[Anonymous]

I am planning on taking FAR sometime in early July…. I have already passed BEC and REG, but I’m only through “Section 2” of Becker and am feeling more overwhelmed than I felt with the other two sections. Going thru the MC I am scoring in the mid-50%.

What did you guys think the hardest section of FAR?

[mommyof3texans]

F2 is rough.. don't stress just keep plugging away. Whatever you do, make sure to do progress tests on the chapters you already went through to keep it fresh in your mind.

BEC - 02/21/15 - 82
FAR - 05/29/15 - 82
AUD - 07/09/15 - 93
REG - 11/14/15 - 80

All done!!!

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the quick response! It's reassuring to know that F2 is one of the harder sections…

I am definitely going to utilize these progress tests – something I haven't been doing in the past. Thanks for the tip!

[vvSPAZvv]

I just finished F2 and wanted to slam my head into a wall repeatedly. The MCQs were rough and the SIMs were even worse. While discouraged, the took notes on my weak spots and continued on to F3. If I have time to revisit F2 before I take the exam in July, I'll probably review some MCQs.

If it is any reassurance, F3 is MUCH better if you recently took advanced accounting or retain the course material well. Literally flying through the MCQs with 70 – 100% on the first attempt. The grass is greener on the other side!!

FAR - 76! 10/15; (65) 7/15
BEC - 82! 11/15; (74) 8/15
AUD - 01/16
REG - TBA

[Anonymous]

Thank you vvSPAZvv !! That is very encouraging. I flew through F1 with great scores, but yeah this F2 section is scaring the crap out of me.

I just graduated from a Master's program in Accounting, so I had to take a few financial reporting classes covering these topics. But for some reason we did not cover a good portion of this F2 stuff (like commercial substance and technological feasibility stuff)

Guess I'll have to spend double time on this chapter.

I hear the governmental accounting stuff is rough too? Has anyone gotten thru F8 and F9 yet?

[Key522]

@chan2929 what software are you using for your progress tests?

AUD - 85
BEC - 84
FAR - 77
REG - 80

BEC - Feb 2015 68 April 2015 84

FAR - July 2015 77

AUD - Oct 2015 74 Feb 2016 71 April 2016 85

REG - Jan 2016 67 July 2016 74 Oct 2016 80

 

BEC Feb 2015 68 - rematch Apr 2015 - 84
FAR July 2015 77
AUD Oct 2015 74 Feb 2016 71 April 2016 85
REG Jan 2016 67 July 2016

[Anonymous]

@Key522 I have been solely using Becker. What do you recommend?

[Key522]

@chan2929 I was just curious. I used Ninja MCQ for my BEC retake. I think I'm going to pick them up for FAR. I need to start doing progress tests.

AUD - 85
BEC - 84
FAR - 77
REG - 80

BEC - Feb 2015 68 April 2015 84

FAR - July 2015 77

AUD - Oct 2015 74 Feb 2016 71 April 2016 85

REG - Jan 2016 67 July 2016 74 Oct 2016 80

 

BEC Feb 2015 68 - rematch Apr 2015 - 84
FAR July 2015 77
AUD Oct 2015 74 Feb 2016 71 April 2016 85
REG Jan 2016 67 July 2016

[lab2008]

Hello,

my 2 cents. F1 was hard for me because I don't like memorization & I just thought it was dumb learning what words go with words. But I have it down now.

F2 was hard for me but I felt like it was really basic accounting just something I somehow never learned or was not good at. The accrued taxes payable etc. I'm sitting for FAR tomorrow and I think I FINALLY have it down. Accrued revenue is when you have already performed the services but don't have the money yet. Deferred Revenue is when you have the money but haven't performed the services yet. And deferred revenue is actually not ‘real revenue' if you aren't thinking like an accountant. It's a liability and gets reversed out when the services are performed and that's when the “real” revenue gets booked to the Income statement. I learned a lot of concepts throughout the entire FAR course, it's good to realize whether you are talking about the B/S or the I/S.

F3 was crazy hard for me because I struggled with business combinations, equity method, consolidations, etc in Advanced accounting (4 years ago.) But now I have it down. All except the consolidated worksheet… if anyone wants to freaking explain to me last minute how to know what to do with consolidated sales, COGS, inventory when the questions give you a consolidated balance sheet and ask you various questions, how to figure out the gross profit, that is still on my list of things I didn't grasp 🙁

F4 was easy to me because I work with assets at work, PP&E , impairments, and depreciation was not hard to me.

F5 was the WORST one for me. Bonds and leases really screwed with me and I've still been putting in extra work to get bonds down. I was a finance major as well as accounting & so I thought the basic idea of bonds was fine but the questions managed to really trip me up.

F6 pensions. I don't like this section at all because I don't like memorizing & the formula SIRAGE is how many things you have to add together, plus there are other ones. This is also on my list as weaker things, this close to the exam. I know I never studied or learned about pensions ever (at least the calculating of them & what you have to know here.) Also income taxes, wasn't difficult for me to go through becker but was something that was weak for me to understand DTA and DTL.

I didn't think F7 was hard in Becker, but treasury stock which you should be learning in this section just drove me insane when I started going a bunch of problems on it in gleim. got it now.

After that I think you are on easy street. Well I guess depending on how well you remember school if you remembered F1-7 but didn't take or remember government, you would think it's hard. but for me I remember the government class I took and i'm still brushing up on it, but I wouldn't call it “hard.” I thought it was hard in college because I was like WTF is this, this isn't accounting but as far as everything concerned here I didn't struggle quite so much with GOVT and NFP. Actually, I seem to score best on NFP, without having had put a lot of work into it.

F10 is kind of miscellaneous but wasn't hard to me because I think some of it is covered in the other chapters and I was already familiar with some of it, maybe before studying FAR.

The biggest thing I would say for me as far as going thru FAR is that I had already passed the other 3, so I was determined to put in all this extra effort to be ahead on my studying and put in extra hours, think of extra things I could do to help my effort to pass and be done forever…and so I finished Becker in March and April, had the whole month of May to review, started doing review in Gleim, and I swear to god, I knew nothing. I put serious effort into becker like 20 to 30 hours a chapter and so I don't know if gleim was way different, or if 3 months is just too long to study or an exam and I forgot but this didn't happen to me on the other tests. Of course I got it relearned but maybe if you are wondering how long it takes you to get through becker, that was my biggest problem, I spent a long time getting thru it and forgot it when I was done. maybe doing more review of chapters you have already covered as you go thru, doing it in a quicker time period if possible, or supplementing other questions as you go thru would help put the info in your head. I think it's the hardest section so good luck. And if god forbid, I don't finish up tomorrow, i'll be looking to really really really freaking learn this stuff so maybe we can all help each other since I feel like I have learned a lot already regarless of if it's enough for tomorrow :/

3 out of 4 passed and sitting for FAR on May 31. Will lose credit for Audit if I don't pass FAR by Aug 4. I love leases and bonds.

[Key522]

Anyone used the Wiley book for FAR? It's Brutal. I'm reading the module and going through the MCQs & Sims. I plan on purchasing Ninja MCQ after reading the book (yawn fest). Any one passed with this study process?

AUD - 85
BEC - 84
FAR - 77
REG - 80

BEC - Feb 2015 68 April 2015 84

FAR - July 2015 77

AUD - Oct 2015 74 Feb 2016 71 April 2016 85

REG - Jan 2016 67 July 2016 74 Oct 2016 80

 

BEC Feb 2015 68 - rematch Apr 2015 - 84
FAR July 2015 77
AUD Oct 2015 74 Feb 2016 71 April 2016 85
REG Jan 2016 67 July 2016

[Skynet]

Taking FAR in July too. Using Gleim which is extremely detailed. Just like vvSPAZvv said, want to just slam my head in into wall repeatedly, but i guess that's just the normal process for FAR.

AUD - 90
BEC - 78
FAR - 84
REG - 87

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - In Progress
Phase III : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase IV : Form the new Charlie's Angels with Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, & Gal Gadot
Phase V : TBD

BEC : 78
REG : 87
FAR : 84
AUD : 90

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - Initiated
Phase III : Bring back 8-Tracks
Phase IV : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase V : TBA

[golfball7773]

I had some good ideas that would be better then studying AUD on my most recent blog post….I think I would apply them to FAR as well

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 86
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

AUD - 71, 73

BEC - 74, 86

REG - 77*

FAR - 57

*expired

(I have been trying to become a CPA since 2013). only one test down.......

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[Author]

Replies