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Lesson 159, February 3, 2015
From: Joe
It is hard to do the work that is necessary in order to pass the CPA Exam
What do you really need to do in order to have a great chance to pass the CPA Exam in 2015? I am a big believer that when the CPA Exam changed to a computerized exam in 2004, the way to prepare needed to change. The exam today rewards “works a lot of questions” more than it rewards “learns a lot of material” with the paper and pencil exam (and the pass rate jumped from about 34 percent to about 50 percent).
We offer over 2,500 questions covering all parts of the CPA Exam. We hear from people all the time who pass the exam by working those questions. I have long recommended that if you work every question twice and pay close attention to the answers for the ones you miss, you have a great chance to pass the CPA Exam without paying a single penny. Can you imagine?
But you cannot just talk about working the questions. You have to sit there and actually do the work. As you have heard me say so many times in these emails, HOURS = POINTS. There is no short cut. You have to put in the time.
We all know that. The only question is how should you (yes, YOU --- not some other person) go about putting in those hours? I want to offer two suggestions that I think can help.
First, set up a calendar and decide how many hours you plan to study each day. It is even better if you can identify the specific time you are going to study. If you just say “I’ll study when I have enough time,” you will never have enough time. If you just say “I’ll study when I feel like it,” you will never feel like it.
If you have always been an average student and want to become a great student, the first thing to keep in mind is the importance of planning.
--When are you going to take your next part of the CPA Exam?
--How many total hours do you want to study for that next part? I always recommend 60-100. I don’t think you can make a perfect score with 60-100 hours but most people can pass with that much intense study and that is the only goal you should have. How many hours do you plan to study?
--How many days do you plan to study during that period of time? People rarely are able to study every day so do you plan to study 4 days per week or five or maybe six?
Now, the easy part. More…
What Do Marbles Have to Do with Passing the CPA Exam?
One more comment about the previous message. It is always helpful to work on your own motivation. So, let’s assume that you are going to push to do 72 hours for your next part of the exam. Get two jars and 72 marbles. Put the marbles in one of the jars and label it “WORK NEEDED TO PASS.” Label the other jar “WORK DONE” and every time you complete an hour of study, move one marble from the first jar to the second. There is something about seeing the first jar gradually empty and the second jar gradually fill up that will really make you feel good and will help keep your motivation levels high.
Consider our partner, Fast Forward Academy, to study for the CPA exam. No two people are exactly the same. Fast Forward Academy identies the areas YOU specifically need to study. Then, Fast Forward Academy adjusts and accommodates your study by shaping their tools and content with laser focus to your exact needs.
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Prepare for the CPA Exam As If You are Preparing for the Super Bowl
– As I write this right now, the Super Bowl is scheduled to be played in about four hours. Of course, it is always exciting to watch teams like New England and Seattle play.
But I’m always left with three questions:
– I wonder how much good sitting on a couch for four hours watching a bunch of rich people (people I don’t know) play a game does me. Those players get a great work out and lots of money and I get fatter and older while I sit here. I am not trying to be a grinch but I wonder why I prefer to watch rather than do. The excitement in life comes from doing, not from watching other people do.
– I wonder if Tom Brady and Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson would be willing to sit around for four hours on a Sunday evening and watch me take the CPA Exam and cheer me on. Somehow I doubt it. I think I care for those players more than they care about me. I wonder why I care so much about someone else’s success. Why am I not more excited about my own possible success?
– I wonder how those two teams and those players managed to get to the Super Bowl. There are dozens of professional teams and some of those other teams were excellent this season. Why did these two teams make it all the way? My guess is that if you went up and asked any of the players on either team they would say something like “we just worked harder than everyone else. Hour after hour we worked to be the best we could be. Starting back in the summer, we spent so much time getting ourselves into perfect mental and physical condition for this game. Yes, we have a lot of talent but that talent doesn’t do much good unless you have the will necessary to put in the hours and hours of practice.”
My last point there is pretty obvious. We all recognize that winning and success takes incredible discipline, a discipline necessary to do all that work. However, it is harder for us to see that in our own lives. We look for shortcuts. We try to get favors. We pray for luck. We make excuses.
No. It just doesn’t work that way. I cannot guarantee you success by working harder but I honestly believe your chances go up every time you work another problem and read the answer. Start right now. How many hours do you want to study today and when are you going to make it happen? How many hours do you want to study tomorrow and when are you going to make it happen?
We all want to be winners. Time to get started and make that happen.
Walk Through an AUD Analytical Procedures Question with Joe
I was looking through my computer files this afternoon and found this videofrom last summer that talks about how to answer an AUD question about analytical procedures. Never a bad idea to see how questions should be answered on the CPA Exam.
Joe
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