CPA USA Exam
CPA exam can be very tricky, however there are lot of things if used can be helpful to tackle the exam , On basis of request from students Enrolled from Simandhar education in Delhi- Gurgaon , Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, I have collated some important chapters in each section of CPA exam which would help you to understand how the exam is being prepared, please note before the exam you will need to study completely all the four sections , this article is just a last minute revision which you guys need to do before sitting for the AICPA exam
1. Financial Accounting and Reporting ( FAR) : Students have faced lot of troubles in Not for profit and Governmental accounting , remember in exam they always ask questions which you have trouble in and thus it becomes important for you all to focus on these areas. F8, F9, F10 are the trickiest chapters which need a very good practice. Journal entries are the most important part of FAR and exams have repeatedly tested a lot on Journal entries on chapters relating to Consolidation, Bonds and Leases. Bonds is always a favourite topic of examiner in SIMs. Conceptual understanding of subject is a must and try to practice lot of SIMs in FAR, Becker material and videos are the most helpful , but it need to be complimented with solid understanding of the subject, Mock test prepared by Becker and Simandhar education shall be very helpful. Don’t forget to leave some of the easiest chapters like BRS and some toughest concept like cash to accrual questions!!!
2. Regulation ( REG) : Exam is very lengthy and time management is very important, students have faced lot of troubles in R4,R5,R6 which majorly deals with Corporate taxation , Partnership and basis related questions with respect to property and S corporation are very important, we also recommend students to prepare charts with respect to basis related concepts , though we are also providing the students tables with respect to such concepts, it’s always recommended students to prepare their own hand written notes on all the last three chapters of REG in taxation part. Asset distribution treatment and Ethics questions are heavily tested in exam. Conceptual understanding of subject is indispensable and try to practice lot of SIMs, Skills based questions from Becker and Simandhar education notes. Prepare handwritten notes on Business law, chapters like Bankruptcy act and Surety are some of the important chapters which need special attention, try to practice lot of MCQs in law and could be the game changer in exam as questions from business law are normally straight forward and require memory skills to answer it rightly.
3. Business Environment and Concepts (BEC): Considered to be the easier among all the four sections, BEC exam is testing more on IT control and Corporate governance, Costing is one of the area which need to be focussed on and scoring area is Economics and is heavily tested topic too and IT chapter though is little uninteresting but is the most tested area as examiners have done some research that students tend to always ignore IT and that’s the reason they have been testing more in BEC, Variance analysis questions also need to be practiced more. Using Cornell Method for all the four section can be very helpful, Following is the Cornell Method (The Cornell Note-taking System)
1. Record: During the lecture, use the note-taking column to record the
lecture using telegraphic sentences.
2. Questions: As soon after class as possible, formulate questions based on
the notes in the right-hand column. Writing questions helps to clarify
meanings, reveal relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen
memory. Also, the writing of questions sets up a perfect stage for exam-studying
later.
3. Recite: Cover the note-taking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking
at the questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say
aloud, in your own words, the answers to the questions, facts, or ideas
indicated by the cue-words.
4. Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example:
“What’s the significance of these facts? What principle are they based on?
How can I apply them? How do they fit in with what I already know?
What’s beyond them?
5. Review: Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous
notes. If you do, you’ll retain a great deal for current use, as well as, for the
exam.
4. Auditing ( AUD ) : Considered to be the toughest section among all the four sections, students complain on MCQs a lot in audit as most of the MCQs choices indicate same answer and thus they face the issue in answering it correctly, the section need to be studied as if you’re an auditor auditing a company , so what all procedures you would take in reducing the risk, in recent years audit have more to a risk based audit and thus audit assertions play a very crucial role, before starting studying for Audit- get your knowledge on audit assertions properly. The only section where Authoritative literature ( Open book system) can play a crucial role in cracking SIMs, Some of the SIMs are related to FAR too, focus more on SIMs in audit and they could be very tough as lot of the SIMs require Judgement, Important Chapters are Audit reports, Sampling and Risk, evidence , various type of risk and their understanding is the core to get through. Common sense is the most important thing required to pass AUD as there are lot of generic questions, so remember when you study audit- THINK LIKE AN AUDITOR AND STUDY
For more information on Simandhar education centres in Delhi, Gurgaon Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad- Visit Authorized Training Provider for CPA USA and CMA USA Exam and get in touch with us at 7780273388 for more details on our summary notes and Becker product.