STUDY HINTS

Many students ask how do you study for an accounting course. Some students
will say to their instructor at the end of the course.I worked really hard and still
got low grades.
Neither student nor instructor ever wants such an outcome. Instructors absolutely
love for students who work hard in a course to get As.
The culprit is often bad study techniques
You have to realize that there are two fundamentally different types of courses in
university. There are problem solving courses and all others.
A problem solving course takes data (independent variables) and requires
formulaic manipulation to solve for a dependent variable. In extreme cases there
is more than one unknown and sophisticated mathematical tools have to be
utilized (such as quadratic equations). In most cases, problems in the course are
structured so that there is only one unknown and simple linear equations can be
employed. Lucky for you, ADMS 2500 is of the latter form. All problems involve
only simple linear equations. Yes, there is a reason why high school math is a
prerequisite to admission into the BAS. Statistics, Math and most of the hard
sciences are other examples of problem solving courses

STUDY TECHNIQUES FOR A PROBLEMS COURSE

Some study techniques are indeed more successful than others. This document
discusses the ideal study strategy for this course. The closer you can come to
emulating these techniques, the better your chances of a high grade. The
techniques below are guaranteed to work.
1. DECIDE ON YOUR FORMAL STUDY SCHEDULE FOR THE TERM. MAP
OUT YOUR STUDY TIMES IN BLOCKS ON A CALENDAR JUST LIKE YOU
MAP OUT YOUR LECTURES.
It is estimated that to pass an honours accounting course you need to spend a
minimum of nine hours a week on the coursee.g., one third class prep, one
third class time and one third review. An alternative way of stating this is 2 hours
out for each hour in for an honours business course. To be absolutely
guaranteed an A in ADMS 2500, you would probably need about 15 hours a
week. If you are taking 5 honours courses, that translates into 75 hours a week if
you want to be on the Deans Honour Roll at the end of the term (straight
As)doesnt leave much time for partying. Part-time students face the biggest
challenge because many part-time students have full time jobs off campus. We
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normally recommend that such students take no more than 2 courses in a term.
When your academic term is viewed in this light, it is clear that you need to set
aside formal hours in each day for class prep and class review, just like you set
aside hours to attend class. Laying out a spreadsheet on a wall or your PC works
far better than an informal commitment in your head. Informal commitments to
study are like New Years resolutions. Nobody keeps them for long. A preprinted
study plan = a prerequisite to a good grade
2. REALIZE THAT STUDY TIME COMES IN THREE VARIATIONS.
There is pre class prep (what your prof refers to as coming to class prepared).
There is review within 48 hours after class to make the class stick and finally
there is before exam preparation. You have to allocate time to all three activities.
In terms of prioritizing if time is tight, the first is by far the most important. If you
dont understand the material in the first place there is little chance of it sticking.
Short-term review the same week as the class pays more dividends then waiting
until exam week because you are moving stuff to long-term memory before the
dreaded forgetfulness curve does its damage. Structured review = a prerequisite
to a good grade

3. THE SECRET TO SUCCESS IN PROBLEMS COURSES IS TO WORK

PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS AND MORE PROBLEMS.
There are more than 100 different problem types (we call them templates) to
master in this course. Consider each like a card trickeasy when you see it
demonstrated in class but if you dont practice the trick periodically alone, you
make a fool of yourself when you try and demonstrate it to others. You have to
work these problems yourself. There has been a lot of research on how the
human brain masters problems. The brain tries to recognize a pattern of data
associated with a given problem statement and to have either an algorithm or a
standardized format for solving. Learning theorists refer to this stored pattern as
a template. If storage techniques are proper, the next time the brain sees the
same pattern in the environment, the template is retrieved for instant decision making. When we refer to expert judgment by doctors, accountants or fighter
pilots, it is this ability to retrieve a stored template and produce a semiautonomous response that makes them experts.
An example of a template is your bank reconciliation. Every company in the world
uses the same approach to reconciling its bank account. There is a formula that
can be written out on a page as a schedule (pictorial template) and it works
universally. The brain can remember these templates (pictures) more easily than
raw formulas.
One of the things that makes Module 15 so tough in this course is that there are
dozens of formulas that do not easily covert to templates. Some formulas simply

have to be memorized. To ease your pain, we give you a cheat sheet table of
these formulas on the exam so you do not have to worry about memorization.
As an example of template power, you have probably heard about Chess Grand
Masters who walk into a room and play 100 different people at once and win all
100 games. These Masters look at a chessboard for a second and see a pattern
of the 64 pieces and have stored the ideal response for this configuration so the
response is automatic. It is estimated that the world chess champion has up to
10,000 such patterns (templates) stored in the brain and only needs 2 seconds
to retrieve the right one and make a move. There is virtually no thinking going on
in the chess match. The guy who is told to hurry up after staring at the board for
minutes has no stored templates and against an expert has no chance.
The 100 problem types in this course can be similarly be stored as templates.
You see a bank reconciliation question on an exam and within seconds you write
out the template (formula) and then just have to hunt for the data to throw into the
formula. The students you see leaving exams after an hour with big smiles have
mastered this technique. Those having exams torn from their hands as the exam
stops have not internalized these templates and spend most of the exam trying to
think of the formula. They never finish exams and rarely pass the course. Your
Course Director will say this many times during the courseevery problem in
ADMS 2500 can be expressed as a linear equation with only one unknown. Your
big task is (a) to recognize the problem type from the question and (b) call up the
right formula.
In other problem courses you may have to work with formulas that are not
amenable to being visually written as templates. In accounting it is easier in the
sense that many of the formulas can be written out as financial schedules. For
instance each of the four basic financial statements is a formula, but we write it
out as a schedule for ease of presentation. The schedule represents a template,
because it can be used over and over again for similar problems. Therefore the
biggest part of your study is starting to build a library of problem types and the
formula or template to address that problem type. There will be one for
depreciation, one for writing off bad debts, one for pricing a bond etc.. Once you
have internalized these templates, it is extremely difficult not to get an A in the
course. You are the accounting equivalent of the chess master. Some students
never quite get the template technique down. This in a way becomes an aptitude
test for the subject. If you aspire to a career in professional accounting, you must
learn template processing. If you cannot master it in 2500, you are not likely to
acquire the skill in later more difficult accounting courses. ADMS 2500 is a good
indicator of whether you have the right stuff to be a professional accountant. It is
true that some people think best verbally, some mathematically and some
spatially (pictorially). Go to the York Learning Centre and take one of their
aptitude tests. If your brain is hardwired only for verbal processing then
accounting is not for you. Template recognition is essential to a good grade in
this course

4. REALIZE THAT IN A PROBLEMS COURSE, THE TECHNIQUE KNOWN AS

CRAMMING IS FUTILE.
It may take an hour to work one problem and you have a hundred to review plus
the theory and definitions. Working a problem often means getting stuck in the
problem. You need a time buffer to consult friends or T/As on how to get unstuck.
Try this on exam day and the most tangible result is utter panic. When asked
how to spend the night before the exam, your instructor invariably will say Get a
good nights sleep A fresh and rested mind suppresses panic. Late night
crammers are one step from mental meltdown. Also be aware that in 2500, we
try to keep things simple. One equation in one unknown, data is not hidden and
not much extraneous data. There is more emphasis on simple regurgitation of
technique than real understanding. As you move to senior accounting courses,
real world complexity is added and you are expected to be able to integrate,
extrapolate and design new problem templates on the fly based on theoretical
constructs. The importance of long-term memory is increased. By the time you
get to professional exams, your study program is a multi-year exercise and it is
virtually guaranteed that the night before an exam you go to the movies. A fresh
and uncluttered mind is paramount on exam day. What makes this tip so hard to
accept is that there are courses where cramming does work. There are indeed
courses where you can buy a text the day before and exam, read for 24 hours
straight and pass the course. But it just doesnt work in a problems course. The
best use of your pre-exam day is doing a practice exam to work on exam room
techniques only. A structured review plan where you do some review every week
is essential to pass this course
5. REALIZE THAT AN ACCOUNTING COURSE DIFFERS FROM MANY OTHER
COURSES IN THAT IT IS A BUILDING BLOCK EXERCISE.
Each module/chapter builds on the previous module..you cannot do module 3
without mastering module 2 and module 2 requires module 1 mastery. Not only
do you have to study the modules in sequence, but you have to be very
comfortable with the previous material to tackle the new material. As an example,
in Module 11 you will learn how to price a bond issue by using present value
techniques taught in Module 8. If you struggle with the Module 8 stuff, you cannot
handle the Module 11 stuff. The moral of this story is that you must keep going
back and reviewing the old material to keep a working knowledge of it. Research
has shown that the human brain forgets about 50% of what it reads within 24
hours unless the material is reviewed. The brain actually has two memory
sections short and long term. Most learning research seems to think that a
piece of information needs to be reviewed twice before it sticks by moving it into
long term. Short term can only hold pieces of info max so as you add new stuff,
old stuff is either discarded or moved to long term. A second level of review days
or weeks later is necessary to make you have the roadmap to pull things out of
long term storage . So you need to read and work the problems in Module 8
before the Module 8 class and then twice later in order for these techniques to be
a permanent part of your tool kit.

Heres a depresing fact. Those of you who go on to take Intermediate

Accounting will have to review every single page of Intro Accounting before you
go on to the new material. You have to treat accounting as a series of building
blocks and internalize each before moving on to the next
6. REALIZE THAT YOU ARE ALSO LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE. IF YOU
CONSTRUCT A GLOSSARY OF ALL THE TECHNICAL TERMS IN THIS
COURSE YOU WILL HAVE ABOUT 800 ENTRIES.
There is a language called Esperanto, which is based on only 700 words so we
are not kidding when we call accounting the language of business. Just think how
many technical words you will have after ten accounting courses. Best approach
is to start your own glossary. Review this list before exams and just review the
terms that seem fuzzy and dont waste time reviewing material you are
comfortable. Same goes for working problems, just work those that are fuzzy.
This is both efficient and effective. If both lists are down to zero before the exam
then you are likely going to score 100%. A glossary is essential to efficient study
7. REALIZE THAT ALTHOUGH THIS COURSE IS A PROBLEMS COURSE, IT IS
BUILT ON A THEORETICAL FOUNDATION, SO YOU HAVE TO LEARN THE
THEORY TOO.
The exams contain a mix of theory questions, definitions and computational
problems. You assimilate the theory mainly by reading the chapter and listening
to the lecture. It is punitive time-wise to have to go back and reread the textbook
several times or re-listen to the lectures. If your note taking is of high quality then
your review is just looking at notes instead of going back to the source material.
In 2500 we will only ask you to identify what theories/standards underlie various
problem types. In more senior courses, you will be required to design your own
problem solving template where no official standards exist and conform to GAAP.
The bridge between theory and practice is hugely important in accounting and
your required skill in making this bridge increases with each course. Reading the
chapter and listening to the Lecture gives you the theory. Doing the problems
shows you how to apply the theory.

8. DURING THE COURSE, FORMALLY SCHEDULE SOME TIME TO WORK ON

THE TERM PROJECT.
Most students report the term project takes about 10 hours on average to
complete. For strong students this might be less and for weak students more.
However, if you leave the project until the week it is due, not only will the stress
get you, but your risk increaseswhat happens if you fall ill? What happens if
your computer gets a virus? What happens if you have problems downloading
the software? Spend a couple of hours a week on the project and be safe and
stress free. There is something called Murphys Law that invariably strikes those
who leave assignments until the last minute. The only way to defeat this law is to

give yourself lots of buffer time. Google Murphys law and read about it and
make sure it doesnt strike you

9. WHERE DO YOU FIND PROBLEMS TO PRACTICE ON?

Your text contains demonstration problems. It also contain a quiz after each
module. Some problems are also introduced in the lectures. Practice exams will
be placed on your course website before each exam. However, for the real gung
ho student who insists on an A you should visit the business library and sign out
one or more of the dozens of intro accounting texts on the shelf. There are
enough practice problems in these texts to keep you occupied 24/7. Extra
problems build confidence and confidence results in higher grades

10. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A STUDY BUDDY?

Studying for most courses is easier with a study buddy. You can ask each other
question and coach each other. It not only reduces the stress, but often adds to
enjoyment. However, never use a study buddy to do something dumb like divide
up the work on an assignment. If you do not do the work you cannot write the
related exam question. Study buddies are great if used properly

11. REALIZE THAT MANY STUDENTS WHO FAIL THIS COURSE DO SO

BECAUSE OF BAD EXAMINATION TECHNIQUES AND INABILITY TO
HANDLE EXAM ROOM PRESSURE.
For instance there are specific techniques for writing a multiple-choice exam that
are different than those for an essay exam. It is essential that you deal with
stress by taking practice exams under strict exam conditions to stimulate the
stress. You can find out all sorts of good exam room tips by visiting the Student
Learning Center. Mastering exam techniques is just as important as mastering
content

12. WHAT IF YOU HAVE TRIED ALL OF THE ABOVE AND YOUR GRADES ARE
STILL IN DANGER OF GOING NEGATIVE?
Part of your journey through university is finding what you excel at. Research has
shown that some people can only think well in verbal reasoning. Some are good
at mathematical modeling and others see everything pictorially. If you are a hard
core verbalist, then you have an aptitude issue with respect to this subject and
accounting should not be your major. However, to get through this course with a
pass you may have to go with the desperation plan and hire a tutor. Expensive
but life saving.

13. AFTER THE COURSE: ENJOY! Enjoy the fact that you have mastered one of
the more difficult courses at York. Also enjoy the fact that the content of this
course will benefit you for the rest of your life. As a business executive, you
interface with accounting information on a daily basis. As a citizen, you aspire to
accumulate personal wealth and accounting teaches you how to manage wealth.
This is one course that will pay you dividends for every hour you put into it.