Posts tagged: Gleim Review Systems

Getting Down to the Wire

May 7, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By CIA Exam Guest Blogger Bev M.

I was planning on completing CIA Part 1 Study Units 7 and 8 last week, but it was a short work week for me, so I decided to complete Study Unit 9 instead. I worked until Wednesday and then flew to Tampa with my boyfriend to visit his grandparents. I did not bring my laptop, but I did have my book with me just in case I got the urge to study. It was definitely a very relaxing weekend. I got lots of rest and got to go to the beach one of the days. Their house is only 3 miles away from one of the local beaches. I feel recharged and ready to tackle the rest of the study units before I take my exam at the end of April.

The main reason I chose Study Unit 9 during my short study week was because I had completed the engagement planning section when I was studying for the Audit part of the CPA exam. I took the quiz online and scored a 75%. I was quite excited about that. The last few times I took that quiz, I scored 50% each time. One area that gave me a little trouble was the preliminary survey. After going through the material, I realized that the preliminary survey is the same as our pre-planning activities where we review past audits, personnel interviews, and discussions with management. It’s all the activities we do during the planning phase of an audit to come up with the objectives. I also had to keep reminding myself that the working program was similar to our audit program. Study Unit 9 also came in handy because I have been working on two projects where I have taken on the role of a senior and have had to be involved in all the planning activities and coming up with the initial draft of the audit program (working program).

I plan on going through Study Units 7 and 8 this week and then tackling Study Unit 10 by Saturday at the latest. That should give me at least three full days of final review before I take the CIA exam. I plan on staying in this weekend and studying both days.

Happy studying!

Bev

 

 

Welcome CMA Guest Blogger Heather N.!

May 7, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Heather N.

Hello everyone! My name is Heather and I worked as an accountant for 15 years before I became a CPA. I have had jobs that didn’t require a CPA designation, but then I began teaching. I felt that I needed to become a CPA to be fully qualified to teach. Gleim software was my choice; it was the best I worked with.

When the school I teach at asked me to take over the teaching of cost accounting, I felt that taking the CMA exam was necessary. Plus, it had also been a very long time since I took cost accounting. I began researching the exam and reviews. I registered for the exam and soon decided I wanted to use Gleim. I know Gleim works because I had the best grades on my CPA while using their service. I purchased the books and began studying, but I need to do a lot more work for my CMA. I am hoping that the complete Gleim Review System will be helpful. I also like the idea of blogging because that will make me accountable. Accountability helps keep me on track. I understand that since I will be posting weekly, I will need to accomplish something and not just sit around pretending to study until the week before the exam.

I am a firm believer that educators need to have a top-notch level of education and be up to date. The CMA Review System will provide me with this. I also think my experience as a professor will play heavily into how I study and how I learn for this exam. I find that I learn from my students every day. I can also offer a perspective of the educator who is trying to relearn these topics. I feel that others can benefit from the learning style of an educator.

 

Pass the CMA Exam Video Series – Video #7 is now Available!

May 2, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Good news CMA candidates!  Video #7 in the Pass the CMA Exam Video Series is now Available!  The seventh video in this series focuses on the final review week.  If you’re wondering what to do during the last week of your exam preparation, check out this video for tips.

 

 

 

Let us know if you have any questions regarding becoming a CMA, and we’ll try to answer your questions in an upcoming video.

 

Tax Preparers – Articles Of Interest

April 10, 2013, by No comments yet

 

As busy season comes to a close, here are two articles EAs or EA candidates, and RTRP candidates may find interesting:

 

 

 

Packing In The Study Time

March 14, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Patti G.

Everything is in flux as I try to pack so much into such a small period of time. I am working every day now, so I have had to revamp my study schedule. I am trying to finish studying for EA Part 1 before my test date, which is scheduled in just a few weeks. I’ve put the new study schedule on my new 2013 calendar the rest of this month.

Now, each study unit must be completed in 4 days in order to meet the new schedule. I will begin a new study unit and go right through the Gleim suggested sequence. I usually review the study questions and take the test over and over until my score is satisfactory. That means achieving a grade of 75 or or better. Hopefully, my scores will be better than that.

I find that listening to the audio and carefully reading the correct answers helps sink the concepts into the cognitive domain of my brain. I have also been inputting key concepts or sticking points in the Notes menu. I plan to use these for a quick review later, and I like the outline form.

After studying a subunit, I access Gleim EA Test Prep online. Sometimes, I check the ones I’ve already completed to see if I have retained what I learned earlier. Eventually most of the concepts will stick if I just keep at the drill.

Today, I created a test session covering the first four subunits. The result was very good. Then, I took a look at the Grade Report, Performance Graphs, and viewed the History to ascertain if my scores were in the acceptable ranges. The graphs also show the average time per question and the cumulative percent correct.

My tax job is beginning to be very busy, and the phone is beginning to ring quite often as clients make appointments. In addition, I must notify my clients of all the new tax changes. This is accomplished via email and telephone, depending on the client.

The Gleim Study Program enables me to accomplish more than I ever could if I were trying to pass the EA Test on my own. So, I will study, work, and utilize the suggestions from Dr. Gleim, and I will do my very best on the upcoming test.

 

Get Back to Study Mode!

February 26, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Lynn L.

This is my third week, and I’m finally in study mode. I am now planning to take Part 1 by the end of this month. I was not sure if it would be possible to finish Part 1 in 4-6 weeks, but based on what I have done so far, I should be able to finish in time.

The shortcut that brought me to study mode was Gleim’s “suggested steps” for studying. I was happy that I could see obvious improvements after I followed these suggested steps. I believe many candidates may have a common question before they start studying–where to start? I also had that question at the beginning, but CMA Review: A System for Success helped make everything clear. I wrote down the suggested steps from that book on an index card and brought it with me, so that I could refer to it whenever I forgot what the next step was.

My studying started with a diagnostic quiz, which helped me to find my weak areas in the study unit. Then, I usually watched the audiovisual presentation for that study unit. I found that these presentations were the most helpful. I typically watched the presentation twice and tried to memorize the concepts right away. Even though watching it twice takes longer, I think it’s worth it. The next step is to answer the true/false questions. They are generally pretty easy questions, and they help you remember what you just learned from the presentation. Then it is time to study the book. Gleim suggests 60 minutes for this part, but I always spent more than 3 hours here. I guess this depends on how familiar you are with the materials. While studying the book, I also discovered that I was better at calculating-based questions than reading-based questions. This was especially true of the four standards in Study Unit 1. I spent around 45 minutes memorizing them but still got some relevant questions wrong. After I realized my weakness in memorizing concepts, I started listening to the audio review every night before I went to sleep. So far, it has been working well. I could easily recall most of the concepts the next day and it became easier when answering the essay questions.

Anyway, it is definitely a good idea to follow the suggested steps when you have no idea where to start. I believe that once you have a big picture of what is going on with the CMA exam and the study materials, you can make some adjustments based on your own study pace, just like I did. I also hope that everyone can get back into study mode really fast after the long holiday!

Lynn L.

 

 

Final Thoughts On The EA Exam

February 12, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger KP.

I have a few final thoughts about the last EA exam I took; the main one is to not study more than you need to! Make sure you have adequate time to prepare. I was way too busy in September and October when I first started studying for this exam, so I would only get through maybe half of a section a week (out of 20 sections). When I really had time to study again in November and December, I was forgetting a lot of the information I had studied in September and October. This meant that I needed to study it all over again! For Parts 1 and 3, I crammed for 6 weeks (any free time I had beyond grad school and work was spent studying), and it worked very well. For Part 2, I spent four months studying, but I really only effectively studied for the last 6 weeks of that time. Essentially, I wasted 10 weeks worrying about studying!

 

I also knew that since there was so much information for this section, that I had to study in a couple different ways for my final review. For the online parts, I did the sections out of order. I feel like when I studied everything in order, I knew exactly what questions were going to be asked ahead of time (partnership details first, then partnership basis, then partnership distributions), so I had the answers almost programmed in my head. However, when I mixed it up in the online review, it forced me to really know the information and very much simulated an exam session. Therefore, during the exam I wasn’t wasting any time trying to figure out what the question was asking. Instead, I was just making sure I wasn’t missing any exceptions or seemingly “minor” rules.

 

The other thing I did was make sure to not gloss over the “easy” stuff during Part 1 of the exam. I spent so much time making sure that I knew every little rule and every dollar amount for every deduction/credit, but I realized that there were some very easy questions that I questioned myself on. I glossed over those parts in my studying because I assumed there was no way I would forget that stuff! Well, during an exam, you will be surprised what can leave your mind. Therefore, don’t forget to understand the basics! These are the easiest points and they will be on the exam! Good luck studying!

 

Exam Studying: Be Careful of Absolutes

February 7, 2013, by No comments yet

 

Written By Guest Blogger Shelley C.

In spite of  my recent EA exam studying setbacks, I have noticed a few things that I wanted to share with everyone. The use of the words: “all,” “none,” and “always” have still gotten the best of me during my quiz taking. I need to stop myself and take a breath when I read those words in a question.

So, I’ve come up with a few steps that I am going to follow when going forward with my studying.

1. Survey the question. Quickly look over it to see what the question is asking. Look at the all the words. Get an overview.

2. Say the question out loud. This is where I hope to catch those “all” or “nothing” phrases.

3. Read through the answers carefully. See if any of them can be eliminated. Determine if the question is a slam dunk.

4. If the question is not a slam dunk, re-read the question a second time, a bit slower this time. Look for the key words that are familiar and/or similar to other study questions you have answered in the review process. Then, re-read the answers and see if they seem clearer.

I have found that if I am patient with this process, my grades on my quizzes improve. Happy studying!

 

 

Welcome CPA Guest Blogger Allison H.!

January 17, 2013, by 1 comment

Written By Guest Blogger Allison H.

One of the goals shared by my accounting classmates at the university was to be a CPA. Most of our professors were CPAs and many of us worked as staff in CPA firms, gaining the experience we needed to be successful in the business arena. While a CPA designation isn’t required to be a tax accountant or a bookkeeper, somehow the community equates CPA with “expert” and looks for CPAs to partner with in conducting business, problem-solving, and building new enterprises. We wanted to be a part of this esteemed group. Taking the exam is one of the main steps in attaining the goal. Most of my school friends have done it, and they are cheering me on.

I raised my children and then decided to go to school. Choosing a major was a big deal since I was interested in so many things. I chose accounting, expecting that I would sell my siblings’ art someday. All seven of my siblings are practicing artists (not me – I must be adopted!). I thought it would be wise to learn accounting before starting a business. When I learned how much I enjoyed accounting and taxes, I raised my hopes and set the goal of becoming a CPA. My work path after graduation gave me many opportunities to learn and stretch, but it didn’t provide me with the audit hours I needed until now. I am now with a CPA firm that would like me to earn the license as fast as I can. I know I will have success studying with Gleim.

I recently passed all three parts of the Enrolled Agent exam with Gleim. I was pleased with the specific instructions and the pattern given for studying. I carefully used the recommended pattern to prepare. It didn’t take long to master the topics, and when I tested, I felt confident in the testing chair. I’m sure it will be the same with the CPA review materials. My first step is to register with my State Board of Accountancy and pay for my first exam. My goal is to pass all four parts of the CPA exam by August, 2013, and to meet my audit hour requirements by my birthday in February, 2014. Earning the CPA license will be a great birthday present.

 

Studying For The CPA Exam During Vacation

January 15, 2013, by No comments yet

Written By Guest Blogger Greg W.

How hard will it be to study during vacation? I don’t know yet, but I will find out soon. I am spending the next four weeks preparing for the audit exam and it just happens to be during my vacation. On the bright side, it is a slower time of year at work. Thank goodness. I will share my experiences as we go.

My wife and I just got back from a much needed weekend getaway that was very overdue. I did not take my study materials with me because I am going to study for a four-week period on an aggressive schedule starting now. We traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains and walked down a Main Street that looked and felt like we were on a movie set. The mountains were magnificent and the people were friendly. As we walked down the street, many people were walking down the sidewalks and cars continually passed by. People were dining, shopping, and visiting with each other. My wife and I traveled back home thinking that we had just left a piece of us back in the Smokies.

So the first part of the four-week program will be to read all 20 study units of AUD and take the true/false exams. It will be an intense week of study that will cover all of the material. Many activities will be vying for my time, but I want to take this exam and put it behind me before busy season gets kicked off.  I have 30 days to study which may seem a little aggressive.  It will be well worth it.