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AusNatParticipantJust keep working at it. Read & listen to all the question explanations and keep moving through the material. Don't let yourself get stalled out or hung up on one part right now, and don't get discouraged. Part of studying for a lot of people is learning question formats and how to work through them. A lot of the material also connects so you key info will repeat over and over as you study more.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantMy intro to managerial course covered all of the cost accounting material I saw on BEC. I felt like I had a solid grasp of the material from intro and wouldn't be using it in practice, so I skipped cost accounting as an elective.
Governmental accounting is my #1 rec for an accounting elective when it comes to the CPA exam. Not a fun elective, but it's fairly heavily tested on FAR and it's different from anything covered in other courses. I'd also recommend a course that covers IT & IT security, one that covers business & transaction processes (this may be combined with the previous one or an auditing elective) and additional tax courses beyond individual. If your program doesn't require an advanced financial accounting class that covers consolidations, take it as an elective.
Finance (two courses) and intro to business law were the most helpful upper level business electives I took.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantIn school and in practice, yes. I haven't started studying for Reg yet, but it's reasonable to know.
It's one of the ways that the IRS can respond to a court siding with the taxpayer and against the IRS. When the IRS announces a nonacquiescence to an adverse court decision, it's saying that it disagrees with that court's ruling and won't use it as precedence in the future. The effect on precedence is what's important – if you were evaluating a tax position for uncertainty and looking at court cases for precedence, a nonacquiescence means the IRS isn't accepting that case as setting authoritative precedence (especially outside of that specific court's jurisdiction). It doesn't mean that the service won't follow the court's decision in the specific case in question, but if another taxpayer takes the same position as the one that won, the IRS may still reject it and pursue the matter in court.
One common example has to do with methods for allocating expenses when there's rental and personal use of a vacation home. The IRS uses one method, and the tax court allows another. This is a long-standing disagreement, and the IRS refuses to accept the tax court position – the IRS continues to issue nonacquiescences in response to these cases. So the IRS will disallow a portion of a deduction if the tax court method is used and the taxpayer has the option to go to court and get the IRS overruled… but in most cases it isn't worth the costs of going to court.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantHere's the why to my answer from yesterday, because I think reg makes a lot more sense when you think about where things will go on the tax return and why.
The taxes and licenses that go on sch C (or E or F) are expenses incurred by the business in order to generate revenue. They're INPUTS to net income on the schedule and thus to the taxpayer's AGI.
The state income taxes that go on sch A are incurred by the taxpayer as a result of their taxable income. These taxes are an OUTPUT – AGI less deductions and credits = taxable income x tax rate = income tax liability. They can reduce federal tax for the individual, but they come in to play after NI for the business activity has been determined.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantAusNatParticipantI'm taking an N95 mask which I heard is the one that will block out the virus. I read the regular mask doesn't do much to protect.
N95 masks are more effective than other masks when correctly fitted and the person has been trained to wear it (healthcare workers have to have their fit tested at least annually), but all the general public is doing by buying them is creating a shortage for healthcare workers who actually need them. Please don't.
A testing center is not a high-risk environment – there isn't much close contact, and it's easy to clean stations. Don't put your hands in your mouth while you're testing. Don't lick the mouse or keyboard. Don't kiss the prometric staff to celebrate being done. Wash your hands during break before you snack and after you finish before you leave the center. If you're stressed, ask if they have a clorox wipe that you can use on the desk and mouse when you're being seated. Now go study for your exam.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantThat's typical for campus recruiting. Students know when they'll be done with their programs and CPA eligible (a common requirement) well in advance, and the factors that affect hiring for fresh grad positions are heavy on the soft skills/personal attributes and light on the tech skills, a great candidate can be spotted well in advance. It allows the firm to staff for the coming fiscal year and students to have their post-grad plans lined up. Campus recruiting is also a lengthy process that's done in batches. Ours involves rotations of on-campus interviews at schools (each school is visited by a handful of staff, managers, and partners) as initial screening – every candidate is rated by at least 2 people. Then each spring we have office visit days where several dozen candidates at a time are invited to come in, hear from key staff about what we're looking for and what the firm is like, have a Q&A session with more staff, tour the office and ask questions in small groups, and then go on a big social outing with staff (Top Golf is a favorite). Then the department reps sit down in a group, discuss, and rank the candidates. This obviously is only practical once or twice a year. It's not uncommon for students to finish school in May or August, spend fall testing, and then start in January. It's also easiest for everyone to start all the campus/inexperienced hires at the same time in a large class, so they usually get to wait until the January following their graduation/CPA eligibility.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantHopefully a night's sleep mad this easier to think about, but in case not…
The question asks which of the four options WILL NOT impact the “net assets available for benefits.” You're focused on looking at whether each answer option would increase, decrease, or not affect the pool of assets available to actually PAY OUT benefits. This is the pool of assets (think of it as a bank account) that the plan holds and either distributes directly to beneficiaries or converts to cash (sells) to pay beneficiaries. This has nothing to do with the pension liability or other calculations regarding the benefits that will have to be paid out – it simply answers the question “what do you have on hand to actually pay benefits with?”
So what changes the total amount of what's in that “bank account”?
A. Yes, this would affect the value of assets available to pay out benefits. If a plan holds a pool of securities that it uses to pay benefits (by selling them for cash) and the securities increase in value, the plan could sell those securities for more money.
C. Yes. If the employer or employee add more money or assets to the bank account, the bank account gets bigger.
D. Yes. If you take money out of the account to pay beneficiaries, then the bank account gets smaller.So B? “Actuarial present value of accumulated plan benefits” is the calculated projection/estimate of the total benefits that will need to be paid out, then converted to the present value. This is related to the question “what will you need to pay?” and not the “what do you have available to pay it with?” we're focused on. This is the correct “except for” answer choice.
Don't get too hung up on defining every answer choice though. Sometimes an answer choice is gibberish. Looking at the other answer choices and saying “well, those are all a yes, so the other one must be the no” is sometimes the best approach.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
February 25, 2020 at 1:52 pm in reply to: AUD Question – Wiley – When to expense estimated litigation costs #2945622AusNatParticipantReasonably PROBABLE -> accrue the loss (if it can be estimated) and disclose
Reasonably POSSIBLE -> don't accrue the loss, but do disclose (this is a lower likelihood than reasonably probable, where it's not more likely than not that the entity will have to pay)
Highly unlikely, not reasonably possible, etc -> Don't accrue or discloseAre we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantI think most of the value of a CPA lies in job opportunities, not raises in jobs that can (and are) being performed by non-CPAs. Getting your license didn't suddenly make you better at your current position. Even in public, most tax and audit associates are hired with the expectation that they will get their license, and there is often no raise for getting licensed (but most firms will stop you from advancing after a few years if you don't get it).
If you want a raise at your current firm, you will need to demonstrate how you can provide more value for them using your knowledge and abilities as a CPA. What new job responsibilities are you going to take on? Is there a more senior or different position you can either apply for or discuss as a goal with your superiors?
As for looking elsewhere… get serious about it if that's something you're considering. Look for positions that fit your experience with career-paths that you're looking for instead of getting hung up on what title you'll be brought in at.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantAusNatParticipantYou're correct, usually you would adjust RE for a prior period correction net of the tax affects. However, in this case they specifically told you that depreciation was calculated correctly on the tax return (yes, usually tax depreciation expense is independently calculated by the tax preparer – we use our own depreciation schedules for the client's assets, so this is a likely scenario). So the entity isn't going to have to pay any additional tax in future years or go back and amend a return to get a tax refund – for tax purposes, there will be no effect from this prior period adjustment. The tax return was correct even though the books weren't. So you don't have to include any tax effect in your RE adjustment.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantLet it go. Your job as a manager is to help instruct & better the staff. You get your credit when they perform well, develop as accountants and professionals, and have high job satisfaction. Continue to lift people up and set an example, and be proud when your team is praised.
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
AusNatParticipantBoth statements are true – the general rule is that all tangible property that is not inventory is capitalized. Also, inventory is often capitalized, and the capitalized costs of inventory include direct materials, direct labor. You'll see it separated out in the book (and in the code and regs) because the rules governing inventory are different from the rules governing other intangible assets used in business. It's common for smaller businesses to be exempt from capitalizing inventory costs but not from capitalizing other tangible assets. Inventory also produces ordinary income when sold instead of cap gain and isn't depreciable (or subject to depreciation recapture).
Are we there yet?Waiting impatiently on my last score.
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