What advice and insight could you provide in approaching the CPA exam? I am currently sitting and it is quite different from college accounting courses.

Thank you!

Robyn

“Many students experience difficulties when they try to get good grades in their accounting classes, and they are searching for answers. There is no single answer. Getting a good grade in an accounting class results from a process. If you……

I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment, especially points 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9. My first financial accounting professor at the community college level coddled her students. I loved attending her class because she made the concepts easy to understand and fun to learn. Then, when I reached the managerial and intermediate accounting level, my world was almost turned upside-down when I had a different professor. Unlike my first professor, he didn’t really teach anything. He did a brief overview of the chapter and assigned homework. The next class, he would go over the homework (show us the answers) and ask for questions. After completing all the sections from each chapter, he’d give an exam. It was as simple as that. It was up to you to learn the material. It was a hard adjustment to make – to go from being taught something to teaching myself something – but I am glad that I had to go through it. He taught me how to think and understand the concepts on my own (because without that, I could have never survived any of the eight classes I took with him).

I taught myself the material mostly by reading each chapter three times, doing copious amounts of homework, using online notes and outlines, and asking questions in class, which is exactly what was mentioned in this post.

Now, I am happy that had this professor and learned the way I did. Now, everyone at the four-year college I attend is complaining about a new accounting professor who “doesn’t teach.” I have him this upcoming semester (starting Monday after next) for Intermediate Accounting III. I am not even concerned now because I know how to learn the material without a great deal of aid, a skill useful not only in the classroom, but also later in life.

So, I can personally verify the accuracy of these tips. All students of accounting (even, and perhaps especially, casual ones) can benefit from following the tips laid out in this article/post.

Cody Meglio