[Anonymous]

I took REG in February and didn’t pass. I put so much time in studying and knew the materials but the simulations part just killed me. Any advise especially from those who already passed the exam and any strategies to pass all parts of the CPA exams. Thank you in advance.

I am planning to retake REG in April and am using BECKER study materials.

[Anonymous]

Get familiar with the tax forms! You can go to irs.gov and download the forms and the instructions. I suggest you practice the Sims with the actual forms. If you have tax software, that would be even better.

[Anonymous]

Get familiar with the tax forms! You can go to irs.gov and download the forms and the instructions. I suggest you practice the Sims with the actual forms. If you have tax software, that would be even better.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Kricket for your advise. Since you are already a Licensed CPA, any advise on how to study the other three parts. I know everyone has its on strategies but if you can plase share yours.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Kricket for your advise. Since you are already a Licensed CPA, any advise on how to study the other three parts. I know everyone has its on strategies but if you can plase share yours.

[10keyLeah]

I thought REG SIMS were tough. Like Kricket said, use tax forms to solve problems if you haven't been using them already. It will help with an overall understanding. I buckled down and really studied tax areas where I was weak and I was able to pass on my second try. So, go back over areas that gave you trouble.

Ninja Combo, Yaeger, Wiley -- Licensed CPA, May 2015

[10keyLeah]

I thought REG SIMS were tough. Like Kricket said, use tax forms to solve problems if you haven't been using them already. It will help with an overall understanding. I buckled down and really studied tax areas where I was weak and I was able to pass on my second try. So, go back over areas that gave you trouble.

Ninja Combo, Yaeger, Wiley -- Licensed CPA, May 2015

[zieba]

REG sims were tough, but oftentimes one can find answers to topics which one does not know in the authoritative literature (AL) research tab.

Be familiar with how to search the codification, and how to use advanced search functions like “search within”. It will help you nail the research question, and it may also help you fill out an entire simulation.

takeaway: be familiar with the codification, its layout and how to search through it. If you have Becker there IS a section on the codification and how to use it, it described how its laid out, etc… don't skip it. It's one of those optional things.

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[zieba]

REG sims were tough, but oftentimes one can find answers to topics which one does not know in the authoritative literature (AL) research tab.

Be familiar with how to search the codification, and how to use advanced search functions like “search within”. It will help you nail the research question, and it may also help you fill out an entire simulation.

takeaway: be familiar with the codification, its layout and how to search through it. If you have Becker there IS a section on the codification and how to use it, it described how its laid out, etc… don't skip it. It's one of those optional things.

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[Anonymous]

Aurelie – What works for one person may not work for another. You need to find what works for you so take this to heart or take it with a grain of salt. This is what I had to do to pass each exam.

All Exams:

Watch the lectures and take a ton of notes while you are watching. Stop the lecture if you have to. I was a secretary for 20 years, so I can type almost as fast as most people talk. I have most of the lectures typed word for word. From time to time I'd stop the lecture and back it up to make sure I had my facts straight.

Once I had the notes typed, I wrote them by hand… twice. I should have bought stock in Quill while I was testing. I bought legal pads from them in bulk! And I filled them up.

Then I read the NINJA notes. After I read them all the way through, I wrote them… twice. I have stacks of those notebooks too.

Then MCQ's until I was sick of them. I would work a problem and if I got it wrong, I wrote a detailed explanation, using my own words, on the concept being tested. If I missed another problem on the same concept, I went back over my explanation and wrote it again, and again, and again. As long as I was getting questions wrong, I wrote the explanation. I explained to myself why the right answer was right and the others were wrong. I wrote it all down, over and over again.

I listened to the NINJA audio constantly. I learn best by hearing things. It's like learning the words to a song. It's all about repetition and beat. When I worked problems I listened to music, mostly rap because of the repetitive beat. The REG NINJA audio is still has the highest ranking in iTunes on my computer because I listened to it so many times.

I had done every problem in the Wiley Test Bank so many times, that I could tell you the answer was $100 and B, before I finished reading the question. So I had to find something else. I went back to the books. I set up worksheets in Excel and typed the answers from the answer key in column A. Then I hid column A and put this formula in column B, =if(C1=A1,””,”X”). I locked column B to keep me from deleting it. I started working problems and put my answer in column C. I'd see immediately if I got it wrong, because an X would show up in column B.

REG

Go over tax forms or tax software if you have access to it, to become familiar with the forms. You can go to irs.gov and download all of them, along with the instructions. I struggled with REG. No doubt it was my nightmare child. My weakest area was BLaw but the Ninja audio pushed me over the top. Jeff does the best job of explaining the BLaw topics and putting it in terms that I could understand.

FAR

Know the basics like the back of your hand before you move on to the advanced stuff. By basics, I mean be able to set up a bond amortization table or compute EPS in your sleep. Once the first step becomes second nature to you, then you can build on that knowledge and compute Diluted EPS in your sleep. Make sure you can do the T-accounts as well as the JE's. While you are studying, use them to answer questions, but take them a step farther. I posted a picture on another thread that shows the T-accounts for the problem they were working. Once you see things from the T-account perspective, you can create just about any journal entry that you will need.

BEC

Formulas, formulas, formulas. Don't just memorize them, but understand them and why they are computed. I doesn't do you any good to memorize the Debt to Equity Ratio if you don't know what it's used for. The IT information scares a lot of people. It's not hard. You just have to understand the hierarchy and the “flow”. I made organizational charts in Word to keep it straight. They are huge and could never be printed, but the act of making them forced my brain to remember where and when things happened.

AUD

This exam has changed considerably since I passed it but I think knowing the basics is the important thing. The basics, to me, are bank recon's, transaction cycles and the standard letter. I used flow charts in Word to create my own transaction cycles. Transaction cycles are a good place to get easy points on the exam and a good place to lose some easy points if you don't know them. Things are easier to understand if I see a road map. Some people say you don't have to know the Standard Audit Report word for word. I am not one of those people because I didn't pass until I could literally sing the Standard Audit Report to the music from Gilligan's Island. I can't watch that show any more because of it.

I didn't do this every time, which is why I had to sit so many times, but my final scores, because I did all of these things are: REG – 84; FAR – 85; BEC – 85; AUD – 83.

[Anonymous]

Aurelie – What works for one person may not work for another. You need to find what works for you so take this to heart or take it with a grain of salt. This is what I had to do to pass each exam.

All Exams:

Watch the lectures and take a ton of notes while you are watching. Stop the lecture if you have to. I was a secretary for 20 years, so I can type almost as fast as most people talk. I have most of the lectures typed word for word. From time to time I'd stop the lecture and back it up to make sure I had my facts straight.

Once I had the notes typed, I wrote them by hand… twice. I should have bought stock in Quill while I was testing. I bought legal pads from them in bulk! And I filled them up.

Then I read the NINJA notes. After I read them all the way through, I wrote them… twice. I have stacks of those notebooks too.

Then MCQ's until I was sick of them. I would work a problem and if I got it wrong, I wrote a detailed explanation, using my own words, on the concept being tested. If I missed another problem on the same concept, I went back over my explanation and wrote it again, and again, and again. As long as I was getting questions wrong, I wrote the explanation. I explained to myself why the right answer was right and the others were wrong. I wrote it all down, over and over again.

I listened to the NINJA audio constantly. I learn best by hearing things. It's like learning the words to a song. It's all about repetition and beat. When I worked problems I listened to music, mostly rap because of the repetitive beat. The REG NINJA audio is still has the highest ranking in iTunes on my computer because I listened to it so many times.

I had done every problem in the Wiley Test Bank so many times, that I could tell you the answer was $100 and B, before I finished reading the question. So I had to find something else. I went back to the books. I set up worksheets in Excel and typed the answers from the answer key in column A. Then I hid column A and put this formula in column B, =if(C1=A1,””,”X”). I locked column B to keep me from deleting it. I started working problems and put my answer in column C. I'd see immediately if I got it wrong, because an X would show up in column B.

REG

Go over tax forms or tax software if you have access to it, to become familiar with the forms. You can go to irs.gov and download all of them, along with the instructions. I struggled with REG. No doubt it was my nightmare child. My weakest area was BLaw but the Ninja audio pushed me over the top. Jeff does the best job of explaining the BLaw topics and putting it in terms that I could understand.

FAR

Know the basics like the back of your hand before you move on to the advanced stuff. By basics, I mean be able to set up a bond amortization table or compute EPS in your sleep. Once the first step becomes second nature to you, then you can build on that knowledge and compute Diluted EPS in your sleep. Make sure you can do the T-accounts as well as the JE's. While you are studying, use them to answer questions, but take them a step farther. I posted a picture on another thread that shows the T-accounts for the problem they were working. Once you see things from the T-account perspective, you can create just about any journal entry that you will need.

BEC

Formulas, formulas, formulas. Don't just memorize them, but understand them and why they are computed. I doesn't do you any good to memorize the Debt to Equity Ratio if you don't know what it's used for. The IT information scares a lot of people. It's not hard. You just have to understand the hierarchy and the “flow”. I made organizational charts in Word to keep it straight. They are huge and could never be printed, but the act of making them forced my brain to remember where and when things happened.

AUD

This exam has changed considerably since I passed it but I think knowing the basics is the important thing. The basics, to me, are bank recon's, transaction cycles and the standard letter. I used flow charts in Word to create my own transaction cycles. Transaction cycles are a good place to get easy points on the exam and a good place to lose some easy points if you don't know them. Things are easier to understand if I see a road map. Some people say you don't have to know the Standard Audit Report word for word. I am not one of those people because I didn't pass until I could literally sing the Standard Audit Report to the music from Gilligan's Island. I can't watch that show any more because of it.

I didn't do this every time, which is why I had to sit so many times, but my final scores, because I did all of these things are: REG – 84; FAR – 85; BEC – 85; AUD – 83.

[jsblamer]

Pray. Pray you get some of those pretty orange boxes with a dropdown of choices to choose from. I have heard they exist; however, I have never seen them.

B -
A - passed
R - passed
F - passed

[jsblamer]

Pray. Pray you get some of those pretty orange boxes with a dropdown of choices to choose from. I have heard they exist; however, I have never seen them.

B -
A - passed
R - passed
F - passed

[zieba]

del

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[zieba]

del

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your advise. I am working on the tax forms to get familiar with them. Hopefully, it will work in my advantage and will do well on my retake.

[Author]

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