Great news! I passed!
I ended up doing very well on the case section (because I studied that part mostly).
I always had fairly strong tax skills so i did well on that part too.
The results came out about 11 days after I wrote the exam.
I was happy to see that I passed because the list of people who failed was a lot larger than usual.
The bad news is I wasn't able to sign up for the module 2 and challenge in time! They gave me only 2 days after the core 1 exam to sign up! And after the core 1 exam was over, I relaxed my butt off!
Nevertheless, I can still challenge the core 2 exam. I might just do that.
Ending thoughts: You have to work hard and smart for what you want. Just remember in the process, you might forgo a bunch of other things. It's called a trade-off!
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am starting Core 1 in May, it looks like a lot to cover in a very short period. Any tips on how to approach the Module will be appreciated.
Are you in public practice and was your module easier for people in public practice?
If you want to just pass:
DeleteAfter you submit your weekly cases, review the solutions that are given to you (until absorbed)
Then before your exam, do a quick review to ensure that the cases are absorbed in your brain.
If you want to pass with flying colors:
Do the above
Review both the weekly quizzes and final/mock quizzes (when you submit random answers to any quiz from CPA they'll show you the correct answers! (you get unlimited tries; note the questions change per trial). Copy the text from the page with the correct answers and then paste them into a word document, print 'em out and study them!)
Yes, I'm in public practice, but it's a smaller firm so it didn't really make a huge difference to whether the Core 1 module was easier or not.
DeleteThanks a lot!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteWhat's the weekly assignments/cases about?
The weekly cases are mostly about financial reporting under ASPE and IFRS. There are other cases about taxation, auditing and finance but the emphasis of core 1 is on financial reporting.
Deletewhat is the best way to prepare for the MCQ's?
ReplyDeleteBare in mind that mcq is very much based on your ability to memorize the exact answer. A lot of the mcq i saw on the core 1 exam was straight out of the preparation material that CPA provided. That being said, I believe an effective way to pass the mcq portion is to be able to spot the correct answer. Fill out all the mcq material that they provide, and submit it to see the answers. Copy and paste that information into a word document and then LEARN from it! You will be all the more wiser once you write your core exam. The weekly and mock cases are essential to doing well. i highly suggest getting in the same mind state as you were when you studied for the mcq when you're filling in the mcq during the exam, so after you're done studying the weekly or mock MCQ. Turn on secure exam and see if you can recall the correct answers to the weekly and mock mcq! A little goes a long way!
DeleteHi, thanks for your post! Do you know if there's a passing mark for the exam? Or is a writer's successful based on his/her relative performance to other writers?
ReplyDeletewith regards to the case portion of the exam, I don't believe it's a mark per se. You may get marks for talking about certain points, but all your marks add up to a certain comment: e.g. If you satisfied many proficiency indicators then you would achieve a "meets requirements" or "exceeds expectations" sort of thing. I believe you will pass by hitting the minimum amount of points on the case. And then for multiple choice it might be marks based but I think it's really important to do well on the case. With cases you can give as many answers as you want and they will not deduct points, they will simply give you marks for hitting their points so make sure you're brave to write as much as possible on the case before or after dealing with the mcq And task simulation. It doesn't have to do with other writers. But you will see how other writers did once you receive your detailed mark.
DeleteThanks for your post it was very helpful. Would you say that the briefing documents help prepare for the exam? Is the exam a mix of aspe and ifrs or heavily one over the other?Also, how was the task based simulation like?
ReplyDelete