Don't Let Those Walls Slow You Down

Don't Let Those Walls Slow You Down

From: Joe

(a) - YOU ARE INVITED. I realize that only a small percentage of our readers live here in Richmond, Virginia but I wanted to issue everyone an invitation anyway.

College campuses have had Last Lecture Programs for decades where a professor gives a talk as if it were his last chance to ever speak to the students. What would you say if you only had one final opportunity? It is an interesting question for any teacher.

These programs became especially famous about two years ago because of a wonderful speech (and subsequent book) by Dr. Randy Pausch, a brilliant professor at Carnegie-Mellon University who was dying of cancer at the time.

The University of Richmond is starting an annual Last Lecture series this spring and I was very fortunate to be chosen as its first speaker. If you do live in Richmond, the lecture is open to the public. It is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7 in the alumni center. I am not yet sure what I will talk about but I am pretty sure that I won't talk about debits and credits. Beyond that, who knows? If you have read these emails for long, you know that I am a person with lots of opinions.

Our campus is beautiful and it is even lovelier in the spring. If you are in the area, do know that you are invited.


(b) - If you have never watched Randy Pausch's speech, you really should join the 9.5 million other people who have watched it on YouTube. It is well worth your time. It is inspirational; it is energizing; it will make you feel better about life.

Just go to www.YouTube.com and search for "Randy Pausch" or "Randy Pausch last lecture." It will help you realize that you do NOT have to spend your life in despair even when times get tough.


(1) - Welcome to CPA Review for FREE. I send out these lessons about every 7-10 days to help you prepare to pass the CPA Exam. If this is your first time with us, my one and only goal is to assist you in getting the points you need to make 75 so that you can pass the CPA Exam. I firmly believe that everyone can pass the CPA Exam and do so without having to pay the outrageous costs charged by other CPA Review programs. If you are lucky enough to have unlimited money and want to give it away, those other programs will gladly take it. But, we have a database of approximately 2,000 excellent questions and answers that everyone can use to prepare for the CPA Exam.

No fees, no costs, no charges.
Just 2,000 great questions and clear answers.

But don't believe me. Be a wise shopper. Just try them for awhile. I amazed that people would hand over $2,000 without first trying a free alternative.

Go to www.CPAreviewforFREE.com. Then, start by reading the information under CPA Exam resources.

After that-go to work and start adding points. Read a question, figure out your response, and read the answer (carefully).
--You have no risk.
--You have no charges.
--You just have hundreds and hundreds of great questions and answers.

Don't you owe it to yourself and to your family to stick your $2,000 back in your pocket and try CPA Review for FREE first.


(2) - As probably everyone knows, the CPA Exam just finished the January-February testing window. The number of visitors to our website during the final four weeks of this testing window was AN AMAZING 43 PERCENT HIGHER than the final four weeks of the October-November testing window.

Honestly, what does that tell you? More and more people are catching on that paying those huge sums is just not necessary to get a passing grade on the CPA Exam.


(3) - Here are some recent emails that I received from our customers.

From Sheila: "I received my BEC score this morning and passed with a 75%! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Tonight I will make up my schedule and begin my review using the full approach with CPAreviewforFREE. I started this process a couple of years ago using one of the big name reviews and then another, but though they both claimed to offer support, you are the only one who really has followed through on that promise. Thanks for that as well. I will continue to sing your praises."

From Rose: "I was so happy when I received the email notification this morning that I have passed all of the CPA exam!!! It's been 9 years, from the time when I sat for the old exams, and gave up and then re-picked up and joined the (big name) CPA review course and paid my hard-earned money. Undoubtedly, the CPA review course material was good but expensive. And one day when I tried the (big name) CD, I was informed that the license was expired and I needed to pay again. I was mad since I had paid thousand dollars already. I searched for alternatives on the website and found CPAreviewforfree. I can't believe that this is such a good website with loads of questions and explanations. I made use of this website and finally passed all exams. Thank you, Joe, and I will definitely recommend this website to my friends."


(4) - As always, do remember that you can very easily unsubscribe from this email service. Just scroll to the bottom of this email lesson and click on the button marked "unsubscribe."


(5) - They are playing a lot of basketball these days. In fact, "March Madness" is just around the corner. I rarely pay attention to many games but, when I do, I am fascinated to watch the players when it comes down to the very end of a close contest. I always want to see which player is willing to take the shot that will win (or lose) the game.

That is tough. Anyone can shoot when it is early in the game and not much is on the line. It is much more difficult to come down the court with the clock ticking down 9..8..7.. and this last shot is going to make the difference in the whole game. At that point, many players prefer to pass off and let someone else take that shot. The fear of failure just gets to be overwhelming.

John Havlicek was one of the greatest basketball players ever. I remember reading that he had said that everyone wanted the ball early in the game. "Throw ME the ball!!" they would yell. However, at the very end of a close game, some of those same players would start looking the other way just so you would not throw the ball to them.

They were so afraid of failure that they refused to even try.

When it comes to the CPA Exam, I talk with a lot of people who start becoming obsessed by the chance they might fail. It is easy to start feeling scared. We can all understand how a candidate can become a bit tense. You work hard for months and every time you miss even one little question in practice, it reminds you that you are not perfect, that nothing is ever guaranteed.

The problem is that your mind can start focusing on the wrong things. You can become frozen by the chance of failure. Your mind can start to close down. Never never never think about the word "failure." Wash it out of your mind. The only thing that you should be thinking about is adding points and getting better. That is the thing that I want your brain to focus on as you prepare for the CPA Exam: adding points and getting better.

Read a question on CPAreviewforFREE, work that problem, read the answer, and then take notes if you missed the question. Getting better and adding points.
Always remember that the one thing you have control over is the work you are doing RIGHT NOW to add knowledge and gain points. It is easy to let the fear of failure slow you down. As championship athletes will always tell you:

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take."

The only way to ensure that you are going to be a complete failure is just to quit trying. As long as you are working, you are moving toward success.

You will always miss 100 percent of the questions that you don't attempt.
You will always miss 100 percent of the material that you don't cover.
You will always fail 100 percent of the times that you don't try.

Never think about failure. Being negative never helps anyone to get better.


(6) - Speaking of basketball, I was watching a game on Sunday afternoon and Michael Jordan was in the crowd. It seems to be the opinion of most sports people that Jordan was the greatest basketball player ever. Quite an accomplishment. We usually think about people like that as just so talented that it was inevitable that they would be good.

That is not necessarily so. Talent alone is never enough to accomplish much of anything. Effort is always more important than anything else you bring to any endeavor. I'll take effort over talent any day.

I remember hearing Jordan talk once about how he had managed to become such a great player. To me, his response could certainly apply to the CPA Exam and a whole lot of other activities rather than just to basketball.

"If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."

Do you turn around and give up or do you keep looking for a way to get past the problem?

It seems to me that preparing for the CPA Exam is all about running into walls and how you react to them. Give up? or work to get around them? In truth, which is the real you? When things get tough, will you quit or will you work your way around all of the various walls that impede your progress?

Things will always get tough so you need to think how you are going to respond. Are you a winner?

Whenever you start to study a new tough topic, it will always seem like you are crashing into a brick wall. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and confused. Every time you work a complicated question and get it wrong, you may feel like you've hit that wall full force once again. Each night when you are tired but still need to bear down and study for several hours, you may understand the true meaning of the term "hitting the wall."

As Michael Jordan says, every time you run into one of those walls, you have a choice: give up or figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

In many ways, you can envision your study time as a long series of walls extending across your path off into the distance as far as you can see. Some of these walls are relatively low and more of a nuisance that anything else. Others, though, are big and may test your abilities to withstand pressure. If you can work around or over or through each of these walls and never let "I quit" enter your mind, there is no reason why you cannot nail down the CPA Exam. Not one reason at all.

Here's a tip: Don't worry about passing the CPA Exam - worry about getting around the next wall that is in your path.

How will you successfully make it to the other side of the next wall that you encounter????? The answer may well determine how quickly you are going to pass the CPA Exam.


(7) - A little practice; let's add some points.

Financial Accounting and Reporting (I taught Advanced Accounting here at the University last week for a friend. This is one of the questions that we worked.)

The City of Sanborn levies an income tax. In Year One, city officials anticipate that the amount of this tax will be $350,000 and will be collected evenly over the period from January 1, Year Two to April 15, Year Two ($100,000 per month and $50,000 for the half month). City officials have a policy that any money collected within 60 days is viewed as available. How much of the revenue should be recognized at the end of Year One?

A - $200,000 in government-wide financial statements and $200,000 in fund-based financial statements
B - $200,000 in government-wide financial statements and $350,000 in fund-based financial statements
C - $350,000 in government-wide financial statements and $200,000 in fund-based financial statements
B - $350,000 in government-wide financial statements and $350,000 in fund-based financial statements

Answer is C

In state and local government accounting, an income tax (and a sales tax) are known as derived tax revenues. They are taxes on events (the earning of income or the making of a sale). A derived tax revenue is recognized when the taxed event occurs. The income here was earned in Year One so the income tax is recognized within the government-wide financial statements (which use accrual accounting) in Year One. In fund-based financial statements (for the governmental funds), modified accrual accounting is applied so that an additional standard must be met for revenue recognition. The resources must also be available quickly enough so that the money can be used to pay current obligations of Year One. The city has a policy that "available" is identified as anything received in 60 days. Thus, since $100,000 is collected each month, only the $200,000 to be collected in the first two months of Year Two is viewed as available to pay for Year One expenditures.


Auditing and Attestation

The Haynsworth CPA firm is auditing Agnestic Corporation. The auditors have come to the conclusion that certain illegal acts may have occurred during the year so that additional testing will be necessary. Which of the following is most likely to have led to this assessment?

A - The design of the company's internal control policies and procedures has not been revised in four years.
B - Related party transactions have occurred throughout the year.
C - Confirmation of accounts receivable indicates that several recorded balances appear to be understated.
D - Checks were written to "cash" during the year despite policies to the contrary.

Answer is D.

Internal control policies and procedures only need to be revised when they are no longer functioning as intended. A well-designed system might not need to be revised often. Related party transactions are common in many companies and do not, by themselves, indicate any type of illegal activities. Confirmation of receivables which show a pattern of overstatement can possibly indicate that money has been received and then stolen by company employees. However, understatements are more likely to occur because of slowness in posting new sales transactions. Checks should never be written to "cash" because documenting the use made of the money can be very difficult. Hence, checks can be written to "cash" to access money that will then be used for illegal activities.


Regulation

Ms. Polly Atkini collects $1,000 in dividends from a company located in Italy. A foreign tax of $93 was withheld on this income by the local authorities. Ms. Atkini is attempting to determine the impact of this foreign tax when she is filing her United States income tax return for this year. Which of the following is correct?

A - The foreign tax cannot be taken as either an itemized deduction or as a tax credit.
B - The foreign tax must be taken as an itemized deduction.
C - The foreign tax must be taken as a tax credit.
D - The foreign tax can be taken as either an itemized deduction or as a tax credit based on her preference.

Answer is D

The payment of a foreign income tax is one of the few items in federal income tax rules that an item can be used at either of two places. Normally, the benefit is larger if a credit is taken but the taxpayer is also allowed the option of using the amount as an itemized deduction.


BEC
The Bresson Company has recently changed the way that it handles customer service calls based on a benchmarking process. Which of the following is most likely to have taken place?

A - The company studied the methods used by its biggest competitors and found them to be superior to its own.
B - The company hired a consulting firm to smooth out the process that had been used in the past.
C - The company polled its customers to find weaknesses and then took their advice in making changes.
D - The company flowcharted all of its systems to find inherent weaknesses.

Answer is A.

The term "benchmarking" refers to a process of looking at other similar organizations to locate their best practices and then attempt to replicate them to increase its own efficiency. In effect, the company learns from the time and work that has already been carried out by the other organization.


Now is the time to start adding points. Remember, you only have one goal-to add points and get better. As long as you can stay focused on that goal, there is no reason why you cannot pass the CPA Exam in 2009.

Go Get It!!!

Joe Hoyle
Co-Founder
CPA Review for FREE