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SarutosZero posted:I didn't see it for a few pages back but does anyone have an opinion on Gleim vs Becker for the CPA exam? I was planning on doing Becker but a friend said she liked the Gleim a lot more/it's cheaper. If it's important I'll probably be doing self study. Thanks! I used Bisk, which is a pretty dirt cheap option as well (passed the four parts in my first go), although I've heard good things about Gleim as well.
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Dec 30, 2013 23:38
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I'm about to pull the trigger on one of the review courses as well. I will be self-studying no matter which I choose (no live classes), but I would appreciate specifics of what anyone liked about any particular course, or anything that you feel sets it apart. I'm considering all options from the dirt cheap up to Becker. And here's a survey of courses on Going Concern. Informative but drawn from a limited pool of respondents. Gabriel Grub fucked around with this message at 04:10 on Dec 31, 2013 |
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Dec 31, 2013 04:06
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Lemmi Caution posted:I'm about to pull the trigger on one of the review courses as well. I will be self-studying no matter which I choose (no live classes), but I would appreciate specifics of what anyone liked about any particular course, or anything that you feel sets it apart. I'm considering all options from the dirt cheap up to Becker. I used Becker and it got the job done. I have to say though, the Becker Final Review (its separate from the standard package) is amazing and I recommend it to everyone. I want to say it was ~$500 when I took the exam a few years ago. It's a super condensed high level review on all the various topics, and also I thought the instructors (on the videos, I didn't do live classes ever) did a great job of showing how they got to their answers.
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Dec 31, 2013 05:31
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Lemmi Caution posted:I'm about to pull the trigger on one of the review courses as well. I will be self-studying no matter which I choose (no live classes), but I would appreciate specifics of what anyone liked about any particular course, or anything that you feel sets it apart. I'm considering all options from the dirt cheap up to Becker. I've used both if it is your money I wouldn't waste it on Becker. The multiple choice questions are your biggest study tool and they all roughly come from the same place. If it is firm money let them hand you Becker.
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Dec 31, 2013 05:54
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I'm pretty sure Becker got in real close with my accounting program once they realized it's an automatic ~200 kids taking the exam every year they can snatch up. Since the program has become a Big 4 farm, everyone gets the course comped. It works out since the program keeps a fairly high pass rate, everyone can study together easily, Becker gets automatic POs for their course, and the firms get CPAs.
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Dec 31, 2013 08:20
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gently caress me there are a lot of flashcards.
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Jan 6, 2014 23:48
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How's the tablet/mobile integration with Becker? I'm currently debating CPAexcel vs Roger, and a big advantage with the former seems to be that you can take your flashcards on the go with an iPad/iPhone. Roger only does his lectures mobile, nothing else. The idea of dealing with physical flash cards is a big turn-off to me.
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Jan 7, 2014 00:25
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I took part 1 of the CMA exam on Saturday. It's a long exam that doesn't give you any chance to take a break. 100 straight MC's and a lot of small essay questions that felt like the BEC part of the CPA exam. I thought I did pretty well on it, but some of the questions were a lot wordier than they needed to be. I'm taking part 2 in May.
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Jan 8, 2014 02:58
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js86 posted:I took part 1 of the CMA exam on Saturday. It's a long exam that doesn't give you any chance to take a break. 100 straight MC's and a lot of small essay questions that felt like the BEC part of the CPA exam. I thought I did pretty well on it, but some of the questions were a lot wordier than they needed to be. I'm taking part 2 in May. Let us know if you passed. I'm studying for part 1 now. Any tips?
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Jan 8, 2014 03:02
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Bugamol posted:Let us know if you passed. I'm studying for part 1 now. Any tips? I won't know if I passed or not until mid-March. 6 weeks after the end of the month when you test, so it'll be awhile. Most of the questions on there aren't too bad and the essays seemed pretty easy to me. I didn't have to do any calculations on that part, which was a nice surprise. Just make sure you're pacing yourself on the MC's and you'll be fine.
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Jan 8, 2014 03:46
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I need some advice. I've been assigned to a main client in audit, for the past year or so doing primarily quarter work. Because of great budgeting, they blew the budget by adding a 1st year to interim and year-end work, and thus they moved my senior into a "managing" role, and tapped me to become "senior", when I'm in reality still a second year. So now next week is year-end field work, and I have a a pile of interim workpapers with comments. I find out today from a friend, that I "stole" their intern, now finding out that my first year has been replaced with two new winter interns. Words cannot express my frustration and anger at being blindsided right now. But what can I do or what can those interns work on besides getting lunch and dinner that can be productive for the engagement? I have four weeks to get the audit done and archived, with entirely new accounting people at the Company (different than those at interim).
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Jan 18, 2014 23:17
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Career Advice (!) Alert So i've been doing the big 4 public accounting thing for the past two years and am on my third busy season. I am getting a serious case of grass is greener syndrome so I am wondering what the next step should be. I am trying to go through the internal channels to transfer to an advisory group for a change of pace, but, even if this happens, it will only be a tour for a month or so over the summer. My options are the standard for someone in my capacity where I can go to another Big 4 for a pay raise, use a recruiter and get a senior accounting role, or stick it out until manager and "write my own ticket" as all of the partners claim. I was wondering if anyone has any advice for me and things to look out for. I am within the alternatives practice so I have a lot of fund experience and those fund accounting roles pay quite well with significantly better hours.
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Jan 19, 2014 03:37
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fuseshock posted:I need some advice. I can't even count the number of times I had qualified associates replaced by interns or tax rotators. You just have to roll with the punches. Put some pressure on your associates, if you still have any, to get them to use the interns to help them with their own work. Aside from that, coaching is key - there have to be some tasks you can set aside some time up front with them to coach them to do and let them have at it. Data entry, vouching, ticking and tying, proofing FS or other documents, rolling forward workpapers, organizing confirmations and binders, etc. Unfortunately in this situation you have to invest some time of your own to set them up with something, but eventually you can hit a stride where 30 minutes of coaching can keep them busy for a couple of hours.
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Jan 19, 2014 06:40
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How you fellas and ladies holding up?
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Jan 24, 2014 03:07
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Audax posted:How you fellas and ladies holding up? Fine - beginning work on my company's tax returns and also helping the CFO and Staff Accountant with some of the audit checklist stuff while I'm waiting for some information. You?
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Jan 24, 2014 03:08
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Scheduled FAR on February 7th. 3-4 more Becker modules to go through before I take the test.
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Jan 24, 2014 16:19
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Democratic Pirate posted:Scheduled FAR on February 7th. 3-4 more Becker modules to go through before I take the test. Good luck!
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Jan 25, 2014 01:17
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Once I have the application and all the transcripts in, how long should I expect to wait to hear from the California Board of Accountancy about signing up for the exam?
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Jan 25, 2014 04:04
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Lemmi Caution posted:Once I have the application and all the transcripts in, how long should I expect to wait to hear from the California Board of Accountancy about signing up for the exam? 1-2 months if you're talking about the initial application E: oh if you've done the initial application then pretty quick
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Jan 25, 2014 04:30
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I recently got promoted to Controller of our ~100 person company. I have a B.S. in Mathematics with an emphasis in Actuarial Science. My coursework in college had a few accounting classes and a few finance classes, but was a lot heavier in raw mathematics and probability/statistics. Are designations like CMA/CIA worth going for? I have absolutely no interest in becoming a public accountant, and I see my future plans as staying with my current company, being an assistant controller at a much larger company, or being a controller at a smaller, tech focused company. I passed 3 exams while trying to become an actuary, so I'm no stranger to self study and actually look forward to this type of advancement.
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Jan 27, 2014 02:44
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Sounds like your situation fits the CMA designation very well. They claim to be growing in popularity, and the exam sure is easier than the CPA one. (Not to mention way more applicable to your work)
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Jan 27, 2014 07:15
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A GIANT PARSNIP posted:I recently got promoted to Controller of our ~100 person company. I have a B.S. in Mathematics with an emphasis in Actuarial Science. My coursework in college had a few accounting classes and a few finance classes, but was a lot heavier in raw mathematics and probability/statistics. Do you have to deal with financial reporting much? Are you at a publicly traded company? If not, you might want to pass on the CPA... and if you don't deal with SOX who cares about the CIA? The CMA sounds like it could add value for you.
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Jan 28, 2014 03:58
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I have an accounting question: A gym offers a free personal training session when you sign up for a $500 annual membership. The value of the training session is $35. All the training sessions have been used by the end of the year How do you record this in the accounts? I get you have to pro-rate the membership income for the period to the end of the financial year, but I don't see how the training session is recorded. It must be held as a liability, which is removed when the session is provided. But where does the $35 go? Right now I'm at (say the membership was bought halfway through the year): Initial journal entry - (membership) Dr Cash 500 Cr Membership sales 250 Cr Deferred income 250 (free training session) Cr Training session owed 35 Dr Discount allowed 35 Subsequent redeeming of voucher - Dr Training session owed 35 Cr ???? You can't reverse the discount, because you've given them a $35 service for $0. I don't work as an accountant but I do understand revenue recognition policies and debits and credits (just about).
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Jan 28, 2014 04:07
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Hoops posted:I have an accounting question: Initial Dr Cash 500 Cr Deferred income (membership) 465 Cr Deferred income (training) 35 Monthly Dr Deferred income (membership) 38.75 Cr Income (membership) 38.75 When voucher redeemed Dr Deferred income (training) 35 Cr Income (training) 35 Probably something like that?
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Jan 28, 2014 04:18
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gmilo posted:Do you have to deal with financial reporting much? Are you at a publicly traded company? If not, you might want to pass on the CPA... and if you don't deal with SOX who cares about the CIA? The CMA sounds like it could add value for you. I personally don't see the value in a CMA unless you work for a manufacturing company but I've only dealt with it in passing.
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Jan 28, 2014 04:41
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Good Citizen posted:Probably something like that? Dr Promo/marketing expense 35 Cr Training sessions 35 Control of the training sessions could be thought of as a asset that generates future revenues, right? But then would it require depreciation? gently caress.
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Jan 28, 2014 04:49
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Hoops posted:My new thought is don't record the training session at all initially. Then expense the cost as a promotional expense, and reduce your asset of "gym training", as you pass on the control of it to the customer: Yeah, I'm gonna go ahead and say that's probably not allowed under GAAP E: like, if you're not recording the training sessions initially then where is the training session asset (an unused service as an asset?) even coming from on the balance sheet? Good Citizen fucked around with this message at 05:18 on Jan 28, 2014 |
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Jan 28, 2014 05:09
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It's a voucher right? Wouldn't you just treat it like a discount and go: DR: Cash $500 CR: Revenue $465 CR: Training Allowance $35 Recorded at net so nothing difference unless it goes unused. Or just record at gross and then debit a contra-revenue account for training sessions taken.
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Jan 28, 2014 07:21
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This FUTA Credit Reduction State thing is bullshit. I have to pay additional FUTA tax in 2014 retroactive to Jan 1 2013 because the state couldn't pay its UI benefits? I never thought about budgeting for this.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FUTA_credit_reduction
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Jan 28, 2014 19:39
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The new cost accounting manager at a big company in my area just reached out to me on linkedin and asked me to apply for a senior cost accountant position that was posted 6 months ago on their website. I have applied for jobs at this company in the past and I know two people that work there, but I'm not entirely sure how he found me (whether it was browsing linkedin, looking at old applications, or an internal reference). I'm definitely going to apply for the job as it would be a promotion and a step up to a much larger company. My question is what should, if any, my response be on linkedin.
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Jan 29, 2014 00:31
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I just applied and connection request him.
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Jan 29, 2014 01:07
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Mandalay posted:This FUTA Credit Reduction State thing is bullshit. I have to pay additional FUTA tax in 2014 retroactive to Jan 1 2013 because the state couldn't pay its UI benefits? I never thought about budgeting for this.. I told somebody about that and they thought I was making it up. Hey don't worry, the IRS will help you make a payment plan! 
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Jan 29, 2014 02:45
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Mandalay posted:This FUTA Credit Reduction State thing is bullshit. I have to pay additional FUTA tax in 2014 retroactive to Jan 1 2013 because the state couldn't pay its UI benefits? I never thought about budgeting for this.. What state?
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Jan 29, 2014 15:27
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Cyrezar posted:What state? California. It's fine, we can afford it, just ranting about something that seems completely out of our control and was unexpected.
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Jan 29, 2014 19:34
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It looks like a career in public accounting is definitely not going to happen. What I considered my last, best shot fell through. I've applied for my exams and was planning to choose and purchase a review course this weekend, but I'm putting all that on hold because I do not see a path forward at this point. I know some people will say to pass some sections and try again next time, but this has all been an extreme drain on time and resources, and I cannot devote any more to an exercise where I've already received such poor results. I would like to say to career-changers or older students without a background in the subject, consider getting a Master of Accounting. All the advice I read before starting was strongly against, but most of the advice out there is not for the career-changers. I feel that the firms I interviewed with did not understand or respect the path I took toward exam qualification and if I could go back I would get the Masters. I don't think I would be any better educated, but I feel just being able to say I got a masters might have made the difference. I haven't completely given up, the exams are just on hold, but I'm not taking another step until I have a better plan for working in private industry, or even internal audit. I go to the local IMA meetings, and am considering attending IIA as well. If anyone knows of any good resources for quality industry jobs, please share. I have two years experience at a manufacturer, in just about every common area of accounting that a small-to-medium sized business might come across.
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Jan 31, 2014 04:39
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Sorry to hear it hasn't worked out for you so far. Best of luck to you in the future! As far as the Master's goes I'm currently trying to help a lady I know find a job, she's got a Master's in Tax, her undergrad was in marketing and she was a lawyer when she was in Europe. All the firms she's talked to have completely blown her off and basically just tell her to reapply when she has her CPA. It makes little sense to me that they would do that, but she's got no reason to lie about it.
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Feb 2, 2014 04:05
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What did she specialize in in law school? Also, is it an MS in Tax or an LLM in Tax? If the latter, I would think she could be tax counsel at most firms (especially in PE, Hedge Funds, etc) - the CPA is more of a factor if you're doing the financial/managerial accounting side, not tax (since attorneys are just as qualified, if not more, than CPAs to deal with tax stuff since tax is a law field).
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Feb 2, 2014 04:09
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Sausage of Power posted:she was a lawyer when she was in Europe. If she's not an attorney with a US license, she can't sign returns and can't represent in front of the IRS. She might have the knowledge, but not the licensing.
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Feb 2, 2014 12:42
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If she has an LL.M., she should take the bar ASAP (I believe NY is friendly to non-US lawyers) if she has not already. At my mid-size accounting firm we have three lawyers in our international tax practice (including myself!). Big four firms also recruited heavily from my LL.M. class, not to mention law firms.
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Feb 2, 2014 17:06
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PatMarshall posted:If she has an LL.M., she should take the bar ASAP (I believe NY is friendly to non-US lawyers) if she has not already. At my mid-size accounting firm we have three lawyers in our international tax practice (including myself!). Big four firms also recruited heavily from my LL.M. class, not to mention law firms. Yeah, any public accounting firm is filled with non-CPA licensed attorneys.
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Feb 2, 2014 18:13
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