CPA Exam Candidates Everywhere Freaked Out by NASBA’s Switch to “Noteboards” from Scratch Paper

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

This email went out to CPA exam candidates from NASBA earlier today:

Effective January 1, 2013, in lieu of scratch paper and pencils, candidates will be provided with two double sided, laminated, colored sheets called “noteboards,” as well as a fine point marker for making notations.

Candidates will be directed to write their examination Launch Code (from their NTS) on their noteboards. Candidates cannot bring any paper or pencils to the workstation in the testing room.

If needed, candidates may request additional noteboards from the test center staff, but candidates must first turn in the original noteboards they received in order to get a new supply.

Candidates will be required to return the noteboards to the test center staff when their examination is complete.

Sounds to me like they no longer want you be able to brain dump mnemonics as soon as you sit down at your station with paper and pencil, or they just want to screw with everyone and see how bent out of shape they get. Will they also provide tissue so candidates can clear their boards or are candidates expected to use their shirtsleeves? And if so, are they required to cut off their sleeves and return those upon leaving the test center too since they'll have all-important CPA exam data all over them, if smeared?

Were that many people really trying to sneak out of the exam with Prometric-issued paper?

Calls made to NASBA to ask why they have implemented this change have not yet been returned.

Outrage may now commence in the comment section.

 

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The Quickest 2011 CPA Exam Breakdown You’ll Ever Read

Because we know all of you are very busy tearing up your last exams before CBT-e hits in January of 2011, we won’t waste your time and get right to the point. 2011 is coming, the exam is changing and though we’ve been over it plenty in the last several months, let’s go over it one more time.


Simulations – This year’s simulations are next year’s simlets. Simulation problems will be shorter, task-based problems that should take you about 10 – 15 minutes to complete as opposed to the 45 minutes they take now. AUD and FAR will have 7 smaller simulation problems while REG will have 6. As usual, not all of these are graded.

Multiple choice – BEC and REG will contain 24 MCQ per testlet while FAR and AUD will still contain 30. MCQ will make up 60% of the FAR, AUD and REG exams and 85% of BEC.

Research – if you’re taking the exam this year, research is buried in simulations and doesn’t carry much weight point wise. Next year, however, research will be its own tab worth as many points as any of the other simlet problems. FAR research will be easy as it is limited to the ASCs (Accounting Standard Codification) and REG will mostly draw from the Internal Revenue Code but AUD will come with a dropdown menu that includes PCAOB ASs, the Code of Professional Conduct and SSARS just to name a few. You’ve been warned.

Written communication – WC is out of FAR, REG and AUD and slapped into BEC. You’ll have to write three written communications, of which two will be graded.

International standards – IFRS and international auditing standards will be added to current FAR and AUD content (respectively) while REG is mostly unchanged by this as you can’t really test international standards of federal taxation. Keep in mind that this additional content will most likely be gently mixed in with what is already being tested and does not make GAAP completely irrelevant so don’t use 2011 as an excuse to procrastinate all the way through the holidays.

Now stop wasting your time with inflammatory nonsense blogs and GET BACK TO STUDYING!

(btw: if you have a CPA exam question for us – anything from applying to qualifying to passing – do get in touch)

Is BEC Still the Junk Drawer of the CPA Exam?

Note from AG: If you have a CPA exam question for us, get in touch and we’ll do our best to answer without making you feel like we don’t like you or somehow disrespect your career decisions. No judgments, least of all from a girl who grew up to write for an accounting tabloid.

Today’s question is a good one because it addresses a CPA exam candidate concern that has been valid since the exam went computerized in 2004. I always call BEC the junk drawer of the CPA exam since up until 2011 it contained all the crap left over from other sections that wouldn’t fit anywhere else. I have consistently heard the same complaint: it is random and no matter how well you prepare, you’re going to see a bunch of off-the-wall material that you never covered. This is pretty standard regardless of which review course you are using, so for the purposes of answering the following question we’ll speak generally (not being familiar with Becker’s 2011 product):

I am taking BEC in May 2011. I have seen people writing in the forum that Becker’s materials are not representative of the exam. I have passed FAR, and I felt Becker/Wiley is very representative (as in “no surprises”). For REG, Becker/Wiley is quite representative (prepared me well enough), but still I have to make guesses. I actually felt like giving up half way on REG because there are many twists in the questions that I have never seen before.

So, for BEC, how do you think I should prepare so that there are not many surprises? I am using Becker/Wiley. I can’t take any surprises…

With sections like FAR and REG, it’s assumed that you took at least a couple general accounting courses in school, which would have taught you journal entries, revenue recognition, inventory and maybe even pension accounting if you overachieved and went for Advanced Accounting. But with BEC, you’re dealing with variance analysis, cost accounting and corporate governance; areas many of you probably avoided in college if you could. Meaning not only is it random, it feels more so because so much of it can be unfamiliar.

That being said, a little birdie told me that COSO, corporate governance, ERM and the other new areas in BEC for 2011 showed up last window in larger amounts than suspected, so be sure to review those areas thoroughly. Remember too that the review courses all get their information from the same source, the AICPA. You can get that info too by checking out the CSOs in detail.

With BEC, you can expect to be tested on six core areas in the following percentages (current as of January 1, 2011):

I. Corporate Governance (16% – 20%)
II. Economic Concepts and Analysis (16% – 20%)
III. Financial Management (19% – 23%)
IV. Information Systems and Communications (15% – 19%)
V. Strategic Planning (10% – 14%)
VI. Operations Management (12% – 16%)

Now go back to your materials, do you see a similar breakdown in what you’re covering? One complaint I heard from someone who prepared for BEC in the first quarter was that her Wiley materials did not cover nearly enough corp governance compared to what she saw on her exam.

Until we have better information, be prepared for the unpredictability of BEC to continue. Looking at 2011 material compared to past years, it does appear that the AICPA has addressed some of that unpredictability to create a more succinct section but don’t expect it to be as streamlined as, say, FAR any time soon. Just a guess!