Mark My Words

Over a month to go and it’s the CPA MAY 2019 Board Exam again. How do you feel? Because last year, I felt emotions I never thought exist. You will feel “I do not know what to do and what to prioritise anymore” And that’s just pretty normal.
If you do not have a concrete plan yet on what to do for your last leg of review, you might want to consider what I did when I had my review.

This is for those AVERAGE REVIEWEE who do not know how they would spend the remaining days of their review. AND I TELL YOU, YOU SHOULD START PLANNING NOW BECAUSE I TELL YOU, THE COMING DAYS ARE GOING TO BE INSANE.

LAST DAY OF CLASSES. SPECIAL NOTES. FINAL PREBOARD RESULTS. PREWEEK. PREWEEK. SPECIAL TOPICS. PRESSURE. All of these. If you do not plan your remaining days before board, you will surely get overwhelmed.

Caution: Do not just follow everything. Know yourself first. Assess your capacity and ability. Consider these points and if you think it won’t work, don’t do it. If you think it has a chance, personalise it. Do it according to your system. After all, you know who you are.

Before anything else, introduce ko muna sarili ko. Ako nga pala si Mark. I passsed the CPA Board Exam last May 2018. I'm a graduate of Mindanao State University - Main Campus. I took my formal review at the CPA Review School (CPAR). So I had to pack everything, move to Manila, and start a life completely different from my comfort zone.

So lets start!
The last 30-40 days before exam is a crucial part of review days. These days could really make or break you. Bakit? Kasi eto yung mga panahon na aalalahin mo yung mga topics and lessons na naaral mo from the start. If you are just an average person katulad ko, this is really challenging kasi im sure mahaba habang pag i-i-squeeze ang mangyayari. Mantakin mo yun, yung mga topics from preboards up to this point, kelangan mo syang ilagay sa isang box para pag may lumabas na tanong dun, pupulot ka lang dun sa isang box ng concept at hindi na  sa kung saang saang box pa. Gets mo?

From my personal standpoint lang ah, during exam talaga 80% of what you will remember is what you learned in the last 30 to 60 days before the exam. Again standpoint ko lng yun ha kasi ‘di naman talaga ako matalino. Siguro may naalala ako pero sobrang relevant ang concept na yun kaya ko sya naalala pero the small and petty details, di ko na maalala. Kaya importanteng at this point of time, gamay mo na ang mga topics even yung mga nasa first preboard topics.

So here’s what you should do:
1. FAST-PACED STUDYING. 
Etong nga araw na hindi na to yung magaaral ka ng business tax ng 2-3 days na yun lng pagaaralan mo. Tapos ka na dapat dun. What you should be doing now is pagaralan nlng yung mga importanteng concepts per topic. For example, for a day dapat na jujugle mo na ung topic from one to another. So kunyari mag sosolve ka ng probs, for example 50 questions, hindi na dapat lahat yan income tax lang. sguro may 20 income tax, 10 business tax 10 estate and so on. Ganon. Dapat itrain mo na yung brain to answer that way. Kasi sanay tayo mag solve ng lahat income tax 50 items magkakasunod. Pero sa exam it doesn’t work that way. Just like the preboards.
Of course di naman maiiwasan na may mga topic talag na kelangan ng mahabang oras pero the point lang is wag mo pagaralan nman ng buong araw. Sobrang limited nlng ng araw mo at sayang nmn kung isang topic lang mauubos mo.

That tip is for those na on track yung pinagaralan nila. What if naman dun sa nagkulang sa time. Yung feeling talaga na parang konti pa lang ang 'yung alam. Next tip is for you.

2. TAP THE IMPORTANT CONCEPTS.
If may concepts ka or topic na di mo na galaw talaga or konti lang alam mo, try to ask a friend or sino man kung anong part dun ang importanteng malaman mo. Kasi diba overwhelming kung lahat lahat na yun iisa isahin mo. If wala ka na talagang time to cope up, try to at least have an overview about dun sa topic. The basic of it. Or if wala kang mapagtanungan, read the syllabus or topic of specification. Its all there kung ano yung at least dapat mo matutunan. So from there, magkaka idea ka na san ka mag fofocus para di ka mawala.
For example, Variable Costing hindi mo talaga sya na touch. At feel mo hindi mo na sya kayang ma tap, at least alamin mo lang yung dapat mong matutunan with regards to this topic:

So from that, may idea ka na kung anong matutunan. So kung i-tatap mo na yung topic na yan, naka program na yung brain mo na eto yung dapat mong matutunan.

3. ANSWER MCQs AS MANY AS YOU CAN. 
Hindi talaga nauubos ang mga problems sa katulad nating mga tamad hahaha kaya solve lang ng solve. Less of readings na kasi it is expected of you na nabasa mo na lahat yan. Well except sa RFBT which requires a lot of reading tlaga pero what i mean is magaral ka thru solving and answering questions. Kasi it’s like hitting two birds with one stone. Bakit? Kasi first, na te-train ka na mag sagot ng MCQs which is a needed ability sa board. Second, you learn something by getting the correct or incorrect answer. I swear maraming concepts kang matututunan na hindi mo matutunan by just reading the concepts.
And speaking of MCQs, eto yung mga suggested materials you might want to check and try to solve:

Auditing Problem

RESA Quizzers 1-5     

Very solid and recommendable. Siksik sa concepts.

Pro-tip: Late ko na sya nadiscover na maganda talaga. Mga bandang April na din sya na introduce sakin. Sobrang dami nya kaya ang ginawa ko, pinasadahan ko muna ng tingin yung mga problems.Tapos, iniimagine ko na sya paano sya isolve at pano sagutan ung mga tanong. So kung feel ko na madali lang sya at wala namang bago, hindi ko na sya sinosolve muna. Pero pag feel ko na medyo mahirap sya at may bagong terms/concept akong nakita, sino-solve ko sya. That's how I strategized kasi andami nya talaga di kaya ng brain cells ko. Hehe. Unahin mo muna yung Quizzers sa PPE, SHE and Investments.

  

Auditing Theory

CPAR Preweek Materials

If may mga PW ka from previous batch, pwede na yun. Meron din sa Lares.

LEAD PW 

Maganda din to. Kakaiba yung ibang nasa IT na part. Tapos maganda sa mata yung font. Hehehe

FAR 

RESA Preboards         

Sagutan nyo lang. Maganda.Thank me later.

CPAR PW & PB

Content-wise, 10/10. 

iCPA-SMARTS

Solid concepts <3

RFBT 

CPAR PW & PB

CONCEPTSSSSS 15/10. The best. Wala na ako masabi yun lang. Hahaha

CRC-ACE PW

Gusto ko yung RFBT materials ng CRC. Maganda. Solid concepts. May mga tanong na unfamiliar na  hindi mo aakalain na itatanong pero importante pala.

PRTC PW

Gusto ko din yung mga tanungan dito sa PRTC. Nakakalito yung mga choices kasi parang aalugin talaga utak mo kung may natutunan ka talaga. Haha

TAX

CPAR 

CONCEPTSSSSS 15/10. The best. Wala na ako masabi yun lang. Hahaha

AFAR

RESA PW & Preboards

CRC-ACE  Quizzers & PW

Almost the same lang yung tanungan and construction ng questions kaya whichever sa kanila pwede mo pag practice-sang isolve :)

MAS

CPAR PW & PB

Concept-wise 10/10

PRTC MAS PW & PB

Concept-wise 10/10

  

SO ANG DAMI DI BA. LOL

Pero guys, hindi ko naman lahat lahat page per page na solve talaga. Ang ginagawa ko kasi dati, sa sobrang daming materials available, hindi mo yan matatapos. AND DONT EVEN TRY TO DO IT. Kakapusin ka sa oras. Specially if mabagal at tamad ka katulad ko na average lang ang kaya. What I did before is, as soon as April, I have already assessed myself, alam ko na ano kaya kong sagutan, yung mga solid concepts na, at kung ano pa yung mga tagilid pa ako. Kaya pag may material ako, hindi ko na sinosolve lahat2. Yung mga hindi ko pa kaya. For example, sa MAS, confident na ako sa variable costing at standard at tsaka dun sa financial ratios. So if may material ako na about sa MAS at may problem dun na tungkol dun sa topic na nabangit ko, hindi ko na sya sinosolve. Kasi confident na ako e. So nakaka-save ako ng time. That is why, it's very important talaga to assess your personal capacity kasi it would help also to execute a plan under time constraint.

   

BUT HEP, it is still important to PRIORITIZE your review materials. These are not SUSTITUTES, these are  SUPPLEMENTARIES. They are not in any way alternatives to your review center's materials. Siguraduhin mo munang tapos ka na sa isa bago tumingin sa iba. 😂

Ang daming nag-eexpect na pag nasolve nila ang materials na ganito or ganyan ay papasa na sila which is very wrong. Hindi nila nakikita yung true purpose in trying to answer these. Sasabihin nila, "Ay hindi naman lumabas yung ano ganito." KASI HINDI NAMAN TALAGA. If you are given the chance to study these materials, YOU DON'T EXPECT THE QUESTION YOU ARE ANSWERING TO BE ON THE ACTUAL BOARD. Maling-mali ang ganyang perspective. Hindi ka talaga papasa. It is there because it should assess you if you really know something, if may naka store talaga jan sa utak mo na pwede mong dalhin sa totoong laban. It is there to assess and teach you, not to make you feel safe that you'll pass the board. Okay? So please, use wisely every material you have access to.

Disclaimer: This is just according to what (1) I've read online, (2) I've been told by reviewees before me, (3) and personal assessments which I found to be satisfying. THIS IS NOT A FACT AND PREFERENCE MAY VARY TO OTHER REVIEWEES.

                                   

4. NO MORE OVERNIGHTS. 
This is true to me ha i dont know sa iba pero kasi ako talaga during the last few weeks of reviews natutulog na ako ng maaga. I do the studying the whole day. When the time na araw araw na ang library sa cpar. Dun na nagsimula na nagaaral ako from 8AM to 11PM. Syempre may mga breaks yun in between. This is possible if full-time reviewee ka. May iba’t ibang habit naman tayo sa pagaaral pero try mo lang ng 1 or 2 days, if may positive effect naman, pagpatuloy mo. Pero pag mas comfortable ka dun sa all-nighter habit, wala din namang masama. Ang point lang is that, go for the time na mas efficient and effective ka. Sa mga working ka naman, I suggest that you take a leave of atleast two weeks. Mahirap talaga pag sabayin yung work at review pero kaya nyo yan.


5. PATTERN YOUR STUDY TIME BASED ON THE ACTUAL BOARD TIME. 
This isnt scientific proven fact ha! Gawa gawa ko lang to. Lol. During my review, I patterned my study kung anong oras yung actual board exam. Pano yun. Dati sa amin yung actual time ng board for FAR and AFAR is morning and afternoon. So pag nagaaral ako, yung FAR inaaral ko lang sya ng umaga. Yung AFAR naman hapon. So kahit may mga di pa ako tapos sa FAR sa umaga, pag lunch break na, stop na talaga. AFAR na maman. Binabalikan ko nlng yung nabitin na aralin sa far pag gabi. Yun lang. So nung mga April banda na, nag sosolve na ako ng multiple choices sa umaga at hapon na ganon yung sched ng subject. Then I do most of the readings at night. Di ko alam kung it helped pero hahaha ang premise ko kasi nun is that, hindi naman ako magbabasa talaga sa actual board, mag sasagot ako. Kaya parang tinetrain ko utak ko na yan, pag umaga at hapon, yang yung naka program sayo, mag basa ng tanong, mag recall ng concepts, magsolve at magsagot. (at hindi mag absord ng concepts) Again this is recommended lang if halos na cover mo na lahat ng aaralin at sagot sagot ka nlng. So if may mga concepts ka pang dapat i-catch up, please prioritize it. Again, personalizing it is the key.

6. SOCIAL MEDIA HIATUS.

My longest social media hiatus was really when I had my last leg of review. I could still remember I deactivated my Facebook account—March 26, 2018. I uninstalled everything except for Instagram which was my outlet whenever I feel like checking up the virtual world. Yung purpose talaga ng hiatus is to detach yourself from that world and to lessen unnecessary conversations. Yun talaga. You really have to commit kasi ang laki ng tulong na nagawa nun. Although it wasnt really absolute hiatus since I made up a dummy account — yung dummy account gamit ko sa group chat ng batch namin at tsaka sa pagsagot at tanong sa accounting coach 🙂 But I didnt install facebook app back. Nag fi-facebook lang ako thru sa browser ko using free facebook. So kung di mo talaga kaya ma detach sa facebook, delete mo yung app tapos mag fb ka sa browser. You’ll notice mas matagal yung time pag nasa app ka compared if naka browser ka lang.

7. EAT TALK BREATHE ACCOUNTING.

Sobrang lala. 80% ng salita at gawa ko is all about accounting. Kung wala tayong paguusapan tungkol sa accounting, we aint talking. Ganon hahaha well except talaga for important people and matters (family, closed friends) I did not bother to know what is happening to the world im living hahaha Ganon talaga ako kafocus nun. Kasi feel ko talaga kasi naka stock up na lahat ng important concepts na baon ko sa board exam, and as a limited person that I am, feel ko pag may bagong ideas, bagong info, bagong thoughts akong ipapasok sa utak ko, mapapalitan or magagamit yung limited brain cells ng utakko na supposedly to store concepts that I had to know. HAHAHAHA GANON KA LALA HAHAHA I WAS SO SELFISH AND CRAZY THAT TIME. I SWEAR. HAHAHAHA. I BREATHE EAT AND TALK ACCOUNTING FOR MY LAST 30 DAYS OF REVIEW.

8. I PRAYED FOR EVERYTHING.

I didn’t want to initially include this pero I remember I had a promise to fulfill.

I didnt just pray for the result, i prayed for everything that would come my way to get there. Sure pinagdasal ko na pumasa ako pero it was just like 20% of my prayers. I PRAYED MORE FOR WHAT I HAD TO DO TO GET THERE. I easily forget things and concepts so I prayed for an inch of His memory. I always have a hardtime to fully understand things so I prayed for a pinch of His wisdom. I am a slow learner so I prayed for comprehension.

Hindi ako perpektong tao pero sabi ko talaga sa Kanya, “Lord, if ibibigay mo yung lisensya, I will make people know how great you are and how faithful you are to Your people. I will let them know how I prayed for it and how You answered them.”

And all throughout that journey I felt He gave me what I prayed for. I always believe that I passed the board exam because He gave me these—good memory, wisdom and comprehension—and not because I prayed to pass the exam. And that I think made the journey worthwhile because I know He didn’t just give it, I prayed my way through it and worked hard for it.

As people know, I have never been the ideal accountancy student 

I AM A SLOW LEARNER. I DO NOT HAVE A SHARP MEMORY. I GET EASILY DISTRACTED. I AM SOMETIMES BAD AT ANALYSIS.

And I had to admit these limitations so it would adhere to my planned actions.

YOU STILL HAVE 30 OR MORE DAYS LEFT. YOU CAN STILL MAKE A CHANGE.

Sa basketball nga na kahit ilang segundo lang matira, pwede pang magbago ang laro.

POINT IS, PLAN WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. Hindi ko naman sinabing sundin to lahat— Lesson lang dito is I PLANNED EVERYTHING. Bonus nlng dito is that may konting tip ka what to do.

Sabi nga nila diba, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

If you feel like there isn't so much time left, please don’t feel that way.

Maximize your time. Be consistent anf committed on your daily plan. Always eye on the prize. Give your best and everything will just take place.

In the end, you only regret the things you didn’t do.

If you need someone to talk to or need a reinforcement on your review, just beep me up. 🙂


Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. (NIV)

It's not just the actual plan that will make you through it, but its the consistency you put on doing it. Be consistent and you will surely achieve it.

You are a CPA. And it's just an exam away. :)



#CPAbyMay