing and grasp of the material. I ended up rescheduling my exam twice before sitting. Now to think of it, I probably over studied as of I got a 95. In my opinion, if you can do the following things below, you are likely to pass the exam as from my personal experience and as well as from taking friends advices/experiences.
In short:
You are likely to pass if you
– Have done at least one practice exam and score at least 80% average on all three testlet whether from Becker Final Exam or Wiley test bank within 2 hours. (on average people say if you score in the 75% range you are ok.)
– Score 75% on 50 questions progress test on Becker.
– You have done all the practice questions at least once and have been reviewing it regularly.
– You can know IFRS/GAAP differences well and you can recall right off your head at least 20 differences between IFRS and GAAP.
– You know how to calculate and record pension, lease, percentage revenue/complete/cost recovery, bond, equity, tax liability, cash/accural, EPS, fixed assets, inventory, depreciation, G/L, goodwill, redemption, warrants, compensation…right off your head.
-You know what is included in different sections of Cash Flow ( both in Governmental, regular and NFP)
-You know the valuation method of fixed asset, goodwill, intangibles, Financial instrument, land, building, equity, debts,
-You know the disclosure requirements of all the major topics.
-You know how difference transactions would affect R/E, Net Income, Comprehensive Income, Equity, liability.
-You know when to record Gain/Loss and Revenue/Expense under Accural/Cash, Governmental and NFP.
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TIMING
1)For conceptual questions- do it in 20-30 sec. You should know the answer as soon as you finish reading the problem. At least know what they are looking for.
2) For Calculation questions, know what to do without reading the question twice. For example, if they are asking for Pension Expense, you know you are going to use SIR CHARGE. Able to do it in 1-2 mins.
Simulation:
1) 5 mins for research. Memorize what 10, 35…. subsection are referring to.
2) 10-15 mins for those tons of information
MCQ tips:
I separate them into three area( Memorization, Calculation and Application). Each testing topic will have a combination of those three but some focus more than others.
1) Memorization problems are in my opinion, freebie points. if you can memorize them, you can get the question right(like what is included in Relevance, Disclosure/presentation requirements, IFRS/GAAP differences) Those are usually the concept one sentence questions. The focus here is RECALL. So do it within 20 secs.
2) Calculation are those you need to calculate like ( what is the taxable liability this year, what is the lease revenue). It is the most time consuming and usually try to scare you with its question length.) But, with practice, you can gain the upper hand.The focus here is SPEED.
a)Simple Calculation presents you with simple facts and ask you to just calculate(what is the pension expense, what is the taxable income…) if you know the formula well you are ok. Do it within 1 mins.
b)Complex Calculation presents you with long winded facts(business combination, bunch dates in bonds….) or testing concepts along with calculation like ( how much should be classified as tax liability/assets, what would this be under IFRS?..) basically, you have to know both the concept and know how to calculate to get the right answer. Do it within 2 mins.
3) Application questions are those like ( what is the impact on income statement? which will increase/decrease? what is right/wrong) those questions are my personal least favorite. THE FOCUS here is UNDERSTANDING/ KNOW THAY J/E. Do it within 1 mins.
STUDY PLAN:
Review memorization material every night by typing everything I know/remember on a blank sheet of paper.. trust me, it would not take more than a hour. It doesn’t have to be whole sentences. Just serves as a memory refresher. Practice Calculation every day for 2 hours. Do simulations problems every two days. Re write main J/E each day.
-When facing a challenging problem, write down it NOW, DO NOT think” oh, I will go back it later” because you won’t or will forgot you had the problem.
-When you started to memorize the correct answer.. try to Ignore the answers and see if you can get the answer without looking the answer.
-When you feel like you have done enough problems, do a 10 problem mini quiz. it helps with endurance when taking the real test.
-When you think you probably understand the topic enough, do a progress test. the changing of topic will help you determine your understanding of the topic when mixed with different topics.
When you revisit questions, try to focus on the ones you thought you were right but got wrong(especially the conceptual ones) before you do anything because those are the hardest to correct.
TAKING THE TEST:
Know when to give up : Generally I been told only flag problems you have confidence you can solve later and try not flag more than 7. Don’t even bother to flag simulation if you are tight on time.
Please share your experience as well.
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