Is brute-force memorization the only way to study FSA? included, concepts, accounting, only

sweetgirl

I was able to go through ethics/quant/economics in one month. For these topics, once you get the concept, you can just think about it and be able to answer questions.

However, I am now really frustrated with FSA. I have never taken any accounting class. The material is not hard per se, but it seems to require endless memorization, such as what items are included in what calculations. These are not concepts you can "think" and come up with solutions.

Does anyone have good suggestion on how to tackle FSA? For now I am just following along Schweser book 3.

Any input is appreciated,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, January 8, 2010 at 03:01AM by ezbentley.

leadcfa

yeah, though I thought it was also offered in a few other cities? Regardless, I really can't say enough about how valuable those 16 hours are.

manasib

Try Petter Olinto Videos ..he is great .I think you should try to make complete cash flow statement ,i know it would be brutal but believe me there is an added value .
I am also convinced that solving too much on FSA without memorizing wil make like a secound nature for you ,you will be able to solve the questions by sense .

FVPV

I really appreciated everyone's suggestion.

I believe I have at least an ok understanding of the general concept, A = L + E and stuff.

The problem I am having is the type of practice problems that just show an income statement and ask you to calculate the operating cash flow. The choices are just 3 numbers. In that case you have to know "exactly" which of the ten or more items from the income statement need to be included and whether it's added or subtracted. I can still get the wrong answer if I just miss one item.

Hi Paul, do you mean the two-day workshop by John Harris held in Chicago, SF, and NY?

trogulj

Take a John Harris class. Seriously.

I had never taken an accounting class in my life, found FSA very foreign on first read, and yet, thanks to his workshops, ended up scoring over 70% on both L I and LII in FSA.

He will teach you not only to like accounting, but also how to think through any and all problems without memorizing.

studyn

You won't be successful in FSA if you don't truly understand the concepts. FSA is a building block in equity valuations and there are lots of questions on the exam that will trick you if you don't really understand things.

For instance, there may extensive questions about capitalized vs. operating leases, and how they affect the statement of cash flows, net income, operating income, and financial statement ratios. You can memorize it all, but then suddenly the exam will through a twist and you'll be lost.

- Robert

jim8z3

Listen to beatthecfa and rus1bus. They are freaking champs!!

Flok

memorization is definitely not the answer.

Skip the GAAP/IFRS stuff, skip the SEC stuff, do not bother with tax and leases and all that stuff in the end. Focus on A, L & E. You may need to prepare a few income statements & balance sheet from an accounting book to work out where everything goes...once you know that, you will be in a better position to move on tot he harder part

homie

rus1bus is correct (as always)

You might want to refer to the Curicullum for more in depth coverage of the material not covered in depth by your prep provider.

But please dont resort to 'brute-force memorization'. That's not the way to pass this exam and it definitely isn't the right way to learn.

best of luck!