Having major troubles studying for FAR some advice needed

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  • #187067
    islandguy2000
    Participant

    Hey guys, love the forum, much helpful information on here. I registered to sit for FAR this summer. I am going through the chapters and having GREAT difficulty with a lot of the homework. I think the main issue for me is, I have been out of college for 10 years and have been working for a midsize firm doing 1040 and trust and estate work. My journal entry skills and general accounting skills are very rusty. Would it be wise to take a refresher course or get my old accounting books from college and review those or is that a waste of time? Any general study tips (using Becker). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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  • #581593

    I think people exagerate the amount of journal entries on FAR. On my exam journal entries represented 25% of the sims, so maybe 10% of the total points on the test. I would not take a whole class to learn journal entries, but would instead work journal entries related to the multiple choice questions and the sims in your review course. The trick to learning the material in FAR is not to be in a hurry. Move through the material slowly and do not move on until you grasp the material deeply. Do all multiple choice questions for each section before moving on and REVIEW PRIOR CHAPTERS OFTEN SO THAT YOU HOLD ON TO THAT HARD EARNED KNOWLEDGE.

    Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

    #581594
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    My question to you islandguy, is if you have a review course? I dont know how far away your exam is, but perhaps it would be to your benefit to have someone “spoonfeed” you the information you need to pass. Hell, that's exactly what I did when I was out of college for less than a year.

    That aside, my suggestion to you is to remember the basic accounting equation. A = L + SE, and where each account/contra account falls under. This personally helped me a ton when practicing JEs. Best of Luck!

    #581595
    thechapman
    Member

    Although it might seem somewhat basic, I have found this website to be very handy for just looking up a quick, general journal entry (as long as it's nothing like pension expense, etc) when needed.

    https://www.principlesofaccounting.com/illustrative%20entries/entrieslist.htm

    Passed - 2014

    #581596
    Mamabear
    Member

    ^^that website was extremely helpful. There is also a website for governmental accounting. https://sites.google.com/site/farnotes/gas-34/journal-entries–fund-based-vs-government-wide

    I wouldn't take a class just to go back over this stuff. If you have a review book, you can teach it to yourself or you can order review lectures and it be basically the same thing as sitting in the classroom. I think many of us doubt our ability to pass FAR because of being out of school so long and because of the amount of material, but you just have to keep at it and it most of it will eventually click. You can do it!

    CPA Exam - Finally DONE (November 2014)
    BEC (08/10/13) 80
    AUD (08/24/13) 65 (11/13/13) 85
    FAR (04/12/14) 81
    REG (07/19/14) 69 (11/29/14) 87!!

    #581597
    CPA50
    Participant

    Hi islandguy!

    I'm in the same boat.I've been watching Roger videos – and he goes SO fast, it can get discouraging.

    But, I figure if I sit down and walk through 100 journal entries, as slowly as I need to, then I can do it! I just need to give myself a chance to polish up and get fast at them.

    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...

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