Hi There Everyone!
I’m happy to report this week that I am more than halfway
through my REG studies. I finished up S Corp and Partnership taxation AND
stuck my big toe in to the Contract and Sales material in Section 4. I’m
relieved to be done with the most tenuous tax stuff for REG and actually
looking forward to reviewing questions that don’t involve computations.
The tricky thing though, with the contractual material, is
that the homework questions seem to be so much longer. It becomes
even more important to read the questions closely because of the hidden
subtleties of a few words or phrases that change the entire meaning of the
question. It is pretty interesting, I think, that today’s accountants are
required to understand so many topics that are not directly related to
accounting….. contract law, information technology, business
structure and bankruptcy law…. just to name a few. At his or
her best, today’s CPA is not only an accounting professional, but also a
business partner. My strength and interest is working as a partner in
providing support to operations activities. I work as a Joint
Venture Accounting Manager for a company that does a variety of infrastructure
and environment projects around the US and the world. It’s exciting
for me to be able to play a role in providing financial information that not
only meets the needs for SEC reporting, but also the decision making needs of
program managers who are focused on the day to day operations of a joint
venture project.
Now that I am finally a little over half way into the
material, the reality of the looming August 27th test date is
sinking in. I have always been one of those people that needs a bit of
pressure so that “push comes to shove”. I definitely need a
deadline.
I’ve varied my approach this time around. I used
to rely on doing the homework and watching the videos without attempting too
many of the questions in the test bank until the last two weeks before the
test. I noticed, however, that although I’ve covered the material
for a given section, that doesn’t mean that I truly KNOW it. I have quite
a few “less than passing” quiz scores that prove just that fact. I like
to take 30 question practice quizzes to either reinforce my weak areas in
one concentrated subject or cover all areas so I’ve studied so far, to gauge my
comprehension of the material.
I really truly despise cramming. I don’t focus best
when I have to learn material at such a rapid pace that it is like drinking
water through a fire hose. I like to take multiple passes at studying
information so that I understand not only the “what” of the material, but also the
“why”. The Roger CPA Review Course is especially good in that Roger
explains the “why” with humorous stories or anecdotes that make the concept
much easier to remember. I have taken to listening to the Roger videos in
my car on my way to work. I only do this for a second or subsequent
listening of a video because typically my first pass through involves
taking notes and starting and stopping the video. When I listen to
a session again during my commute, I get further reinforcement of the concepts,
without the pressure to take notes. It’s a great way to take advantage of
a 45 minute commute to get some studying in without having to spend any
additional time in my day to separately do so.
The push is on for me. I am taking the day off of work
this Friday and hope to be finished with all of Section 4 by the end of this
weekend. I am looking at the end of the finish line. Now all
I need to do is jog those last few miles of this marathon!
Have a great week everyone.
S
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment