Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Roger CPA Review.

2009 has been filled with historic moments, poker faces, a struggling economy, the death of a king, remarkable heroes, and singing sensations. It's been wild. We have had an amazing year here at Roger. We released our flash drive cram course, launched a new website, and opened up classrooms in Portland, Costa Mesa, San Diego, Ontario, and Sherman Oaks (all while helping our students succeed in their goal of becoming a CPA).

We want to take this opportunity to thank both our current and former students, our friends at the Big 4, all the the smaller firms we work with (whose support over the years has been amazing), our partner organizations like CalCPA, CSCPA, MACPA, ASWA and Beta Alpha Psi, and the professors who help get our information and courses to students.

The large framework of our supporters, clients, friends, and students help us each day to grow, expand, and continue to offer the most energetic and affordable CPA Review out there. We thank you for all that you do - and look forward to sharing even more success with you in 2010.

Happy New Year - and we'll see you in class!

This Holiday Season: Give Your Time

We blogged about this last year here on the CPA Exam Preparation Blog, but we've decided that it is important enough to repeat (and you probably forgot).

Tax-Aid is looking for volunteers.

Founded in 1988 by a coalition of accountants and lawyers, Tax-Aid, a 501(c)3 non-profit, has served thousands in the Bay Area with an emphasis on increasing access to the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. Its mission is to provide free income tax preparation to low-income families throughout the Bay Area.

In 2009 Tax-Aid prepared 4,020 returns. These taxpayers received over $4,090,069, with some refunds even over $4,500! That is huge considering San Francisco is the second most expensive city in the country!

Tax-Aid coordinated 72 free tax preparation programs. In 2009 the combined campaigns served over 19,000 clients helping them to receive more than $19,800,000 in federal and state refunds.

Tax-Aid also serves as the lead agency for the United Way of the Bay Area's "Earn It! Keep It! Save It!" campaigns in San Francisco and San Mateo counties, promoting financial literacy and stability for working families.

Tax-Aid's more than 1,000 volunteers come from all types of organizations and professional backgrounds. Plus, even though tax expertise is always in demand, there are other jobs you can volunteer for that do not require any technical knowledge. Volunteers are asked to attend a two-hour training session on Tax-Aid's process, and also need to volunteer for at least one session. Most Tax-Aid volunteers donate around eight hours over a few weeks - just a little bit of your time goes a long way toward helping others.

If you would be interested in participating (accounting and law students are encouraged to volunteer), contact the program directly us-tax-aid@kpmg.com

So offer up a lending hand and do a good deed. Not only can you gain tax experience, but you are sure to increase your positive karma too. And, if you don't live in or around the bay, look up a place to use your talents in your area. Similar programs exist everywhere, and most are consistently accepting volunteers.

Have a CPA Review Holiday Season!

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend - from all of us here at Roger CPA Review!

and remember to study, study, study... :)

Top 5 Things Accountants are Thankful For

Join Roger CPA Review this holiday for a look at the Top 5 Things Accountants are Thankful For. An insightful list of items like Excel formulas, the 10 key and coffee will bring a smile to the face of any CPA or accountant as we close out the books for 2009. What will take our number 1 spot as the thing that accountants are most thankful for? Find out as your host, Morgan Ives, counts down the list. Featuring festive holiday music and graphics, this video is a warm and toasty companion to your hot cocoa and candy canes. Happy Holidays from Roger CPA Review!

Decision Making

(Excerpted from the 2010 Roger CPA Review BEC Textbook)

A primary purpose of cost measurement is to allocate the costs of production (direct materials, direct manufacturing labor, and manufacturing overhead) to the units produced. It also provides important information for management decisions, such as product pricing decisions.

Cost Definitions

y = A + Bx [ TC = Fixed + Var (X) ]

In this formula:
The y is equal to total cost and is referred to as the dependent variable since its amount is dependent on the other factors.

The x is equal to volume and is referred to as the independent variable since it can be increased or decreased at the company's discretion. This is also often referred to as the cost driver as the amount of costs incurred will be largely dependent on the volume of this variable.

The A is equal to fixed costs and remains constant at any volume as long as the company is operating within a given range of volume.

The B is equal to the variable cost per unit.

Note: Theses cost assumptions only remain valid within the Relevant Range.

(The following are not discussed in the video excerpt. For a full explanation, please enroll in any format of our BEC course.)

Mixed cost (Semi-Variable – Fixed and Variable Component)

High-Low Method – This method computes the slope for the variable rate based on the highest and lowest observations. The difference in cost is divided by the difference in activity to obtain the variable cost.

State Societies: Get Involved

Imagine for a moment that you have unparalleled access to a secret society, organized to support its members as they meet various professional challenges unique to their industry. You don't have to imagine… these societies are real, and they aren't even secret. There's no password, no secret handshake, and no initiation. In fact, with a minimum of effort, you can find one near you right now.

We're talking about your State Societies of CPAs. These indispensible organizations can be found in almost every jurisdiction. Let's take a closer look at how joining your State Society of CPAs can benefit you.

Networking

Networking, as we've said a million times on this blog, is an essential part in finding a job and maintaining professional contacts as an accountant. The people that you meet in a State Society come from a variety of backgrounds, experience levels and job profiles. Each member offers their own unique take on the accounting industry. These peers can be invaluable as resources, especially to CPA Exam candidates trying to pass their exams.

Resources

Besides networking, State Societies offer conferences, seminars, webinars, CPE classes, and other educational benefits to those members. Additionally, they are often up to date on all CPA laws and regulations in your state as well as on all accounting industry news. For example, the Maryland Association for CPAs lists news directly on their homepage and runs a fabulous blog to keep their members updated. The resources that a State Society can provide you are only limited by the needs that you need met and the extent to which you utilize their services.

Discounts

Our personal favorite part of joining State Societies is that they often offer CPA Exam Review discounts. Roger CPA Review partners with the OSCPA, CalCPA, MSCPA, and many many others, to provide our energetic, comprehensive CPA Review to their members. Not every society allows members that are CPA exam candidates, but, those that do offer great resources and discounts on passing the CPA Exam and gaining licensure in your state.

So, contact your state society through their webpages, your campus, on their twitter accounts & blogs, or through any other medium.

To get you started, we found this pretty list of societies by state. No need to thank us :)