So, taking REG is over with. After all those hours of studying, it came down to a couple of hours of questions. I don’t feel very good about the multiple choice, but I think that the simulations went okay. According to Another71’s score release predictions, I might just be in the first wave of scores released around November 17th.

So, in total I spent about 87 hours studying for REG, and I felt pretty unprepared going in. I would’ve liked to have been able to practice the multiple choice several more times. REG felt like a collection of random factoids I had to memorize, so I would forget the first bits of information by the time I got to the end.

Now I get to start studying for the Audit section of the CPA exam. I’ve switched my REG books out for my AUD Roger books. Starting the review for a new CPA section is always a little exciting, because I can plan how much more I’m going to study for this section than for the last!

Hopefully I can have a smoother graph than the one for REG – lots of hours in the beginning AND in the end. Also, I have a week off for Thanksgiving, so I plan to fit in as many hours as possible that week.

Related posts:

1. Strategies: Multiple Choice Questions on the CPA Exam So, I was reading a post over at SmartCookie –...
2. The evening after The exam has come and gone! I took FAR today,...
3. Progress Report: Week 1 My progress and thoughts on studying for the CPA after...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I wish Roger made a handy video and review book of how to find an accounting job, and how to keep it once you have it! My professors are totally at a loss for how to help us out, and I can see it’s tearing them apart that their good students are having so much trouble finding work. There are just so few spots available that the firms can pick and choose from the top students, and leave some of them un-chosen.

I was lucky enough to find a firm to work at next year, and I’m very lucky to get one that I’m really excited about, but up until this week, I was feeling the pressure too. However, if I had not received any offers, I had some back up plans, such as applying for IRS jobs in January, applying for any jobs listed in our local newspaper closer to graduation time, and keeping in touch with the accounting firms, especially the smaller ones, in the event that the economy improves by graduation time and their hiring needs change.

I have plenty of time this week, if I focus, to get everything reviewed, but I had hoped to have it all through with a couple weeks ago so I could breathe easy! Unfortunately, life (or school) has a habit of getting in the way. I’m going to remember than when I start studying for Audit next week, and try to really move it along fast in the first weeks. Especially since I’ll have all of Thanksgiving break to study!

Related posts:

1. Roger CPA Review Software! So, I’ve been using a Wiley book to study from,...
2. Back to CPA Review Well, what with interviews and exams last week, CPA studying...
3. Recruiting in a Recession Actually, I think that the recession is technically over, but...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Photo by Lusi

I had my last office visit on Thursday, and then I spent from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon at a leadership conference for graduate students. It gave me plenty to think about in terms of setting goals, finding jobs, and knowing myself.

My main take-aways from the conference are that I want to:

• Get involved more, volunteer more, commit to some projects
• Put more emphasis on caring about people, getting to know people

We took the Myers Briggs personality test as part of the retreat, and spent a lot of time talking about how to analyze the results, which were scarily accurate, especially because we got the “Step II” results, which break down the 4 categories into other categories that really capture your personality.

I’m an INTP, which means:

• I’m introverted (only slightly- I like talking to people, but not big groups).
• I use intuition to collect data, rather than strictly sensory information. This means that I focus on patterns and interrelationships, which might explain why tax classes are so difficult for me because I can’t see any rhyme or reason in the tax laws!
• I’m a thinker, rather than a feeler, which means I like to use logic and be objective, rather than letting compassion and tenderness sway my decisions. I would like to move more towards being a feeler. This was the category in which my results were strongest – in the other categories, I was close to the middle, more balanced. I think people are important, and would like to balance them more in my decision-making process.
• I’m a perceiver rather than a judger, which means I am more flexible and enjoy spontaneity. However, I had some strong judger traits too, such as starting early and working with a plan, because I get stressed out starting late.

Has anyone else taken the Myers Briggs? Where do you fall on the scale, and is it accurate?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Photo by Rotorhead

If you’ve been reading my posts about how much time I spend on each stage of studying, you know that notecards are a big part of my process.

Making notecards while I study for the CPA exam forces me to go over each chapter in close detail. It’s like taking notes, only because it’s in notecard form, I can use them as flashcards to study from later.

If you are short on study time, instead of making your own review cards, you can get some Wiley FocusNotes from Roger CPA Review. These look pretty different from my ntoecards, but are probably a more effective way to narrow down the important information. My notecards don’t really distinguish between topics that will be a big part of the exam and topics that will maybe show up in one question.

Has anyone used these to study from that can tell us a little more about them? I only have 2 weeks before REG, but I might order some to help me study for AUD and BEC.

Related posts:

1. How about tomorrow… Ok, so maybe I won’t start studying for REG tonight....
2. CPA Results: FAR My CPA score for the FAR section came in the...
3. The Hardest Section of the CPA Exam What is the hardest section of the CPA? According to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Office visits are a chance for the student to interview the firm, essentially, but also to spend more time with the firm to prove that they can act professionally. The student gets the chance to see the offices, meet more people, and hear some presentations about the firm. However, they can’t just sit there and relax – the job seeker’s role is to ask questions. Lots of them.

At the end of an “interview” with a manager, senior manager, or partner, you want to be prepared when they ask you “so what questions can I answer for you about our firm?”

So what questions can you ask your interviewer at an accounting office visit?

A couple that I like to ask are:

1. Why did you choose to work here? or What do you like most about working here?

2. Can you tell me what the culture is like at the firm? (Although often, that’s their answer to question 1!)

3. Where do you see the firm going in the next 5 to 10 years? (They’ll ask you where you see yourself in 5 to 10 years, so here’s your chance to ask the question right back!)

Does anyone have some good suggestions for good questions to ask interviewers at office visits?

Related posts:

1. First week of recruiting Last week was the first week of on-campus interviews for...
2. Recruiting in a Recession Actually, I think that the recession is technically over, but...
3. Accounting Interviews! This week is the first week of on-campus interviews with...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’ve had a few interviews and invitations to office visits, but none of that tells us students how many entry-level positions the accounting firms have open. This situation is probably good for the smaller accounting firms, which had some trouble competing for recruits with Big4 in the past. However, with some of the Big 4 offering 0 jobs, the regional firms have a chance to be selective.

However, one of the smaller firms I attended several social events with and interviewed with seems to not have invited anyone to office visits. Essentially, they decided they weren’t really going to hire any new audit staff. That’s a little terrifying for us!

We’re supposed to be picking the firm that we fit in best at, but I wonder how many students this year will just accept the first offer they get.

Related posts:

1. Back to recruiting! Now that I have a new goal in mind for...
2. First accounting recruiting event of the season! Yesterday I went to a little “back to school kick-off”...
3. Recruiting Event #2 I already wrote about the first recruiting event I’ve been...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I think the first half of the material is technically more than half the content of the Regulation section of the CPA exam though, so I’m not doing too badly.

Also, my audit and tax classes at the moment are covering a lot of the topics I’m studying for REG. I struggled the most on corporations so far, because I haven’t covered them in any class yet. S Corps and Partnerships are fine though, because of tax class!

I thought about adjusting my study strategy and cutting out making notecards, but on the topics I’m not very familiar with, such as corporate taxes and contract law, the extra review helps, and I can use them as a review tool the week before the test.

Updated graph of how many hours I’ve studied for REG per week:

As you can see, my hours have been dropping in the last couple of weeks, rather than increasing substantially like I’d hoped for. At least it didn’t drop to one hour in a whole week like in week 3!

Related posts:

1. CPA Review: Practice Exams Along with my Roger CPA preparation materials came a Wiley...
2. The Big Day Looms Well, one more day to go before I take the...
3. CPA Review Materials So, as I begin preparing to take the CPA exam,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Many firms also have pre-interview socials as a way to get to meet you in a slightly more relaxed setting before the big day. If you’re really nervous about interviews, making a good impression on the right people at the pre-interview social might be a way to compensate  little bit. However, keep in mind that after your interview, the interviewer takes notes on you, whereas they don’t write anything down at dinner, so you’d have to make a really great impression that will be remembered.

The interviews and social events continue next week. Hopefully they will ultimately result in a job at a great firm!

Related posts:

1. Questions for Interviewers at Office Visits I had my first office visit of the season with...
2. Back to recruiting! Now that I have a new goal in mind for...
3. Recruiting in a Recession Actually, I think that the recession is technically over, but...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We all need to practice prioritizing this week, so here I am at 7 am, watching Roger CPA Videos (for REG part 4). I still have to do the multiple choice for REG 3, but it’s nice to switch it up between the types of studying. I am almost, not quite halfway through, after 7 weeks of studying, but I only have a month to go now! It’s also great to go from a section covering tax to one covering law, because it is so much easier for me to understand and remember law than tax. Go figure?

Tonight, I’ll be using this handy “Complete List of Behavioral Interview Questions,” from Emurse.com.

Related posts:

1. Back to CPA Review Well, what with interviews and exams last week, CPA studying...
2. First week of recruiting Last week was the first week of on-campus interviews for...
3. The Big Day Looms Well, one more day to go before I take the...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Following GAAS (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards) is a good defense against any of these charges, so Regulation also tests CPA candidates on GAAS.

The Securities Act of 1933 regulates original issuance of stock, and governs auditors responsibilities as participants in that process.

The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 regulates the subsequent trading of stock (ie, the financial statements companies issue to stockholders) and matters relating to fraud.

Conveniently, my audit class has been complementing my Roger CPA preparation, and we’ve been reading some cases about auditors getting sued for negligence (and losing). It’s a cool way to review legal liability, and the burden of proof for negligence. It’s also interesting to see cases where auditors got duped by clever clients, but the auditors were still held accountable because they could have found the fraud if they took their audit one step further. It’s a good reminder to maintain healthy professional skepticism.

Some interesting reading to relate Regulation studying to the real world is this article on Re: The Auditors that addresses a case faced by PWC and the auditor’s responsibility to find fraud under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) rules.

Related posts:

1. My General CPA Study Strategy So, my non-accounting-related life has been pretty fun and interesting...
2. First Day of Class If you missed my little post about diversity and accounting...
3. The Hardest Section of the CPA Exam What is the hardest section of the CPA? According to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.