[Anonymous]

So here is my thought. With the updated excel sheet now being an actual excel sheet, maybe it would be worthwhile to just learn or memorize a few quick formulas that you spend 10 minutes setting up at the beginning of the exam that would cover different things (bond amort/retirement, EPS/DEPS, etc…). Essentially anything that is heavily calculation based. Then if you run into any questions of said topics, you can just put in a few numbers in some master-reference cells and be done with it!

Do you think this would be worth it? I’m not sure if the excel sheet is wiped between testlets either.

[Anonymous]

that seems like a total waste of time, because you don't what you might need and you are also risking the beginning screen timing out and forfeiting your exam-this has happened to people. If you study, knowing the formulas will be second nature by the time of the exam.

[Recked]

Agree with above.
If you are worried about remembering formulas you can write them out on the paper/white board before you start, but I would not build anything in excel.

This from a guy who ran out of time on FAR. Use your time wisely, it's very precious time.

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[Anonymous]

I'm saying actually starting the test and opening excel and writing some quick formulas to do the calculations. I realize it's a little bit hit or miss with what you might get on the test but I'm curious if it could possibly save some time.

And I'm not worried about forgetting the formulas, just trying to think of ways to save some time possibly.

[Anonymous]

This is a waste of time. the Excel is wiped as you progress. There aren't even that many formulas. If you want to write them down email NASBA and request Paper and Pencil. While going through the intro write down all the Formulas. I did this for both CMA tests which has literally 10x more formulas.

I used the excel function 0 times when I took FAR. I think it would probably end up making the test take longer.

[TCav12579]

Way to think outside of the box! But, I agree with first two comments. I don't think it is worth the time spent on writing the formulas… You may not have questions that use them and the calculations did not seem to be that intense, at least ones in my experience.

I also “ran out of time” on my exam. I had an answer for everything but wasn't confident and could've used the extra five minutes to make sure I was confident in them as well. Good luck on your upcoming exam!

AUD - 99

BEC - 6/8/18

FAR - 5/12/18

REG - 86

[Anonymous]

Maybe the exams just aren't as calculation intense as I'm imagining them to be. Thanks for the input!

[Recked]

I will give you a word of warning.
I had a SIM that I ended up trying to run out a full schedule on an item to cross reference and double check my work/math.
I can't remember if it was a bond premium question, or a lease amortization question. Something of that nature without giving away any exam details.
It was some type of schedule that I created in excel to confirm my answer was correct and the math all made sense.

I ended up jumping down this rabbit hole with this excel schedule and trying to use the AL to determine my answer was 100% correct.
This was the #1 contributing factor as to why I ran out of time and ended up leaving a SIM almost entirely blank that I could have done in my sleep.
Literally some type of elementary reconciliation (not bank, maybe inventory or some type of journal entry adjustment).
If I had not went down that excel and AL rabbit hole I would have had time for that last SIM to complete it correctly.

Just be very careful with the rabbit holes you might get sucked into using the path you are mentioning.
Focus on answering the question asked, and only the question asked. They will ask you questions that look like they would benefit from a full work up of a schedule, but read it carefully and you will realize you only need to do half the work you originally thought to properly answer the question and move on. Stay on target.

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[Anonymous]

Agree with Recked. I started to use excel to do a SIM by making a schedule. Quickly realized that it was going to take me down a rabbit hole that was completely unnecessary.

[Tarheel83]

I dont believe that information in excel rolls over between the testlets, but even if it did, I personally see that as a waste of time. You will need every minute of time that you have just answer the MCQs and SIMs. I started with 2 hours for SIMs and there were two that I had to just move on from (although I got a lot of the information into the SIM) and I still barely finished the SIMs.

BEC - 74, 71

AUD - 78 (expired), 73

REG - 65

FAR - 73, 71, 71

 

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