My CPA Journey – 1 Month Before My Finance Exa

In a few days, it will be exactly a month before my CPA PEP Finance exam. I took the extended pace so I started my Finance module back in late July. As a result of the 2.5 times length for the extended pace (regular is 8 weeks), I was able to finish the module work (Assignment Set #1 – 8 + Module Workshop) with almost a month to spare.

RELATED POST – CPA PEP Module – Regular Module or Extended Module?

A couple of weeks ago, I finalized and shared my 7-week study plan incorporating Densmore Finance Essentials. I wanted to give a quick update on how the last 2 weeks went. Also, if you are reading this but haven’t started reviewing, no need to panic because all you will need is a reasonable study plan. I stress reasonable because I have personally never been successful with an aggressive study plan (e.g., more than 4+ hours of studying per day). Therefore, I always try to stay away from procrastination. My study plan requires on average 1.5 to 2 hours of studying per day so it will also be perfect for people who have multiple responsibilities with small windows of time here and there.

RELATED POST – Writing Core 2 Exam at Home

From now until your exam, I suggest checking your inbox and the CPA Canada’s official website regularly. They are supposed to be emailing candidates more exam updates on November 26, 2020 as well.

What Did I Accomplish In The Last 2 Weeks?

I just checked against my plan and confirmed I did everything I set out to do! As of yesterday, I finished all of the module work (Assignment Set #1 – 8 + Module Workshop). I did take two nights off but since I always schedule “lazy day,” those days did not slow me down at all.

However, I did not work towards creating a comprehensive guide when I debriefed. Since it was my first time attempting those assignments, I spent the full 90/100-minutes (sometimes a bit less and other times more) working on the IP or PC before debriefing them. I was often exhausted after that as I would work on them after work so I didn’t spend more time creating a guide. I definitely will do that on my second attempt as it usually takes less time (I also skip the section if I know I am very comfortable with the concept). I would not suggest not attempting any of them and go straight to the solutions but I believe skipping a section or two will be more than fine (ding! opportunity cost).

RELATED POST – How to Study for the Core 2 Exam Without Feeling Burned Out

What Is My Plan For The Next 5 Weeks?

I already started my first re-do today. It was Integrated Problem #1 with a ton of financial ratios to calculate. As I have mentioned, I decided I will skip a section if I know I am very comfortable with the concept. For IP #1, I decided to not calculate all of the financial ratios for all 3 years (as per the instruction) as it was merely mechanical work. I did the actual math for the first year so I can have comfort over the calculation itself. I then went on to debriefing that section first (as it was an integrated problem; I wouldn’t have debriefed by section for a case). I really took the time to understand the solution and the interconnectedness of the ratios/case facts and made notes as I was debriefing. I also reviewed the feedback guide to have an idea of what RC (reaching competence) and C (competent) are looking as I have always said, “good enough is enough.” There is no need to chase CD (competent distinction) as you might not leave enough time for other sections if so. Depending on how much effort I put into the original submission (i.e., not much for IP #1), I might review the facilitator’s detailed feedback in-depth as well.

I will continue doing the above until I have re-done Assignment Set #1 – 8. Since IP #7 was a Power BI assignment, I will skip that one and replace it with . If I do one IP or PC a day, I will be done with the second attempt by the end of November with a few slack days. Also, I have scheduled some time on the weekend to look at the Densmore Finance Essentials materials as a supplementary resource.

I also found out there are 3 Practice Exam cases available on CPA D2L today. Since I have never done those before, I plan on leaving them for after my second attempt with the module cases. By then, I should be quite prepared to attempt the brand-new cases under a 100% exam-like setting.

Here’s to the final month of Finance🥂