TO: Ceil Pillsbury

FROM: A Friend

DATE: May 14,1996

SUBJECT: A Letter to Your Future Students

Please pass on the following suggestions to the next group of CPA Review Candidates:

Make a huge time commitment
Develop nerves of steel
Start early
Memorize everything
Mnemonics are a must.

Preparing for the CPA Exam took a lot more time than I had anticipated, and I sorely underestimated the need to memorize everything. The examiners do pull a lot of picky questions from a lot of unexpected places, and it is imperative to be prepared for more than the basics. If you turn to a page in your handouts/review manuals,and the first thought that enters your head is "they'll never test this," concentrate on learning it.

You need to do a lot of sample questions, and this takes a great deal of time, so try your best not to fall behind. I was very behind when March rolled around, and time that should have been spent solidifying my understanding of all topics became "race to finish all the homework" time.

DO ALL THE HOMEWORK TWICE AT LEAST, and start early with the mnemonics to make sure that they are "old hat" by the time April(October) rolls around. The exam is a much more pleasant place when you are confident in your knowledge rather than having a million "new' (versus solidly memorized) topics swirling around in your head.

The mnemonics are essential. Even if some of the words which make up the mnemonics don't seem to necessarily be "key" words, they are immensely helpful when you are faced with memorizing dozens of lists with no guidance at all. Further, they become "instant outlines" for almost every essay question asked.

Go to the exam well rested and well nourished - being tired and hungry and trying to struggle through 16 hours worth of accounting problems is not very entertaining. Finally, be confident and try your best to relax at the exam. If you've made a good faith effort to prepare, it really is "no big deal." The good faith effort is the key, though.

Ceil, thanks for an extremely enthusiastic and thorough presentation of all the auditing topics.

Believe me, it was very helpful!

Thank you

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