Welcome to the course Study Tips for CPA PEP Candidates!
This course is comprised of weekly emails that I sent to Candidates in my role as a Facilitator for several Taxation and Core 2 modules.
I have made these available to you in the hope that the guidance that I provided them might also benefit a wider audience.
Maintaining a positive, enthusiastic attitude, combined with diligent work on a consistent basis, will help you succeed in this module.
For now, here are some general topics to consider:
Carefully follow instructions and guidelines,
Maximize the amount of time spent on learning,
Ensure that you completely learn the assigned materials,
Memorize key concepts to improve your recall and speed,
Become familiar with exam type questions, and
Maintain a good mental attitude.
Carefully follow instructions and guidelines
It is important to follow the approach outlined in The CPA Way. Following this closely can maximize your marks.
A good place to start is to read and understand the material in the following chapters in the Learning eBook Enabling Competencies:
Chapter 9 Tax Issues (or the chapter that corresponds to your specific module)
Chapter 12 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
Chapter 26 Exam Preparation — Approaching a Case
Chapter 27 Exam Preparation — Debriefing a Case
Maximize the amount of time spent on learning
Allocate daily and weekly time and develop effective work routines to complete all the needed module activities.
You need to allocate study time each week and time for a final review just before the module exam. Aim for a total of 80 hours of study and final review time, in addition to the assigned module activities. Complete an extra 4 to 6 hours of study time weekly. This 4 to 6 hours x 8 weeks = 32 to 48 hours study time. Also, put in enough additional hours during your final review (for example, 32 + 48, or 48 + 32) to reach the suggested 80 hours total study and final review time. Consider taking time off from work for the last several days before the module exam for the final review component of this.
You cannot just read things once, get large portions of your answers incorrect or incomplete each week, and then expect to be mostly correct on your final exam answers without investing the additional time to get there.
Ensure that you completely learn the assigned materials
Learn the key concepts each week. Debrief your questions. Redo the parts of questions that you got incorrect. Ideally, you need to repeat getting the correct answers more than once.
Memorize key concepts to improve your recall and speed
While it is important to learn and understand the module material, you should also memorize the key answer formats. Practice writing them out from memory every few days. For example, you need to know the calculation format and computation components for taxes payable for individuals, taxes payable for corporations, section 85 and other rollovers, the purchase and sale of assets versus shares, etc. These are detailed, multiple step calculations that take time to memorize.
Become familiar with exam-type questions
Practice exam-type questions under exam-like conditions as part of your module activities and your study efforts. You want to avoid surprises when you see the exam questions. Make sure you know the elements that the examiners are looking for in your answers and how marks are awarded. Much of this is covered in your module assignment questions (Multiple Choice Questions and Practice Cases) and in the Enabling Competencies.
Maintain a good mental attitude.
It is important to have a healthy approach to your learning and exam writing. Cultivate a relaxed, focused, alert, confident mental attitude. Avoid experiencing overwhelm or panic even when you are short of time. Everyone else is in the same boat. But you can choose now to be one of the best prepared candidates. Do the work and have faith in yourself.
Stay tuned for more tips each week!
Regards,
Peter
To enroll in the course Study Tips for CPA PEP Candidates, visit the PJD Academy School on the LearnWorlds platform at:
https://pjdacademy.learnworlds.com/course/study-tips-for-cpa-pep-candidates