Friday, February 22, 2008

FAR Components

In the FAR section of the CPA Exam, multiple choice questions account for 70% of the overall score. Questions appear in 3 sets or testlets that adapt to your current skill level, meaning that the first set of questions are a medium difficulty level and if you perform well the next set of questions will get harder (and are worth more points) or if you perform poorly the next set of questions will get easier (and are worth fewer points).

The remaining 30% of the score comes from completing simulations, which are miniature case studies that require practical application of skills such as research, written communication, and spreadsheet design.

2 Comments:

I got laid off from one of the firms that are ranked right after the big four. I started in '05 and climbed the ranks real quick, and made Senior III level in basically 3.5 years. Since my old firm doesn't promote individuals to managers I had to buckle down take the CPA exam. I'm not the type of guy that can do things half a$$ so I studied my butt off and got the following scores (BEC 77, AUD 97, REG 91, FAR Score pending). So of course, being that I studied on average 100 hours for each section, my work obviously suffered. And this Monday, I found out I got laid off because my firm cut 5% of its work force. Basically, I'm on here to vent, and maybe get some sympathy.

By Mark, At December 17, 2008 11:22 PM
thanks for sharing the info about the numbers of hours you put in for prep.
sorry about the situation...it's not as gloomy as it seems...if your firm didn't consider your studying as a way for you to become a better employee before they fired you, then maybe it was a good thing to get fired...in reality, we can't always have what we want all at the same time, right?

By Anonymous, At January 12, 2010 11:31 AM

FAR Time Limits

The time allocated for completing the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) section of the CPA Exam is 4 hours.

5 Comments:

About how many hours did everyone spend studying for this section? I know it takes more preperation than the others, but how much more?

By Anonymous, At February 26, 2008 10:52 AM
I spent 100 - 120 hours and passed fairly easily. This was a hard test though. I actually hit my time limit at the end of this test.

By 1more2go, At February 26, 2008 5:45 PM
I felt most pressed for time on the FAR exam. I studied the same for both FAR and REG, about 150 hours each.

By Anonymous, At March 14, 2008 3:33 PM
Financial is the most difficult test for two reasons. First, financial has more material than any other exam. Just look at your Becker review books. Financial has the biggest book. Second, 80% of my multiple choice questions on the exam involved calculations. Every question was tricky and every question had a lot of distracting information in it. I found it very difficult to answer those questions in two minutes. Remember, you are not only fighting to get the correct answer. You are also fighting the clock.

By Anonymous, At September 6, 2008 9:22 AM
I spent well over 200 hours studying for FAR. This was by the most difficult section because there was so much material to cover. By the 3rd testlet in multiple choice I was drained. I barely had any time to complete the remaining simulations. This is the hardest section.

By Anonymous, At September 18, 2008 3:00 PM

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

CPA Exam: Financial Accounting and Reporting

"The Financial Accounting and Reporting section tests knowledge of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for business enterprises, not-for-profit organizations, and governmental entities, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge. Content covered in this section includes financial accounting concepts and standards, and their application. To demonstrate such knowledge and skills, candidates will be required to:

- Obtain and document information for use in financial statement presentations

- Evaluate, analyze, and process entity information for reporting in financial statements

- Communicate entity information and conclusions

- Analyze information and identify data relevant to financial accounting and reporting

- Identify financial accounting and reporting methods and select those that are suitable

- Perform calculations

- Formulate conclusions

- Present results in writing in a financial statement format or other appropriate format"

(Uniform CPA Examination: Examination of Contents, 2002, p. 3)

Feel free to leave comments about your experience with this section of the CPA Exam, but please be aware that all comments are monitored to comply with the ethical reguations regarding open discussion of the CPA Exam content.

9 Comments:

I just wanted to say that I finally passed FAR on my third attempt, I am so excited!
People vary in terms of strengths/weaknesses in subjects as well as which study techniques work best for them.
I passed BEC and AUD previous to this and with these exams it was more about reading and reading until you grasp the concepts. I am studying REG now and seems to be somewhat similar method for studying this one. However, for FAR, this approach didn't work for me and I had to change my method/strategy which was hard for me b/c of my study habits... i usually like to read. After couple times of reading something it easier for me to recall information from list of alternatives as opposed to more quantitative tests where you must come up w/ numbers and store formulas/algorithms in your head.
My problem was i would read too much (you usually do what you like instead of focusing on weak areas and having to do what you dislike) and although understood concepts by exam time i had not done nearly enough repetition and couldn't even review all the material one time through. I knew my problem and received much advice from friends/family about changing my strategy to one where briefly skimming the info and going straight to the problems.. many times you can reverse learn ( by doing problems first and then going to text if stuck) this is much more efficient and really only way to cover such a vast quantity of problems in different unrelated topics. I finally overcame the tendancy/habit to read too much and instead focused on problem solving and it paid off.
Another thing that helped was that I went from a review in which i was using pencil/paper and had a more difficult problem set to work w/ to one where all problems on computer and more medium level questions to work with. I found that this more closely resembled actual exam and the paperless prep made my study much more efficient.
The questions medium level difficulty allowed me to get a much quicker overall review of the information before i went into test. I noticed that I was switching from one chapter to the next significantly quicker and this allowed me to cram all the material for the exam in short span time right before exam so helps you retain info. Another disadvantage in my previous prep was that I was skimming whole chapter and then doing problems for that whole chapter rather than studying in increments. My new review divided the material in each chapter in such a way that you read portion of the chapter, do particular problems related to that portion, go to next related portion do those problems and so on. I think this study technique is unique to FAR exam b/c in other exams mostly concepts so not necessary to do so much repitition.

By Anonymous, At March 6, 2008 7:19 AM
Wow, i was scheduled for FAR this week, but rescheduled it for next week. I had adopted ur approach of reading rather than practising- but after reading what you wrote, i know how to spend the next 10 days! Thank you so much for sharing your approach to success!

By Anonymous, At May 18, 2008 8:37 AM
I completely agree with you in regards to FAR. I passed the three other parts (so happy) and put tons of study time into them doing every single question probably 10-14 times. Maybe this was too much, but I really felt that I needed it. However, with FAR I am mostly overwhelmed at just the bulk of the material. So I am going to do the main chapter questions (using Becker) and initially skip their supplementary questions which in total is another 500 or so questions. My main goal is to get through all 9 chapters of questions first then see if I have time to go back and do more supplementary questions. I am going to give myself one more month to review, review, review and take it at the end of August. I know how difficult this test is, time consuming, and downright miserable but just have persistence and you can get it done.

By Anonymous, At July 10, 2008 7:16 PM
I am down to my last exam, which is FAR. I passed AUD and BEC in May, and then passed both the Ethics exam (required for State of VA) and the REG section in August. I attempted FAR in May, but was running out of time and didn't finish the simulations, so didn't pass.
I am taking FAR again in Nov and am so extremely relieved to not have those other exams to worry about anymore!!!
I can clearly say that practice makes perfect, and by that, I mean answering the study questions over and over and over again. And then answering them some more. That's the only tip I can pass along, and that's learned through trial and error.
Once I get through this last exam, I will be tackling the Certified Internal Auditor exam. I thoroughly enjoy auditing!!

By Anonymous, At September 20, 2008 6:38 PM
Could anyone suggest me how recent book is needed for FAR? I am appearing FAR in July but have 2006 Wiley books. Are they too outdated and have the financial regulations changed much? Could you also give examples of which regulations have changed since 2006 that will be applicable in 2009 exams?

By Outcome_Success, At April 9, 2009 10:50 AM
There is no such thing as a free lunch. I made a 68 on FAR last time because all I had was Gleim Online (no lectures) and some out-of-date textbooks. I never realized that I was studying out-of-date materials. Using out-of-date materials was the greatest mistake that a CPA candidate could make, and I made it! I also never realized that there were other review materials out there like Yaeger who reviews hundreds of multiple choice questions.

By Anonymous, At May 7, 2009 8:46 AM
I am still student and planning to take CPA right after graduation. I have been saving my textbook of each of my accounting classes. But i am wondering if any of you used textbooks from college years during preparation for CPA exam? or is it better to sell them now and get Becker or Gleim type review materials? Are those review materials enough to be ready for the exam? thanks

By Anonymous, At June 13, 2009 4:54 PM
You barely need your textbook for your CPA studying. Becker material is more than you need for the exam. About the textbook, you may want to keep it if you have space and the resell value is not much. I have been and auditor for 4 years and I do sometime read the textbook to regain my knowledge. So, it is necessary for CPA, the answer is NO.

By Anonymous, At July 13, 2009 11:48 PM
I am taking FAR, next Saturday and I am totally freaked out. This is the first exam I am writting. I keep getting results below 70% on the practice exams I take and I don't believe I will achieve a miracle on test day. OMG.

By Anonymous, At August 13, 2009 3:24 PM