A moment of panic

It was my life long dream to be a professional accountant. Specially to be a Chartered Accountant (CA). Therefore, after my graduation, I joined in a CA firm named A. Qasem & Co. It is the first CA firm and one of the top ranked firm in Bangladesh. It’s also the only cooperative firm of PwC in Bangladesh.

After i joined in CA firm, many of the senior articled students and managers advised me to start studying from the very beginning  They advised me to buy the books and take preparation for the exam which was then due in one and half years. I started studying but I could not grab much of it. It was hard for me to understand the terms and procedures followed by the team. None of the senior team member tried to make me understand what I was doing and what was the reason of it. All the did was direct me to what to do and how to do. But I don’t blame them. They didn’t have time to make me understand all those things. When I started auditing, then I came to understand everything. Then when I read my manuals I could understand everything and I started to enjoy it. Soon I finished 5 out of 7 books.  Rest 2 books are kept for reading two months before the exam.

In the mean time, 12 months have passed. Exam time is almost here. Yesterday I saw the exam notice for May – June 2013 exam of ICAB. I started to become panic. All of a sudden I felt that I am not prepared for the exam and exam is due with in a month. I started to panic. I could not concentrate on the study. I was alone at home which was ideal time to study and finish off several chapters. But as I could not concentrate on my study, I could not study a single chapter.

Later I clam down a bit and started to analyze my preparation. I found that it’s not that bad. All I need is to revise the books couple of the times and practice all the maths. Also I have two months in my hand. In this time I have to attend the classes which is a plus point for me. If I attend the classes regularly, I will understand which topics I need to focus more. But there is a downside of attending the classes. It drains out the energy out of my body. I don’t have any stamina left when I return to home. It’s already dinner time when I reach home. After refreshing myself and having dinner, I hardly get chance to study, Moreover I have to attend office next day morning and so I have to go to bed within 12 am.

On the other hand, my ICMAB exam are due in next month. I will attend two subjects this time. I failed in both subjects in earlier exams. So this time I want to pass the both of them. I have to prepare for those exam too. From now on I have to preserve my stamina and reduce the unnecessary things I do. I need to do lots of library work and revise all 7 books by April. Then I will finalize my preparation in May. Hope this plan will work out for me. I plan to pass all the subjects in the first attempt. In Sha Allah! Please pray for me.

Terrible exam experience

Today was my first exam of ICMAB December 2012 exam. Today’s exam was scheduled on Intermediate Financial Accounting (IFA). It was my second attempt  of this subject. Last time I had great preparation. Last time I answered 84 out of 100. I was so sure that I will secure at least 60% marks. But as the first ever professional exam, I failed to manage the time. Moreover, luck was not in my favor. And that caused me to fail in Accounting for the first time.

This time I planned to pass the exam by any chance. But my preparation was not good at all. It was completely my fault that I didn’t pay much attention. I though my last time preparation will be enough for me. Moreover, I’m regularly in touch with the accounting processes due to audit in different clients. However, at the eleventh hour I understood that this preparation will not do. So I analyzed the total syllabus and selected to cover 13 topics. I finished revising all the 13 topics before exam. I thought my preparation will be enough to pass the exam.

During the exam, I found that I was familiar with most of the maths and terms. I didn’t know how to solve two math problems. But I figured out the way to do those maths. I was so close but I could not finish them. Moreover, I couldn’t do other maths correctly. My format and procedures were ok. But I might have mistaken during calculation. I didn’t have time to recheck whole math. So I skipped to next one. This way I answered total of 85 out of 100 marks during 3 hours time.

When I returned home, I checked my maths and the accounting processes that I didn’t know. I found that I was so much close to the answer. I could have done it if I gave some more time on those maths. Moreover, little practice of the maths would help me a lot. I don’t know what others think but I found the exam question harder than last time. My exam was terrible compared to the last time. Even though I answered 85 marks, I know that I will not be able to secure even 50% if the total marks. I’m felling sorry for the silly mistakes that I have made.

I should probably start studying this subject once again. But first I must study Cost Accounting. This exam is due on 30th December and I will appear in this exam for the first time. Moreover, I have not yer covered all the topics of the chapter. Right now I must give most of my times on this subject till the exam ends. I’m scared of this subject for a long time. Pray for me so that I can cover all the subjects and have a nice exam preparation. And ultimately pray for me so that I can pass in this subject.

 

Exam preparation & Home alone

All of my family members left me. Don’t get the wrong idea, they didn’t leave me forever but only for a day. They all went to my native village to attend several programs leaving me home alone. Though I was asked to join with them but I refused. I refused because I had my ICMAB exam after a day (now it’s due in the next afternoon). I planned to study whole day and have an excellent preparation for the exam. However, this is not actually what happened.

My family left me last night. I studied couple of hours and then went to bed. Because today was weekend and no one was home, I wake up pretty late. I had to make my own breakfast. While taking my breakfast, I started watching a TV show. It was quite interesting and I kept watching it even after I was done with my breakfast. Then I studied for an hour. It was prayer time when I finished my study session. I said my prayer and then prepared my launch. I was planning to study after launch but I felt sleepy. I slept till evening.

When I woke up, I was felling drowsy. I made a cup of tea and got back to study. When I was done with one topic, I received a phone call from my cousin. He lives nearby and was on my way to my home. He arrived shortly. I left him my laptop and continued my study. After an hour he decided to leave. I suggested to go outside and have tea. When I returned home it was almost 10:30 pm. I started preparing my dinner and I was done with dinner by 11:30.

I was happy when my family left for the day. I was planning to study hard today but couldn’t utilize the day properly. Being home alone does not mean you will get enough time. Anyway, I yet have to cover like 10 topics. I will study some time more for the night. Hopefully I will be able to cover all the topics by tomorrow afternoon. Pray for me and wish me good luck for tomorrow’s exam.

Redwan

The most confusing exam I’ve encountered!

When you are done with an exam, you know how you did in the exam. It could be very good, Very bad or average. At least you are not confused about it. But I was after my exam today.

Today I had my “Investment Theory” (FIN435) first midterm exam. My faculty made everything so clear that I didn’t have to study much. But still I  revised what my faculty taught us in class and practiced some Problems on calculating Required Rate of Return (RRR) and Standard deviation between RRR & ERR. I also practiced math on Cash Trading, Merchant Trading, Short Sale etc. But I forgot to practice maths on prediction with Bloom’s formula. Also in the morning, before exam time, I reviewed some of the terms with some of my classmates. So, I was satisfied with my preparation.

When the exam started, I didn’t find the math problem hard, though I was little confused about the theoretical part. But Still I was ok with those and finished my exam before time.

When I was submitting my script, I was sure that my exam was great. But when I stepped out of the exam room, I figured that I’ve made a mistake in a T/F which will cost me two marks.  And still I was OK with that. Later, when exam was over, I talked with my friends and other classmates about the exam and answers to the questions.  I found I have made a mistake in bloom’s formula. I was upset for that. But I was surprised when everyone was telling how they solved the problems in exam and everyone is different from others. None of us had a common answer. Everyone solved the problem in their own way and come up with explanation about it.

I’m very confused about the exam. I believe  I was right in the exam. But unfortunately no one is accepting my explanation. I don’t know if my answers are right or not. I Can’t understand how was my exam. This is the most confusing exam I’ve encountered with. Hope I’ll get out of this confusion soon because I’m not liking the confusion.