June 18, 2016

Going to make up for yesterday. 6 hours study session starting from now! 12:10 AM June 18...

I started earlier I guess when I thought about all the people and things that are motivating me to do the CFE well. I went out drove to one breakdancing practice (closed for the summer) then i went to another (closed for a reason I don't know). Then I had a chance to check out another practice (I always used to practice on fridays so I wanted to squeeze in a 1 hour practice with some friends or friendly peeps), but nothing! And that's fine :) I'm going to put the same amazing effort into my studies. Let's do this. I'm a winner baby. Yeeeeeeah.

Okay, so I'm an hour and 30 minutes into my 6 hour study session. And I'm quite hungry after a long read of some CPA documents... Ummm. How do I conquer my hunger? Let's see... Will CPA still allow people to bring in food (in original wrapping that isn't noisy or distracting or has a strong scent). How bad would it be if I brought curry noodles bowl and a hot water in a thermos. LOL!!! J/K do NOT do that lol... Honestly, do bring bottled water and do bring maybe a granola bar of some sort. I'd highly suggest one with coconut oil. Anyways. Let's take a short break and then get back to studying. One episode of anime for me! Yahoo! I'm gonna watch Rocko's Modern Life... That show is hilarious and makes me happy. :)

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Off note: I learned some (maybe obvious to others) things today. "its" is actually possessive. I didn't know that! So its mine. "The accounts receivable belonged to its creditor after liquidation." <-- I just made this sentence up. But yeah... You wouldn't use apostraphe. Because I always used apostraphe for possessive. I guess that's only for someones name. For example, "AccountantMafia's muffin". Anything else I learned? Yeah I learned a bit more about my weaknesses. Thank goodness I'm not taking tax as my elective of focus for the CFE. But I'll still see it on Day 3 for sure! So, I gotta be pretty freaking decent!!!
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Just woke up. Went swimming. Had breakfast while I watched my fav cartoon (above). Then I played some retro game: Clayfighters for Sega Genesis. I used to play it when I was kid. Damn this game is tough. I figured out the secret to winning but it's very hit or miss. You have to constantly block, and the time your attacks for after your opponent has attacked you. At one point I had to consult with the internet for some moves that I could do with the character Bad Mr. Frosty. Anyways, I look at it like. You're going to need to ask for help if things get too tough. Don't be afraid to ask for help!!!! In any scenario :) Okay, so I'm doing laundry right now... And now that I've done some oil pulling after my breakfast, I'm going to have a fish oil pill and a Ginkgo Biloba pill, and then i'll start studying. Today should be a very good day :) I can feel it!!! okay 0/10 for "feeling" it. I had to brush my teeth a bit because the coconut oil is not perfect. SO I brushed my teeth just a bit and flossed a bit. And then went at it with the oil pulling and now I'm back on track learning about estate freezes. Cool. Let's do this. Note to self: I might need to buy more socks. Feet are kinda cold.Ooo! Ooo! Good idea! Whatever you end up having to read, try and print it out since you read way faster off the computer... On the computer, I read like a 2 year old. lol Okay I'm exaggerating but yeah I like to print out and read.

One thing I noticed is these cases (related to day 1) are REALLY long.

• Try and read them fast (obviously don't sacrifice comprehension, but do go as fast as possible).
• Distractions (e.g. Sound). There will be distractions all around you at different times of writing the CFE. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard pages flipping or worse: farts ripping... LOL but seriously you might hear talking or anything else while writing your exam. That being said, you gotta have really good concentration. Concentrate hard enough that your brain will block out any distractions (to your 5 senses).

June 17, 2016

Made my securexam qualified. Memorized the instructions and bam. Done.

I love coconut oil lol My saviour!!! it's such a time saver! I love using it after eating food.

Familiarized myself with the time and location of both capstone 1 presentation and CFE exam.

I was up really late last night. I was baking bread at like 4 AM lol... Okay not the greatest Idea...

I thought I might be able to push and work until 5 AM and what not... Nope. My brain does NOT work like that. If you want it to study. It needs to do so during the day. After 12 AM it can still be awake, it just doesn't want to be studying.

So note to self: UTILIZE the DAY!

Mission Statement

June 16, 2016

The video below is to help people (and myself) if they ever feel tired/lazy to study. This video shows how it only takes a few words to paint a picture and that picture has astounding affects on our bodily energy.




For me, I just went outside and took pictures of beautiful scenary which had negative, positive, and even neutral reinforcement. The following are my pictures of motivation:


Life (Positive) - Achieving your goals will add more life which expands your natural/true growth.



  

Roots (Neutral) - Achieving your goals will create strong roots which maintain your natural/true growth.

Limits (Negative) - Achieving your goals will remove the limits which inhibit your natural/true growth. 
 



This video below is to help people understand that even for one second, a negative attitude will push you away from your goals. The clips starts off with the opposing team scoring a 3 pointer. That sucks obviously, but that shouldn't affect you, it should be like rain on a rain jacket, it should just roll right off. Instead this guy with the glasses let's it get to him JUST FOR A SECOND! you can hear it in his voice. He becomes blinds to the basics of looking to see if your opponents will steal the ball before you pass it. SO, stay positive, and if you catch yourself being negative tell yourself HEY! Do you want what's bothering you to overcome you? Definitely NO, so let's stay POSITIVE and COOL :) Didn't bother translating this one because the body language says everything. That being said have happy body language lol. Smile even if you don't feel like it. You'll start laughing, you'll actually feel happy!!! So stay positive. :)





So I'm just studying right now. I have been studying for 1 hour and 36 minutes and I wanted to stop. But I think a part of having a negative attitude is complacency/overconfidence/ the feeling of wanting relief/reward after having done work. No man, you haven't yet achieved your goal! What's my goal? My goal is to grow, and have great study days which will equate to passing the CFE. So a short break is all I need. Just a reminder that I have to keep pushing! Remember: Winners continue/start after they feel like stopping/not starting. You are a Winner. Hands down. No questions asked. I will pass the CFE.

Okay, I definitely got distracted by a potential buyer for a phone that I'm selling. Made me think twice about how I'm advertising for it though! Okay back to more important issues.

More wisdom, this time from a game Street Fighter Alpha 3:

"You try in vain to look for the answer. But, it lies within you"

Alrighty! Feeling motivated, going to use the power within me to do at least 2 hours of studying. Hopefully more! But quality over quantity! Let's go! WOOH!

RAMP

Audit Planning Memo Considerations
Lecture #5 Handout
Risk, Approach, Materiality, Procedures (RAMP) Checklist
The RAMP checklist should not be used as a template. Based on the case facts given, you
should go through this list in order to determine what is appropriate to be discussed (and what
isn’t!).

Risk of Material Mistatement
o This is the assessment of risk for the overall audit which can be assessed as high,
moderate or low based on your support
o If it is a continuing engagement, your assessment can say higher or lower as long as
you are told what the assessment was in the prior year in the case facts
o Things to consider when assessing the overall risk of material misstatement:

• Users (new and existing)
• First time audit
• Timing
• Going concern
• Overall complexity of the business, accounting transactions etc
• Management integrity
• Previous auditors
• Competency issues
• Any other issue that is pervasive

Approach
o To determine the overall approach for the audit, it is usually required that you first
assess control risk on an overall basis
o Based on your control risk assessment, determine the overall approach (combined vs substantive)

Other considerations when assessing approach:

• The effect of multiple locations (e.g. which ones will be visited etc.)
• Subsidiaries (e.g. which ones will be audited based on materiality and risk etc.)
• Timing (e.g. effects of being appointed after year end)
• Changes in internal control (e.g. effects of new processes, new systems etc.)

Materiality
o The discussion of materiality should always include a link to the users of the financial
statements:
o Justify a percentage based the amount of reliance on the financial statements
(can be an actual number or qualitatively such as lower or higher)
o Justify an appropriate benchmark based on the needs of the users
o If you are given quantitative case facts that include the benchmark you have chosen for
materiality, you should calculate materiality
o Based on your analysis, consider whether recalculating materiality is required (e.g. you
have identified adjustments related to the benchmark you have chosen)

Procedures
o Procedures should be formulated for any high risk classes of transactions, accounts or
assertions

• High risk areas include any areas where one or a combination of the following exists:
• Inherent risk is high
• Control risk is high
• Risk of material misstatement is high 

o Procedures should include a purpose as well as the actual procedure

• The purpose is the detailed description of why the risk is high for a certain class of transactions or accounts (s) at the most specific level you can (e.g. use the assertion where possible but can also include the account or class of transactions):
• The _______________ (inherent risk, control risk or risk of material misstatement) of _______________ (assertion) for _______________ (class of transactions or account(s)) is high because _______________ (describe the case facts that led you to assess the risk as high).
• Based on the purpose, describe the procedure(s) required to assess the risk in
  detail (e.g. what information would be required, what to do with the information
  once it is obtained etc.) 

Other Considerations

Client Acceptance

• Previous auditors (e.g. reasons for leaving, being replaced etc) 
• ROPC Issues (e.g. independence, conflict of interest etc.)
• Ethical issues (e.g. potential ethical issues the engagement may present etc.)
• Management integrity (e.g. doubts raised about their integrity etc.)
• Auditability (e.g. information system organization, availability of source documents etc.)
• Overall risk of the engagement (e.g. does not fit firm’s policy, too high etc.)

First Time Audit

• Effect of prior year financial statements and opening balances (e.g. audited, not audited)
• Timing (e.g. time required to complete the engagement)
• Extent of work required (e.g. size of business, complexity etc.)

Others

• Timing (e.g. tight deadline, appointed after year end)
• Reliance on other auditors (e.g. are they reliable and competent)
• Need for specialists (e.g. for specialized areas)
• Reliance on other organizations (e.g. service organizations for payroll services etc.)
• Possible qualifications required (e.g. GAAP departures, scope limitations)

Other ways Audit Planning can be tested

• Planning memos for other types of engagements 
• Critiquing an audit planning memo that has already been prepared
• Describing the purpose of procedures
• Deciding what type of engagement best suits the client’s needs 
• “Auditing” schedules provided by others

June 15, 2016

(Diet Note - White rice is okay in moderation)

In order to save a massive amount of time brushing my teeth during the day, I decided to start oil pulling. Just finished! IT"S GREAT! it only takes me 2-3 minutes after I eat and Bam! My mouth is fresh as hell! To oil pull, just grab a spoon full of coconut oil and then swish around the areas you would've been brushing. Finally, spit out in the garbage, not in your sink, since coconut oil can turn into a solid and it could clog your sink. Mouth feels great. This is awesome. Go me. :)

Okay. Ate food. Oil pulled. Posted an Ad on kijiji trying to sell my phone. Now it's time to test how long I can go in a muscle set... I might get interrupted in 2 hours by my student I'm tutoring. But it should be fine, because this student will be done his course in a week and then I won't be tutoring him anymore.

The time is 2:51 PM - Let's start studying right now... Annnnnnd GO!

Okay so... I need to print out the sample case that CPA has posted on D2L... And then I also need to print out our own case... I would also like to print out the Board Report... I will need to see the original case... and then original response and then new case and then new response <-- board report will have the latter two.

So far 3 hours have passed. I spent a lot of time formatting the sample responses, and then I printed all of them out. So I have a neat little booklet full of stuff I can study. I will now print out a piece of the board report.

Almost 4 hours passed. It's not so much quantity of time spent but quality. I feel as though my brain is like y0... ur not productive. so I'm going to take a break now... So DON"T WORRY if you don't get a lot of quantity of time in... Bare in mind, it's quality not quantity that will make you kick ass! Being efficient always helps too :) So your 2 hours could look like 3, if you're super productive.

I'm proud though - 3 hours and 43 minutes. I spent most of it reading through past cases. And how I'm going to use them to pass Day 1 of the CFE. And then There's also some past Day 2 material I had so I'm checking that out and organizing it as well. Organize = $$$

Just watched a show while I ate an incredibly late lunch. Then I watched another show. And now I'm just bored and hesitating to go back to studying... Here's an interesting quote from the show I'm watching: OH! I did some coconut OIL PULLING after I ate! So cool! And It works pretty well too!

 

I had one legit study session today!!! Yay :) Now to make it two.. I'm going to review my past posts. You can't just give advice, you've gotta take your own for sure! Hypocrites SUCK!

 

June 14, 2016

Alright, no excuses today. I'm getting a lot of quality study time IN! <-- positive affirmation Aw yea!

Let's start the day with a nutritious and sufficient breakfast. :)