[Lunchboxx]

Hello current and future CPAs!

I am 2 weeks out from taking FAR which will hopefully be the last exam I have to sit for. Having 3 successful CPA exam testing experiences under my belt I thought I would share my test-taking strategy with all of you! Additionally, I would like to get your input and suggestions on how I can further improve my test-taking strategy.

Preparation: I am a master of accountancy student so I always try to schedule classes relevant to the section of the CPA exam that I am about to take. Outside of school, I only use Becker to study for the CPA exam. I make sure that I watch all the lectures, take notes on every section, do all the HW problems at least 2-3 times, do all the simulations twice and take both practice exams. Currently I am 2 weeks out from the exam and just took the first practice exam(weighted average=77). I still have to redo all the HW problems/simulations, master journal entries and take the second practice exam before I feel comfortable to take the FAR exam. (Additionally, I use the calculator tool to get comfortable and work hard to get fast at answering questions)

Before the exam: Get a good night sleep. Wake up about 4 hours before the exam and eat breakfast. Study lightly until lunch. Eat lunch and drive to the testing center. Arrive 1 hour prior to exam time(in case of traffic or etc..) study in the car for 30 mins(the most important topics that I struggle on). Sign in to the Prometrics center about 30 minutes before the exam time(usually, they let me start my exam early).

Testlet 1: This is usually the easiest testlet by far. From what I heard the questions tend to be easier and less lengthy. So I want to allocate approximately 30 minutes to this testlet. I never use the flag tool, I either know how to solve the problem or I don’t, if I am completely clueless, I will take an educated guess, move on and forget about it(don’t a question that you will most-likely miss take up too much time). That being said, never spend more than 2 minutes on a problem unless its calculation heavy and you know you can solve it.

Breaks: I always take breaks between every section! They only takes about 3 minutes plus they clear up your mind to help you regain your focus after each testlet. Not having a clear mind will make you lose focus more often and increase your chances of getting a problem wrong due to an oversight. Trust me, taking a break to clear up your mind will save you time in the long-run and it will increase your focus.

Testlet 2 and 3: These will most-likely be the difficult testlets with very lengthy problems. I will allocate approximately 45 minutes for each of these two testlets since they naturally take much longer to complete. The same rules apply as testlet 1, don’t over-allocate too much time to one problem or let a question discourage you(it could always be a pretest question).

Testlet 4: Now comes the part everyone fears, simulations! My strategy for simulations is to answer the shortest simulations first(to maximize points per minute in case time becomes an issue) since all simulations tend to be weighted the same. I usually start with the research simulations which should not take more than 5 minutes to solve. Then I do the other 6 simulations(shortest to longest) without the authoritative literature. Finally, with all the remaining time that I have left, I use the authoritative literature to double check all of my simulations(starting with the simulation that I am the most unsure about).

There you go everyone, that is my strategy to taking the FAR section of the CPA exam. Let me know if you have any questions for me or any suggestions that can help me improve my strategy!

AUD - 93
REG - 96
BEC - 92
FAR - 90

Done!

[jstay]

Hey, same boat as you, except this is my first attempt at any exam. also using becker. here are my scores from first test..could you take a look and tell me what you think.

i got a 67% on first two test lets (20 correct) and a 70% on third (21 correct)–which is 61 out of 90 correct for a 67%

sims- 3 of them were above 70%, one was above 50%, 2 were above 30%, 1 was 0 (WTF =/) and research was 100%.

im scoring “alright” on my 2nd/3rd go round.

thanks in advance

[CPA50]

Thank you LunchBoxx! I was just sitting here thinking about my testing strategy for Tuesday. That was very helpful and timely 🙂 Fingers crossed for us all!!

AUD - 80
BEC - 77
FAR - 80
REG - 80

3 years

+ 16 tests

+ 2 expired sections

= DONE FOREVER!

AUD 88 (expired), 80 retake
FAR 64,69,67,73,67,73,73,73, August 3
REG 75 (expired) September 7
BEC 72, 77

The adventure continues...

[M.O.D.]

I agree with everything except the breaks.

After preparing for the 4 hour marathons of the CMA, I practiced avoiding breaks.

I take a mental break about every 10 minutes or so where I take a deep breath and wonder to myself how much longer is this going to go on?

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[jstay]

also, what do you use for journal entries…the becker books?

[Lunchboxx]

@jstay Typically CPA candidates score 10-15 points higher on their official CPA exam than on their Becker final. Based on the fact that you scored a 67%(disregarding the simulations) you should have expected to score between a 77 and a 82 if you took the official CPA exam at the time of your Becker final.

As for the journal entries. I would use the ones provided for in the Becker material. I noticed that some of the journal entries on the CPA exam are worded slightly different then the ones I learned in intermediate financial accounting. Becker uses the exact journal entries tested on the CPA exam, so I would recommend using those.

AUD - 93
REG - 96
BEC - 92
FAR - 90

Done!

[jstay]

alright thanks, i wanna step it up though! im so worried about the whole thing!!!

and those scores were with only going through half of NFP…

im probably going to take my second one this weekend or so

currently writing down journal entries lol

[Lunchboxx]

@M.O.D. If you are perfectly comfortable with not taking breaks during the CPA exam, by all means, go for it! But from my experience, the little time that it takes to take a break(2-3mins) is insignificant compared to the benefits of clearing up your mind. The main benefit to taking a break is to regain focus. By having focus, not only can you solve problems more efficiently, but you are you aware and are more likely to see things that you might have missed otherwise.

That is just my 2 cents on the matter. Personally, I would never not take my break since my mind needs frequent rests to perform optimally. Some people can perform do not need breaks since they can maintain their focus for hours at a time. There is no right answer.

AUD - 93
REG - 96
BEC - 92
FAR - 90

Done!

[Lunchboxx]

@jstay I recommend you take your second final Becker exam 2 or 3 days away from the actual exam. That way you can have a much better idea of how you will actually do on the actual exam.

For example, I took my first exam 2 weeks before my actual exam. I got a 77% weighted average(MC plus simulations) meaning that if I took the exam right at that point, I would most-likely score between a 87 and a 92. It gave me a general idea of where I stand and how much more I need to prepare. But I want to improve as much as possible for the second part so I can really gauge how I will do on the actual exam. So I will wait till 2 days before the exam so I can have the most accurate result possible.

One last point, I would not recommend taking a final exam more than once. After you have been exposed to the questions more than once, you remember the answers and the Becker final exam no longer reliably determines how you will fair on the actual exam.

AUD - 93
REG - 96
BEC - 92
FAR - 90

Done!

[Guti]

Lunchboxx, I would like thank you for the great tips. You mentioned about doing the research option to double check your simulations. You have any tips on finding the research portion of the simulation in less than 5 minutes>? I never get that the research simulation part correct. Which steps do you follow? According to RogerCPA, we should go to advance search and then search within and putting as many keywords as we can. But that did not work for me the last time I took FAR.

FAR-84
AUD-
REG-
BEC-

[Lunchboxx]

@Gian I usually do a general search for the keyword asked in the research question. For example, if they ask how to recognize a deferred tax asset, I search “deferred tax asset”. Once the search results pop up, I make sure I pick the option that has the best 3 digit category, which for this example would be “740 Income Tax”. Then since the question asked for recognition I would look under the “25” recognition category. And finally I find the paragraph that best answers the question asked.

AUD - 93
REG - 96
BEC - 92
FAR - 90

Done!

[Guti]

Thank you sir! You also mentioned that all simulations tend to be weighted the same. I always thought that the research simulation was worth less than the other 6 according to many posters here.

FAR-84
AUD-
REG-
BEC-

[Lunchboxx]

@Gian Honestly, I'm not too sure how the simulation are weighted. I always thought that all 6 non-pretest simulations all had the same weight even though some simulations have significantly less parts to fill in. I could always be wrong.

AUD - 93
REG - 96
BEC - 92
FAR - 90

Done!

[Guti]

I think you might be right as I have not seen anywhere else but here that the research part is worth less points. Thanks again!

FAR-84
AUD-
REG-
BEC-

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,

I've been reading through these posts and they have been helpful. My personal opinion on the breaks is only to take one, after the m/c before the sim section. I find the breaks take more than 2-3 minutes by the time you go sign out, sign back in and get fingerprinted, ends up taking about 10 mins to have any sort of break time.

I use a similar strategy to lunchbox for the sims, but even apply that to the m/c questions as well. I will often only answer the quick non calculation question first round through and leave any that may take any extra time. Then I go back and answer any unanswered questions after.

One question for you guys: we are given a short amount of time before you actually have to start the first testlet when you get to the computer. Can you use this time to write formulas and such down on your noteboards? I have yet to use this strategy, but it does allow a few extra minutes before exam time to remember things, so you don't have to as much in the heat of the exams.

Cheers,

AUD 73, 74, 83

BEC 78

FAR 71

REG

[Excel14]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question….I keep seeing people say that the AL helps them with calculation type SIMs, and I would like to know how. It seems to me from my experience, that the AL helps for any research type SIMs, but I've never actually seen any calculations. Now I'm not saying I plan to use this strategy to solve the SIMs, but it would be nice to know how to go about checking some answers (if I have the time).

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Author]

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