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Just got home from FAR.....

17 posts from 11 voices

Started 1 year ago by millerg
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millerg

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I had my exam today and it took me all of the 4 hours allocated to complete the exam. As it was my first ever test and I am not in the accounting industry, I guess I can say I did admirable. Although it did get increasing more difficult, I would not say that some of the questions were extremely difficult as it has been reported here. I tried to tell myself not to worry about that and to just focus on the questions that were given.

I was, however; surprised at how they really focused on specific topics and it was not as general as I thought it would be. Man I wish I had just studied the 5 or so topics they hit hard.

Regarding the SIMS, I spent way too much time on the first one and did not complete the second one. I answered the WC and portions of the other parts. Hopefully they grade the first one.

All in all a good experience though. For me it has been a long road and I'm glad to have a test under my belt, regardless if I pass or fail. I decided I wanted to become a CPA last summer so I signed up for some accounting classes at a local college. I already had a Master's degree and 9 undergraduate hours of accounting above the entry level, so after 2 semesters and 4 classes later I applied for the exam. The kicker for me is that my wife delivered twins 3 weeks before I started studying. I can honestly say I underestimated how much free time I would have to study. So it took me 3 months to get ready and today was the day. I am excited about the possibility of passing although I cannot say I am confident I will. As a commercial banker I would say my knowledge before studying was minimal but the studying has certainly helped me in my profession. Hopefully once I achieve my CPA license it will lead me to better opportunities and the eventual opportunity to work for myself. (11 years in corporate America and I am spent)

Sorry for the rambling but it has been a long three months. Tomorrow I will take the night off, go to yoga and grab some sushi, then Wednesday I start with auditing. Tonight I will drink some Fat Tire and get some rest.

Thanks,

millerg

FAR 67, 73, 71, 76; AUD 61, 04/21/2012; BEC 70, 77; REG 2012
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Posted 1 year ago #
Florida_Candidate

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I think you have a great attitude about it! Whether or not you passed it's going to be a valuable experience to have under your belt!! At this point nothing to do but move on to the next section and try not to think about the score! (I know, impossible!) :D

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

Posted 1 year ago #
fulloflife503

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I also took the test today (FAR), and it was my first time as well.

first testlet...okay
second testlet...killed me :(
third testlet...was okay again...

I know that the MCQs are adaptive so once I was on the third testlet, I freaked out because it got easier. The sims were not good either. I completely left one tab in the first sim blank...i had no clue. I also left one of the research question blank.

I was shocked at the level of detail required to answer some of the questions. There was one tab of the sim that required real detailed knowledge of something that was covered in 1.5-2 pages in the Wiley's FAR 2010 study book.

I am convinced I failed. Have you ever heard of someone experiencing the same situation as I did and got a score better than expected and pass?

BTW, great attitude about the exam, and I wish you the best!

Posted 1 year ago #
futurecpa1986

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I took the exam yesterday and am sort of convinced I did horribly on the MCQ since I thought the first testlet was difficult and the next two were easier. Some of my MCQs were also ridiculously easy, but that's subjective. I also had a hard time with the simulations, but got through both.. guessing my way through the ones I had no clue about. :(

FAR: Passed
BEC: Passed
AUD: Passed
REG: August 2011

Posted 1 year ago #
keepon

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@fulloflife503 - I took FAR in early Aug. and didn't really notice a change in MCQ's difficulty other than they were all very long and took me a while to do. lots of calculations if i remember correctly, which led me to only leave 30 mins each for sims. both of my sims were horrible. both wc's were on topics i was not familiar with, and i couldn't figure out what to do on most of the tabs, although i did make guesses on all of them.

AUD 81, REG 65 78, BEC 75, FAR 71 85(8/3/2010)

Posted 1 year ago #
Soproudofmyself

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I didn't see a change in difficulty in the test either. If I remember correctly, a lot of the questions required you to know how to calculate something....the responses weren't figures. The responses were put in words....seems like they really want to know if you understand something rather than know the formula. I feel like I did pretty good on multiple choice questions (although I'm sure I screwed up by reading them fast and there were a couple that I just didn't know). Simulations definately killed me. I think there were 2 sims out of the many that I knew how to answer (still with a chance of error on the 2). I didn't have time to do the research on either of the simulations. I did both of the communication but one of the two was horrible..so horrible that I would give myself 2 points out of the 10 lol. There just wasn't enough time =(

I really hope I passed because it's the 2nd time I sit for it....I got a 70 the first time (back in May).

The 2nd wave of grades is not till 9/20 (estimated date...which really means 9/22)...hard not to think about it.

Millerg - good job at keeping up with studying after having twins =).

FAR - 70, 66, 84
REG - 71, 73, retake 2/2012
BEC - 69, 76
AUD - 75

Posted 1 year ago #
geaux11

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I wish people wouldn't freak out about the "adaptive" portion of the exam. I honestly didn't notice a change in any of my exams. There is nothing you can do about it, and worrying about it will take away from your focus on the exam. It's a silly thing, IMO.

AUD: 95 (7/14/10)
REG: 94 (7/22/10)
BEC: 87 (7/29/10)
FAR: 95 (8/12/10)

Posted 1 year ago #
millerg

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So when will the scores be released for an 8/30 exam date, 9/20?

jess - thanks for the encouragement...hopefully it will payoff sooner than later!

Obviously the "adaptive" nature of the exam is subjective, but it's hard not to worry about. That's a very easy thing to say if you've passed all 4 sections. Congrats.

FAR 67, 73, 71, 76; AUD 61, 04/21/2012; BEC 70, 77; REG 2012

Posted 1 year ago #
Trevor

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Yea Jeff is predicting the 20th.. Crossing my fingers and praying till then!!

BEC: 73,81(7/6/2010); AUD: 75(5/24/2010); FAR: 76(8/31/2010); REG: 77 (10/18/2010) - DONE!!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
millerg

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Trevor - yours was today, correct?

How did it go?

FAR 67, 73, 71, 76; AUD 61, 04/21/2012; BEC 70, 77; REG 2012

Posted 1 year ago #
Trevor

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Yea it was... umm it was fair. I did not see anything that completely shocked me, but some were asked ways I hadn't seen/couldn't answer. The first sim was good the second was bad! WC was good on both though... Difficulty was medium, hard, easy... read into it what you will, but my self eval is I just missed... how do you think you did yesterday?

BEC: 73,81(7/6/2010); AUD: 75(5/24/2010); FAR: 76(8/31/2010); REG: 77 (10/18/2010) - DONE!!!!

Posted 1 year ago #
NYMadMan

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I think I did badly on the MCQs but good on the sims. I do not know what that would mean overall.

ACCA (London - CPA)
CMA

BEC(4/17)-90, REG(5/28)-88, AUD (7/11)-83, FAR (8/31)- 90

Posted 1 year ago #
millerg

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Not really sure. They got progressively more difficult, but nothing to unbearable. The third testlet was definitely more difficult than the other two. Sims were very hard...I ran out of time and bombed the 2nd WC. Hopefully that one will not be graded.

They hit about 5 or 6 topics pretty hard which surprised me.

I will most likely be taking this one again.

FAR 67, 73, 71, 76; AUD 61, 04/21/2012; BEC 70, 77; REG 2012

Posted 1 year ago #
cpa journey

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millerg
Congrats on the twins

Sounds like FAR went well - ope yo get good news in Sept

Posted 1 year ago #
fulloflife503

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Keepon,

Thank you for your words of encouragement!! I noticed that you put down you got a 71 on your first try for FAR. what did you do differently between getting a 71 and then an 85?

Thanks again!

Posted 1 year ago #
Joey J

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Millerg, that yoga, sushi and Fat Tire combo made me laugh. I am the same. A little reward and relaxation after a tough stretch of work, testing and personal life. I am sure you did fine. It sounds like you are like the rest of us and worry a bit. And you should, because we don't do all this sacrifice for nothing, right? Keep on rockin' and good luck on completing the certification. I need to start on FAR tomorrow like you with AUD, so keep on truckin'. And kudos to you for being a commercial banker and striving for this certification. I know a couple bankers I went to business school with and they laugh at me for taking the CFA, CMA, CPA and other core certifications. They ask why I would "need" all that. I tell them that so I won't tank the global economy and take promotions, raises, and more bonuses for doing so. Don't take offense to that, they deserve it. I am sure that doesn't apply to you. Cheers.

Posted 1 year ago #
millerg

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For those of you who listened to my story and gave me words of encouragement - thank you. I just got my score and did not pass with a 67; however, I just re-registered and will take this thing again ASAP.

With a 67 I feel I'm not that far (no pun intended) off. Any suggestions on what I need to do to increase my score 8 points? How long will it take me to receive a breakdown of my score?

Amy help is much appreciated!

FAR 67, 73, 71, 76; AUD 61, 04/21/2012; BEC 70, 77; REG 2012

Posted 1 year ago #