Posted on 8th Jan 2012 @ 4:24 PM

Excerpt from You Can Pass the CPA Exam, by Wiley CPA Review 

Realize that you won’t know everything. Understand that the examiners will ask you some unexpected questions. No matter how much you studied and practiced using previous exam questions, plenty of new questions will stump you. There is no need to get agitated. After reading a question that you can’t answer, take a deep breath and say, “Oh, here is a question and I don’t know, and now I must guess the correct answer.” Go ahead and be brave. Use your practiced exam technique of narrowing down the answer choices. Eliminating one or two of the answers will increase your chances of guessing the correct answer. If you are unable to eliminate any of the four answer options, make an outright guess. Select your predetermined outright guess answer (e.g., when you don’t know the answer, select the second of the four options). Don’t waste time thinking about which answer option to select as an outright guess. Use the same answer choice each time as your guess response. Guess consistently and you will be correct some of the time.

Don’t panic when you open a simulation work tab and see a question that you know nothing about. Stay in control by first reflecting on your overall knowledge. Skim the question; look for cues and clues that will job your memory. Release tension by smiling and laughing quietly. Take a deep breath and say to yourself: “Oh, here is a great question.” Know that you should not be stumped because you used current study materials and spent time reviewing the material. If you are stumped, it could indicate that the AICPA is pretesting a topical area in which you are unfamiliar. Remember that 15% to 20% of the multiple-choice questions represent pretest items that are not counted in your final score. If you studied and don’t have the answers, then those who did not devote time to studying are really clueless. Build yourself up. Suppress those negative feelings that focus on how tough the exam is. Feel good about the fact that you are here, taking the exam. You are doing your best.

Use that scratch paper. List some of the elements of the question. Jot down key concepts and formulas. Stare at the points you listed, allowing a mental image to form in your brain. If you studied, you should know something about the topic. Let the words speak to you. For example, a concept such as “accounting for uncompensated employee absences” provides you with clues. An employee has been absent from the job and has not yet been compensated for the absences. What is the accounting issue? If the employee has been promised compensation, the business must accrue for the absence. Form the journal entry: Debit an expense account and credit a liability account. The compensation has been earned but not yet paid. Take some time to reflect. Remain calm, and the knowledge will come to the forefront of your mind. Allow yourself to become agitated, and panic will take over. Expect some questions to throw you. Work to control the situation and keep calm.

Contributed by Wiley CPA Review. Learn more about Wiley CPA Review products here.