Hours plus Planning plus Self-Discipline = Success

What Are Your Plans TODAY

www.CPAreviewforFREE.com

Lesson 37

From: Joe

(1) - Just a quick reminder. It is Father's Day on Sunday. If you are lucky enough that your father is still alive, make sure to give him a big hug. Never pass up those chances. Some things (well, a few things) are even more important than the CPA Exam.

(2) - In less than a year, we have gone over 3.5 million page views. Great job!!! You guys are the best!!! You have spread the word about www.CPAreviewforFREE.com. We could not do this without you. Give yourselves a big pat on the back.

(3) - It is raining and cool here in Richmond, Virginia today. It is a great day to add some points to your CPA Exam score. (Of course, I would assert that every day is a great day to add some points.)

Which raises some important questions. When you got out of bed this morning:
--How many points did you plan to add to your score today?
--How many minutes or hours did you plan to spend studying today?
--What times did you have blocked off to study today?
--Specifically, what were you planning to do in your studies today to add the desired points?

If you have followed these email lessons for long, you know how much I stress putting in the time. You have heard me say, more than once, Hours Equal Points.

However, it is not just hours alone that make good things happen. It is Hours plus Planning. Humans often waste too much time being disorganized. I'll take an organized hour of study over a disorganized two hours any day.

If you are keeping a list, Hours and Planning go on the good side and Procrastination and Disorganization go on the bad side.

And, you can get organized by simply answering a couple of questions each night before you go to bed as you look toward the following day: how much time do I want to study, when am I going to study, what am I going to do during this study time???

Simple questions but they make all the difference in the world.

Once you have those questions answered, you are set but only if you have the self-discipline to stick with the plan. In fact, I think my real equation should be:

Hours plus Planning plus Self-Discipline = A Passing Grade

Two simple questions: look at your watch-what time is it right now? How much time have you spent on the CPA Exam so far TODAY? If you don't plan, time gets away from you.

Here's the most important equation you can learn for the CPA Exam.

Hours plus Planning plus Self-Discipline = A Passing Grade


(4) - I received several wonderfully nice emails over the last week or so. Always brightens up my day.

"I want to thank you for offering this FREE site....thought the only free commodity in the world was air until a friend introduced me to your site. I used it and continue to use it to assist with preparing for
the CPA exam. As a mother of 2, I do not have time to go to class and spend the funds but I can study when my kids go to bed....about an hour or 2 so I fall into the category of those who need at least 60 days before taking any part."

"Thanks for always believing in us (the CPA candidates) Mr. Hoyle. God bless you for making a site that I can go on every night and do problems! I WILL PASS--I KNOW IT!! Keep up the good work!"

"Thanks for the opportunity and the wonderfully constructed questions on your website. It has been a great tool in my preparation along with the inspirational stories (excellent)."

"I used CPAreviewforFREE.com to study for my last two exams. I had consistently been failing BEC with low 70s. I started doing your questions, and passed with 75 and Audit with 77. I was going to lose my credit for REG if I didn't pass these last two. Whew! What a relief! I have been studying for two years and I finally did it. I studied so much. I spent hours every night through tax season because I had no choice. Anyway, your questions are different than those at (big review program) so I'm sure just seeing different ones helped a lot. Thanks for your very supportive and uplifting emails. That in itself made a difference to me and helped me to never give up."


(5) - As always, please understand that you can unsubscribe from these emails just by scrolling to the bottom and clicking on the appropriate button. I love writing them and I hope you enjoy reading them. However, your time is valuable. When you are ready to leave, please feel free to do so.


(6) - Remember that all CPAreviewforFREE.com questions and answers can be downloaded for a small fee. You are certainly welcome to work them online for free. However, if you want a paper copy that you can carry around with you, just go to "Store" in the upper right hand corner of www.CPAreviewforFREE.com.


(7) - June is a "dark month" in that the CPA Exam is not given at this time. Everyone who is currently studying is getting ready for July and/or August. No one is taking the exam tomorrow. Usually, people start out strong in their studies and over time find it more and more difficult to put in the time especially when the exam is still weeks away. They begin to fade.

If you have started to fade a bit and are finding it harder to put in the necessary study time and effort, let me make a couple of suggestions.

---Moderate exercise (I'll let you decide what "moderate" means) will always increase energy. Go out and take a 15 minute walk 3-4 times a week. I know many of you are saying "I just don't have time to go for a walk." Well, my response is: "MAKE TIME!!" Prepare a sandwich and then go for a walk at lunch. As soon as dinner is over and before you start anything else, go for a quick stroll. You will just feel better and if you feel better, you'll accomplish more. Give me 15 minutes 3-4 times per week and your chances to pass go way up.

---Change where you study. If you study at the same desk and chair day in and day out, the atmosphere starts to get tiring. At least once a week, at least for one day, study some place completely different. You want to keep from getting into a rut and a different room can help.

---Give yourself rewards. For example, if you like chocolate, buy yourself some of your favorite brand. Then, promise yourself a piece of chocolate when you finish 30 questions and answers. Don't make it dependent on getting them right or wrong because that gets depressing if you miss questions. You want to reward yourself for just doing the work.

---Figure out what time of day you feel strongest and try to study at that time. Unfortunately, many people wind up studying when they are already tired and worn out at the end of the day. I'm convinced that we all have strong periods of time during each day and it is helpful to study at those times.

---One day a week, if you can, study with a friend. It is helpful to share this experience. It provides a different perspective. Even if you just sit for an hour asking questions back and forth, it is a more active way of preparing and will make you feel better. I'm not a big believer in studying together every day but once a week is a nice change.

---At least once a week, do something that is fun. Go swimming, go to a movie, go to an amusement park. Studying can get to be drudgery. Miserable people don't do well. You want to have something fun to look forward to. When I was studying for the exam, I liked going to movies. For two hours, you are in a dark room and you cannot study. You've paid your money so you just cannot get up and leave. I always walked out of each movie feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work.

---If possible, try to avoid whining about all the work. I know some people think that whining is a good release. I tend to believe whining just makes the misery more real. Listen to the things you say about the CPA Exam and try to make as many of them as positive as possible. Keep a list so you can gauge how much whining you are doing.

It is easy to start feeling like you are pushing a huge boulder up a steep hill. That is not helpful. Suffering does not add points. Experiment with ways to make the experience more palatable. If you feel better, you will do better.


(8) - Time for a bit of practice. I am getting ready to add these questions to our database but, before I do, I will run them past you folks.

BEC

A company is producing wagons. The company expects to produce 10,000 wagons this year and take three hours of direct labor to complete each one. The direct labor is supposed to cost $15 per hour. The company actually works 31,000 hours but only produces 9,800 wagons. The labor cost is $496,000 or $16 per hour. In a standard cost accounting system, what is the labor rate variance?

A - $29,400 unfavorable
B - $30,000 unfavorable
C - $30,600 unfavorable
D - $31,000 unfavorable

Answer is D

Company employees were paid a rate $1 per hour over the standard ($16 per hour less $15 per hour). The company employees worked a total of 31,000 hours. For each of those hours, the employee was paid $1 over standard. The labor rate variance is unfavorable (company paid more than standard) and equals $31,000 ($1 per hour for 31,000 hours).


Regulation

Morris Ronaldo runs a small sole proprietorship that has one truck that is used solely in the business. It had a cost of $70,000 but a tax basis of only $19,000. However, it has a fair value of $22,000. It is traded for a similar truck with a list sales price of $80,000. To make the sale, the dealer reduced the price by $24,000 as a trade-in allowance for the old truck. What is the basis of the new truck for federal income tax purposes?

A - $75,000
B - $76,000
C - $77,000
D - $78,000

Answer is A

This is a trade of like-kind assets. For tax purposes, the basis of the new property equals the basis given up. The old truck has a tax basis of $19,000. In addition, the company pays cash of $56,000. That is the $80,000 price less the $24,000 trade-in allowance. The company gives up a basis of $19,000 and cash of $56,000. The amount surrendered is the total tax basis surrendered or $75,000 ($19,000 plus $56,000). That is the basis for the new property received in the trade.


Financial Accounting

Ronald Morrisson runs a small sole proprietorship that has one truck that is used solely in the business. It had a cost of $70,000 but a book value of only $19,000 after years of depreciation. However, it has a fair value of $22,000. It is traded for a similar truck with list sales price of $80,000. To make the sale, the dealer reduced the price by $24,000 because of the trade in of the old truck. What is the reported cost of the new truck according to US GAAP?

A - $75,000
B - $76,000
C - $77,000
D - $78,000

Answer is D

For financial reporting purposes, an exchange is reported by taking off the old book value and putting on the fair value of the assets surrendered to create the trade. The fair value of the old truck is $22,000. The cash surrendered is $56,000, the $80,000 sales price less the $24,000 trade-in allowance. If the company gives up assets of $22,000 and $56,000, the new asset is recorded at its cost of $78,000.


Auditing and Attestation

Clemmons CPA is performing an audit of a company and is required to follow the regulations of the PCAOB. At the end of the engagement, audit documentation must be kept to demonstrate how the audit opinion was derived. How long is this retention period?

A - 3 years
B - 5 years
C - 7 years
D - 10 years

Answer is C

The PCAOB wanted auditors to retain audit documentation for a sufficient period of time so that information would be available as long as necessary to support the opinion that was rendered. This retention period was set at 7 years.


Again - tell you father how much you appreciate him!!!


"The only sin is mediocrity." Martha Graham (good words to live by).

Joe