 Hello and welcome to another episode of Unlock the CPA exam show in this show You will get the tips tricks and advice to help you pass the CPA exam on your first try and become the most trusted professionals in the world CPAs I am your host a la abudaya and today we have with us Mansoor Farahat Mansoor is the founder of the number one accounting YouTube channel for students which helps people pass the CPA exam the CMA exam and educates them with anything for accounting topics Well, thank you Mansoor for being with us today and thank you for your time Thank you so much. I love my pleasure. My pleasure absolutely So, can you tell us a bit about your background and how you arrived in your current role? Absolutely, absolutely. My background is anything but accounting. I started my undergraduate degree in finance So I'm not I was not an accounting major and I believe part of why I think I teach the material In an efficient way because my background is not accounting. So when I learned accounting I learned accounting from a finance perspective. So I always put a different spend on accounting So my background in finance. I was a stockbroker I worked with Merrill Lynch for almost three years and during those years I had many questions during my work about the tax consequences of Buying and selling stocks and I could not answer that question because one thing I was not qualified at it Not know the tax consequences to it started to raise some questions in my mind that there's a demand for tax Professional, you know, as a young individual, you really don't know what you like. What don't you like when I studied finance? I know I like money. I like the stock market. So that's why I went for finance then during two thousand one two thousand two thousand one two thousand two when we had the financial crisis in the US What happened is I started to I was reading the newspaper the Wall Street Journal on regular basis And what I noticed that all these finance problem were originated from accounting so that also kind of start to Raise my interest in accounting. So I decided maybe I want to study accounting at a graduate level And this is where I started in my in my accounting career from that perspective. It's out of curiosity So I started to take some prerequisite courses and accounting like cost accounting Intermediate accounting auditing and I was taking those courses at a community college nearby it's called Middlesex Community College in New Jersey and After I finished all my prerequisite believe it or not my department at Merrill Lynch was was sold out So they laid us off and I decided to go back and get my master's in accountancy. So I started Just out of curiosity. I started my accounting career But that's why I believe I teach accounting from a different perspective because I'm not your traditional accountant Basically, I believe that that plays to my advantage from that from that perspective So that's is how I started now. I went I get my master's degree after I graduated. I Started to work but at the same time what when I was when I was a graduate student I started to teach indirectly in what sense we were taking a finance course and during that finance course I was the only non NBA students I was enrolled in a master's in accountancy program at Bloomsburg University and we had a class full of MBA students around 30 students and it was I still remember it was a one-night course So basically one we meet one night a week and the teacher would come in maybe five to ten minutes late literally I'm not joking and He will literally pull the PowerPoint slides and he was I believe has it was his last year at that school And he'll go through the slides the first slide. Do you have any questions? No one would say anything second slide. Do you have any questions? I'd be like 100 slides the class would start at 6 by 7 p.m Max would be gone the class would be done because no one would had any questions and his teaching style Why do you have any questions? So students were very they're finding challenges at that topic So I said, you know what? I'm very familiar with finance my undergraduate and finance Actually, I was going for my CFA and I studied for my CFA for few month Then I was very familiar. I was comfortable with finance So I told them why don't we go to the library and we you know, we learn the material together And this is where I started to teach for the first time in my life Where I would you know, we would you know, reserve a group room and I will teach literally I didn't feel I was teaching but everybody was relying on me. Could you explain options? Could you explain how to value stocks? Do you explain how to value bonds and those were I worked with stocks I worked with bonds and with my background and finance It was easy for me to explain it and I liked it I really really enjoyed teaching the material and I end up basically teaching the whole course because that's it Students would rely on me every week for me to explain the material for them And I really enjoyed it. I like talking in front of people. I like to explain, but it wasn't it wasn't accounting at all It was finance So after after we finished the course I went back, you know to my town And I visited my old community college and by just I was joking with the dean because I knew the dean I was a student there, you know Six years earlier and I told the dean, you know, I have a master's degree in accountancy and You know, can I teach and he said absolutely you can't teach just send me a resume So I sent I send him my resume and I never thought he's gonna call me or anything to that to that effect Suddenly one of the teachers two days before he's he was supposed to teach. He got sick, unfortunately So they they called me two days before I still remember I believe 2004 My memory serves me right summer of two august 2004 and they asked me if I can teach two courses I was like I said, of course. I mean, yes, I will teach the two courses. There were night courses So it didn't really matter. It didn't affect my job So I started teaching and I've been teaching accounting since then So this is how I started my teaching career Basically, it wasn't planned or this is how I started my accounting that I moved into teaching Now you may want to know how I started my youtube maybe that there's a story for that But this is how I started teaching Yeah, sure, and I would like to know how you started YouTube too Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, so I I read my review. So when students when students give me the reviews at the end of the semester I read the reviews Whatever is relevant. I take it into account and one common theme that kept appearing in my reviews is We don't do enough exercises in class. We don't do enough exercising class and I know this it's true I mean, I need to explain the material by the time we're done We don't have to do we don't have time to do exercises So I was thinking about a way of devoting more time to the classroom So one thing led to the other then I discovered that I can do what's called voice over PowerPoint recording So what I would do is for example, I would cut one Part of the chapter out for example one or two learning objective and I would record it on a power point slides I'm not sure if you're aware that you can record power. You can record your voice over power point So I would record my voice over the power point explaining the concept and I will I will tell the students you have to Listen to this recording on your own time because I need to free up more time in class So this is how it started then I find out there is a better technology where you could record your screen your voice over screen and And now I'm not limited to power point now. I can pull excel. I can pull the text the e-tax book I can pull anything word document type Right, and they will see everything that's going on. So it was a bit of an upgrade But the only thing about this method is I can only Reach my students. So it was like an internal mechanism So that that system was only available to the students where I taught and that gave me free time Then I was teaching the same course in another university and I said this is really it's I'm doing the work twice What can I do? Because it's the same course the same material and I am doing those recording every time twice because I have to do it for For one school and to the other school Then I find out is if I can have a file that was all That was a basically a huge discovery as long as I have an mp4 file I can post this mp4 file on youtube and believe it or not I didn't even know what I wasn't even familiar with youtube yet Like I was just okay youtube is but I did not even know what mp4 But someone tell me get that file and mp4 then I find out that I can get the convert those files and mp4 So this is the beginning of my youtube I discovered that I can get an mp4 I can reach the students at the other university without duplicating the work And this is how my youtube was born literally out of necessity because I wanted to kind of cut down on my work and reach More students makes basically use this technology On a scalable level. So this is how it started Then how it started for the first two years. I did not really I didn't really care I mean I I would post the recording And I would just forget about it and I'll post the chapters and I will just literally I'll just call them chapter one part one Chapter one part two so on and so forth until one time um friend of my wife's She invited us for dinner I was at lunch lunch and afternoon lunch and I went there and her fiance. He's really a tag guy. So before he He before he Meets you he like he would google you who'll do everything about you know, I know he does this back then I did not know who he was and that's what he does. He buys websites He sells websites But if he knows like, you know, if he if I gave him your name He will do a whole search you like whole profile about you before you know before he talks to you So what he did I guess he did some research about me. He found about my youtube And when we were meeting he would like, uh, what's your plan about your youtube? And I did not know he was talking to me because he was also he had like a head piece, you know Like those head headphones. I thought he was talking to someone else I was then you know, I did not like really I did not pay attention. It's like, you know What do you like to do with your youtube? What's your plan with your youtube? You have 600 subscribers Then it's like, are you talking to me said yes? It's like, I'm not sure like what what they have no plans He said, you know, like, you know, you have 600 subscribers. That's you know, you have quite a few So I was like, can you tell me a little bit more about it? So he'll tell me, okay You have comments. You have you have not responded to your comments. I was like show me So he said, okay, go to your account. So I went to my he had like his own laptop right there So I went into into my account and he showed me that I have like maybe 100 comments I have not responded to a lot of likes. He showed me my subscribers He showed me some statistics and he said Why are you calling your lectures chapter one part one chapter one part two? He said because I told him because this is how I reach my students He told me, well, do you see that more more people are watching your lectures, but you're not aware of it? I said now I know before I did not know he said you need to change the titles Rather than chapter one part one, you need to name them something specific He said he gave me a comparison. He said it's like you're putting a sign Like a marketing sign inside the forest And you need to bring the sign to the highway so people on the highway can see the sign I was like, okay So I went back and I started to rename my lectures like, you know, rather than chapter one I would call it, you know, accounting receivable that that expense or whatever the topic is In a month later I noticed that my subscribers went from 600 to 1000 It did not double but it went up substantially because now I am searchable Then he then I started to talk to me said now you need to put description So I started to put description And then he told me you need to put the tags and started to put the tags And it took off started to take once you see the numbers It really encourages you and I started to respond to comments And this is how I basically started to nurture and I still remember when he showed me my the numbers I had only 600 subscribers Rutgers university Rutgers university accounting web they had at that point 8000 around 8000 subscribers So I always Rutgers university was like this is my I need to reach that. This is my ideal today. I have Close to 64 000 subscribers. They're still at 30 at 32 000. So I My subscribers I have more double my subscribers compared to them and my views Everything is way more than Rutgers. Actually, they subscribe to my channel at some point and I was very happy So this is how it all started in a sense. It's by mistake And this is what I tell all people if you're starting a youtube channel to make money, don't do it Uh, just if you have a passion for something just do it and eventually the money Whatever you're looking for it will come later But you have to like what you're doing and that's true for everything in life So this is my background and a nutshell how it all started Great, I really love your story. Mashallah. I mean, it's a great story and um You love what you are doing and you are generous So you give you give you give and as you said, it's not only about money Like you should add value to people give them all what you have and then everything will follow Exactly, exactly people and and the other thing I just want to mention something for people here Don't have a specific goal like when you're going in life Everything that I my teaching I discovered it by mistake youtube. I discovered by mistake and this is what I do So look at the peripheral just try different things. You don't know what's gonna come up That's don't be fixate fixated on one thing. Just go ahead. Go ahead You know think it around until see what you like until you find out what you like Yeah, great great great story and well You are an inspiration for me and for all other students and accountants as well. Great. Thank you. Thank you very much I thank you. I have a lot of respect for you and for what you do. I really do I you know this because I told you this this is not on I told you this many times offline so So, you know that I have a lot of respect for you and for what you do one more one more time Thank you Can you give us some tips and advice for the far part of the exam? Sure. Sure. Absolutely Here's what I'm gonna approach each section on the exam starting with far Far is not a mystery far is intermediate accounting Which is depending on your university or college. It could be intermediate one two or intermediate one two and three But let's call it intermediate accounting It's advanced accounting and governmental and not for profit accounting. No mystery about it. What does that mean? It means to prepare for that section You have to go back and if you have not learned the material Lee relearn the material simply put you have to go back and treat yourself as a college student Just go back and learn the basics now. I'm I'm gonna be mentioning my youtube But please I don't you know, I'm not trying to advertise or anything, but if it's not my youtube, it's somewhere else You have to learn the material but My youtube I have these courses and I have every course from a to z So even if you don't want to use my youtube keep your college textbook I mean some some topics might need updated But use your old textbook to learn the material before you take a cpa course And you have to take it one section at a time whatever course you are using I'm not gonna name any all courses are good. Whatever cpa prep course you are using Look at that topic. Don't move on unless you master it if you cannot master the topic Then there's something wrong. I mean and my point is you can do it because it's doable You have resources you have You have the textbook you have the course that you are taking and you have youtube It doesn't have to be my youtube you can go and search any topic google or youtube and you can find an explanation One section at a time before and one section I mean one topic or one topic one sub topic at a time Break it into small chunks and you cannot skip anything people ask me what is important Everything is important. You gotta know everything you gotta know everything. That's what's called in the blueprint Now also I can provide you with the blueprint link at the end of the at the end of the recording You can share it with your viewers But you have to know everything that's on the exam. You cannot take your chances From that perspective, I would say go back and learn the material Step by step like don't skip over don't say this is not important And as you learn the material what's gonna happen yourself confidence would increase It's okay. I did not know this topic before now. I know it if you know it It's gonna give you confidence gonna give you positive feedback then you can learn other topics So this is my strategy take it one at a time starting with intermediate accounting Advanced accounting then governmental and not for profit and I have Recording about all these topics. I hate to keep saying this but this is how I can help you from my perspective on my youtube Yes, those three courses those three courses if you never took governmental accounting in college, then you are at disadvantage That's 20 of far. It means you have to start from scratch. That's it. You have to learn the material There is no way around it So you just and how you learn it each individual is different Some people can read the material and that's all what they need. I can tell you my wife She can read something and it's that's all what she needs Some people they like for someone to talk to them to explain it to them This is my this is how I learn if I can listen to someone explaining something to me Um, that's my that's my most efficient way and that's why I'm good at explaining because this is how I learn Some people like to write things down if that's what if that's what works for you write your notes down Some people and I used to do this myself. I would record myself not on my phone. I would be I used to record myself on my Walkman back then we didn't you know and I would listen to myself explaining the material to myself to learn it Some people they highlight something and yeah, they get it. So whatever your Learning style is you have to discover what that learning style is and use it to your advantage You might have more than one for example for one section You might use you might reading will be good for another section. You may want you may want to listen For a third section you may want to write so use a variety of ways, but you should have one or two Learning style that works really for you. So take those discover what they are and use them to your advantage That's that's my that's my tip and don't listen to anyone else each individual is unique Each topic is unique What works for you may not work for me and the course that works for you may not work for me Some people they may listen to my youtube and they hate it. They don't like the way I teach That's fine. It doesn't mean my teaching is not good. It doesn't fit their style other people. They may not like their CPA course lecture, but they like my lectures so What um find out what works for you and nurture that That style whatever the style when I call it style techniques, whatever you want to do And if you don't know that then you are at disadvantage I always tell my students find out how you learn if you don't know how to learn Then you don't know. I'm sorry. You just don't know because you have you have to find out Because you use it for all topics. Sorry. Go ahead Yeah, great. So these are great tips that actually I'm sure like a lot of people will benefit from what you are saying and as you said like Know yourself first before you begin studying and before you do anything because If you know what works for you, you will save a lot of time So studying effectively is the key to success. Absolutely. Especially if you are working and you're under time pressure Don't listen. Some people say Work multiple choice questions. I don't recommend this Just see what works for you. Just see what works for you and what I suggest I mean, we'll talk about this a little bit further. I don't want to talk about the whole thing now, but go ahead So that's far Yeah, great. What about the audit tips you would like to see Audit is Audit is one course all it's auditing and attestation and it's based on auditing and attestation that you took in college So go back and ask yourself when I took that course First of all, how long ago I took the course if it's a long time ago Then you need a course before you start your course and when I mean a course, it doesn't mean like a course It's a big thing you need to learn the material now if you learn that material recently And if you did well in auditing then guess what go to your cpa prep course and start to work them Like see test yourself. See how well, you know, but it's only one course And the thing about auditing you have to understand auditing auditing You cannot memorize because they would change the scenario for you and everything will be upside down So in contrast to other like for example and taxation, you might have to know certain rules And auditing I would say critical thinking is tested the most Because it's Situational auditing is situational. So you have to be very careful. And how do you be very careful? You have to like it like when you study audit, it's like your baby You have to really understand it and like it because they're going to give you different scenarios You learn the concept But you may or may not see the same questions on the exam, but the concept is tested So this is where learning the material is critical in contrast to Rag in contrast to bec. So that's what I would say. You really have to know again I hate again. I'm gonna keep saying this but on my youtube. I have almost 200 auditing lectures I I took one textbook and I lecture all about auditing. So if you need anything to review Visit my Visit my youtube Great your youtube channel is great like for me personally I use it for me to understand things and to learn topics like It's it's accessible and it's free and it's useful. So why not you know, like absolutely and it's organized So you can walk through the courses very quickly. Absolutely. I think from a student's perspective when I organize it I'd say if I was a student How would I like to see this? So I break everything by playlist So I have an auditing playlist and with an auditing playlist. I have everything by chapter So I'll try to make it as easy as possible for students to navigate Yeah, great, great. Absolutely. Um Can you give us some tips for the break part of the exam as well? Yes, rag. Um, rag is basically two topics Two topics. Yes tax and business law will keep business law on the side for now tax It's tax one and tax two sometimes they call it individual tax and entity tax or individual tax and corporate tax Again, you have to ask yourself the same questions And this is and this is important for international student here here because I'm gonna I'm gonna talk about this The reason why because and usually international student don't take a us taxation and if they do take a us taxation course, they took it and in their country and Either the teacher don't understand the taxation system or the teacher of it if they do they they could not really explain to them. So So what does that mean? It means whether it's but that problem also for local and means American students So you really have to learn taxation back to the same questions How well did you do in college? How well did you in that seat in that course? Did you get an a do you like taxation like some students they they understand taxation from their personal You know, they they they prepared their own taxes to serve a little bit familiar But I understand for some students. It's a totally it's a foreign language So don't worry just and I'm saying don't worry in a sense that you actually you have to worry because it's it's Very complicated and intimidated for someone non us even for a us students. It's a bit it's a bit intimidated and I'm sure you can testify to that because I'm not sure what tax course you took when you were in college, but it is intimidated It's really scary for foreign students. But again, I go back I can I on my youtube I break it down piece by piece I have 150 lectures between individual and corporate Learn the material again bit by bit piece by piece and move on now business law I really cannot say much about business law because I don't teach business law But I know business law is only around 15 to 20 of the exam. I'm not saying it's not important. Everything is important, but Take go back and to your business law textbook If not buy a business law textbook and supplement the material With your cpa prep course because you have also business law is situational There's some rules, but also it's situational. So you have to know it So that's my tip for rag basically go back and I mean this is this is boring Repeating the same thing go back and learn the material But the point I'm trying to make is you have to learn it and the reason why you have to learn it because on the exam day They would know like for example, if they ask you about partnership The exam the software is so smart that they know once they find out that you're comfortable with partnership They stop and they ask you about And You know capital assets If they see that you are struggling with capital assets They will keep asking you questions to see if that if you are lacking in that important topic And if you do there's a good chance you might fail the exam So the point is you gotta learn it. That's the point. So you cannot memorize it You cannot just work multiple choice question Again, you hope you're gonna see the same questions. You really have to learn it That's my philosophy and once you learn it It's gonna increase your confidence on the exam day because you know it Let them throw anything at me and I would know the answer and the other tip I would like to give you is work different questions. Don't work the same questions And always if you're not getting 80 percent on your first attempt on any topic, then you don't know it 80 to 85 percent The reason is because on the exam you have to discount 10 points if you're getting 85 10 points brings you back to 75 So every time you take a practice exam or a practice quiz If you are not scoring 80 to 85 then you have to revisit that topic in details Means it's it's lacking because if you're getting 75 It means you're gonna get 65 on the exam because you're under time pressure You are in a different environment. So always discount 10 points from what you get So 85 as a safe zone 80 to 85. That's the first thing I ask students It doesn't mean other students don't pass But my experience with students when they are getting 80 to 85 on their practice quiz and exams They usually pass. It's not only 80 to 85 You have to find out the 10 to 15 percent that you missed. Why did you miss and that's more important than the 80 to 85? so that's my I Students should keep that in mind So what you missed is more important because once you know what you missed You want to understand why is it because I misread the question? Is it because I answered the wrong question? What is it because I don't understand and that third? Reason I don't understand that's bad because if you don't understand the question And sometimes students they say I don't I don't understand the question and I don't understand the answer Although I'm given the solution. Well, hold on. You don't understand You have to go back and learn the abcs of that particular topic Okay, so so don't take anything for granted Don't skip anything you gotta learn everything and your knowledge would build over time And if you're finding difficulty using my method learning everything you will notice as time goes by You're learning You're learning experience with increase and you will become a faster learner So let's assume it's gonna it's taking you four hours to learn a topic A week from now it may take you three hours to learn a topic because you are becoming a more efficient learner And eventually it will take you two hours and as your self-confidence increase it will take you less and less time So you you're gonna have a learning curve work on it believe in it and it will work now How fast every each student is different? Yeah, great. Like these are great tips and good to know what you are saying like very helpful really And especially for the rick parts for us international candidates It is like the most scary part and the difficult one the most difficult one because We take the local taxation like for our country for me like I took the Palestinian taxation So I don't know anything about the us taxation. So I struggled with this part but your tips are great, you know And your youtube channel like for any international candidate if he if he's zero in the us taxation And he just told me your youtube videos. I'm sure they will understand everything about the us taxation. So As you said studying and working hard is the key to to understand and to learn Yes, and believe me. I hear this from many students on almost daily basis from india from egypt from the philippine I mean all over the world rag is a challenge and topic. I mean it's obvious because you learn the palestinian system It's the us system It's you have to sit down and think from us congress perspective congress sets the law like this is a huge You have to like change your perspective about everything. So yes, I understand, but this is why I hate I'm gonna keep saying this go to my youtube I start actually with the history of taxation So it's something that's not even related to taxes just to give you some interest in it and you build your knowledge And this is usually the the toughest topic for international students based on statistics It has the highest failure rate because I know like and I helped many students In the past personally tutor them. I don't have time to do this anymore. I used to do some tutoring on skype Especially about uh regulation especially about regulation, but you can do it. Don't let it don't be intimidated. You can do it also what I suggest you do in addition to my In addition to my youtube you can buy a us taxation book like a college go on amazon find the book and buy the book And there's some books are easier than others. You can email me if you have any questions I will recommend the book for you But yes, you might need an actual college us college textbook to supplement whatever you have because the cpa course Always assume, you know the material. That's not true. That's not true. Especially in taxation. You never learn the material It's like zero knowledge and they're asking you to kind of keep up with them Yeah, great. Yeah So, um, can you give us also some tips for the bec part of the exam? Yes, absolutely. Bec is a bunch of things. It's but mainly Manage managerial accounting constant accounting, which are very very similar. Not the same but very like 80 similar um macroeconomics microeconomics it Internal control. So it's a little bit of everything I can give you the most about managerial accounting cost accounting. I'm sorry and finance. I forgot to mention this corporate finance is also part of part of bec I I don't I'm not gonna repeat myself But it's a lot of information a lot of people underestimate bec. Yes, vc has the highest pass rate But it covers the most diversified information So you learn you learn about when land and it and you would learn about international Trade you would learn about the supply and demand you would learn about cost process Costing so you have to kind of learn about a lot not in depth about any particular topic But you have to cover a lot of ground. So be careful. Don't go too much in depth Learn what you need to learn now. You should have a cpa course always And in my opinion all cpa courses are good in a sense that if you are prepared they will prepare you But be careful and bec not to dive too much if not necessary if not necessary And on my youtube I cover cost accounting in depth managerial accounting in depth and I do have a corporate Corporate finance course which will help you in your corporate finance now. I can talk about my Website too on my website. I have way additional more resources for bec But we can talk about this later But those are the three main courses in addition to a little bit of macroeconomics a little bit of microeconomics I forgot everything that I learned about macro or microeconomics But the point is I'm trying to make you have to learn it for the exam. So enjoy it love it Like this is like you're the night that you are studying the supply and demand curve This is the most interesting thing think of it that way use youtube I don't have anything on my youtube about this topic, but there's many other youtube out there You have a lot of resources when I took the exam I only had the book and the course that I was taking so I was very limited If I'm taking the course CPA exam now, there's a lot of resources. There's not even one topic That's not covered on youtube if you search good enough I mean, I know I cover almost 90 of all the material But I'm sure you can find about macroeconomics it and other topics on other channels So don't give up if you don't like your course you paid for it. That's fine You have other resources don't just don't give up because your course is no good Or now let me repeat. I don't mean no good It doesn't fit your learning style and that's the other thing You gotta find the course that fits what the way you study and most courses They give you even a free trial or a free sample before you start check them out Read about them. Don't listen to other people just because somebody took a course And they pass and or there's a course that everybody uses and they pass That that doesn't mean the course helped them pass It's because they were well prepared and if they took any course they would have passed So be careful what works for you. Don't overpay for some courses sometime Just see what works for you if you are prepared any course and sometimes no course would help you and you will pass the exam But if you are not prepared the prep course does not help you you need that bridge And this is where I come into the picture I bridge that knowledge between your college education And the course there's some someplace in between This is where I fill in that bridge to help you prepare for the cpa course That will help you prepare for the cpa exam. I wish I can say by myself. I'm a cpa course. I'm not you cannot say this I don't have the time to do it. I don't have the resources and you know a lot more than anybody else It's a humongous Beast the cpa exam. So yes Yeah, it is Well great tip and thank you for those great tips for the four parts of the exam Yes Yeah, um, can you give us some tips for the written communication section of the bc exam how to tackle um this section Okay Well, you have to understand two things you are being tested on your writing skills and you are being tested on your Logic or knowledge about the topic. So what does that mean? It means for example, if you're an international student Um, look at a TOEFL course. Make sure you know how to write Properly basic grammar. I mean, I'm not I'm not that I always testify this I'm not the best writer but I can write enough that The software would recognize that my English is proper for example Matching subject and verbs simple stuff. That's the first thing they look at if your grammar and basic English is not good Your grade is going to be lower and the it's going to increase your chances of failing That's one thing they look at if you are um a us Doesn't have to be us But if you if if English is your first language, I would suggest looking at a gmat course It doesn't have to be the full course only the written part of the gmat. This is what I did When I studied for the exam, I relied on the, you know, graduate management admission testing the gmat The gmat prep course. So I looked at the how they teach writing for their students and I look at the tips I mean, you don't have to be the best writer. They understand that cpas. They're not the best writers If they were the best writers, they would not be accounting or cpa students But they're looking could you write an email explain think of it this way Can you write an email to your manager or to your colleague or to a customer explaining something? That's all what they're looking for. Do you have that capability? It's not I don't believe it's very high Just you have to know the basics if you don't know basic grammars. Yes, you're gonna maybe suffer Also, in addition to the grammar, can you logically think about the topic? How do you explain the topic step by step? That's all what they're looking for. They're not looking for you to be a great writer Just can you express yourself in a written format? So keep that in mind learn your basics and Try to practice and let somebody else read the answers for you and critique it So here you may want to connect with somebody who's good in In writing and let them, you know, give you some tips and that's all what I would say It's can you write a proper email? That's that's how I look at it to a manager or to a client explaining a tax situation explaining a managerial situation Can you explain to them the consequences of of doing something? That's all what it is Yeah, great. Yeah, so it's Simple then a lot of people think like they they complicate the issue and they think like the the written communication is a big deal But it's more simple than that Yes, I mean in other words if you cannot properly write, they don't want you to be a CPA if you cannot communicate That's that's all what they're asking you. Can you prove to us that? You can write proper English or you can write a proper two paragraphs that you could express your thought clearly to someone else That's that's all what's so it think of it this way So how would you do it? You need to learn basic English and the topic itself So it's like you have to tackle two things but by the time you get to the written communication You should you should have Learn all the material you just have to work on the English part and this is very important for international students And I would say maybe international students. They do better because if you go through the Tafel, how do you pronounce it tofu? Tofu, yeah, tofu. Yes If you go through the tofu tofu really teach you the basic English because the g-matte assumes again because you're at the graduate level But English tofu, I would say good enough for the be seroton exam if you can write, you know English tofu, that's what I would say. That's the tip I would give to students Yeah, you are correct international students also take some also take English courses and They are they take care of their English grammar and so on because the learn those so they may do better. As you said, yeah Yes, yes, also they will do better because if you are an English speaker You're going to make many mistakes because you speak the language and you don't write the language International students they write it first before they speak it. So they learn the proper English, I'll tell you my situation. My situation is really bad. I'll tell you why Because this is funny, but maybe I should I should share it My my first language is Arabic My grammar school was in French My high school was in English. So go figure out Okay So what am I writing? Am I thinking in Arabic writing in French? Expressing myself in English so it gets really really I mean, I still write now some French words because they're very similar like they you know subject word agreement The French system is the exact opposite and this is what I learned So it's hard for me to switch that thinking because so that's why if you learn English properly from the beginning You'll be better than a u.s Individual who just learn the Learn how to write at the same time as speaking. That's so I'm given more confidence for In candidate that look the written communication. You can do it if you learn the English properly because I'm sure you're gonna learn the material as well Yeah, absolutely Yeah So, um Any advice on how to take well organized notes as the material seems overwhelming due to the podium Yes. Yes. Yes. Again here. It goes back to a personal preference. I can give you some tips But personal preference here is important Some people like to write notes if that's what you like on each like on a note card Like for example a count receivable write your notes and break them down and keep your notes with you constantly I mean when I was studying a lot, I had notes. Sorry in the restroom So if I'm in the restroom I had like few notes. So this way I don't waste any time but the point is Take the notes that that that works for you if I'm studying today I will put I will make a lot of notes on my phone in other words Um after I study the material I record the notes I record what I want to say on my phone about that particular topic And I can listen to this if I'm driving if I'm walking if I'm commuting if I'm just ready to go to sleep Um, so taking notes how how you would organize it. It's up to you. I mean, I like to I I like to Draw a map like when I have a topic I would say okay Again to account receivable account receivable the direct write off method the allowance method under the allowance method The percentage of receivable the account receivable. So I like to learn in terms of maps if that what works for you Go ahead and use it if you like to write like write a lot use it So I really cannot give you a particular tip but see what works for you writing Condensing write in your own words write your own notes And if you could explain the material in your own notes, that's also helping you learn the material Once you own it, you know it Also, if you can explain it because when you write you're trying to explain something to yourself If you can write something you're organizing your thought on a piece of paper that also helped tremendously But don't underestimate the power of recording your notes on the phone because that's This is technology technology at best working for your advantage Let's assume you are tired at the end of the day. You don't want to read. You don't want to work exercises Go ahead and play your notes from the prior module So this way you would listen to yourself because you don't have the stamina or the energy to read or write But you could always listen So you have many ways of doing so Yeah, great tips and good idea to listen as you said like if you are tired And you don't feel like reading or writing you can listen. Yeah, which is you don't have any downtime Yes, absolutely great, yeah so, um How much study time does each part need and how to allocate this time per week, especially for working candidates Yes, yes, I get this is a very common question with no common answer to it How much you will need to to learn is all depends on Your learning style. How fast do you learn? One student might learn the material faster than the other How well you were prepared before you start learning? How well you did under undergraduate if you Graduated with 3.0 great point average. I'm not sure if this is three point. I was like what B A B versus students who graduate with an a student with an a they might take last time because they already know the material So it depends on many factors Again, this is an individual It's a situational But the point is If you are a slow learner, you will get better. You will get better. So don't worry So if it's taken you I said this earlier four hours to go through a module Maybe the next time the same module the same difficulty it may take you three and a half hours You saved half an hour You will take this half an hour and you would learn something else Then your efficiency will accumulate and it will pay interest So don't underestimate the power of small Increment improvement every time you learn a topic don't underestimate that and don't think because it's taken me this Long on this topic. It's going to take me that much for future topics. Just believe in your Self-confidence believe that knowledge accumulate believe that knowledge will pay dividend. That's what I would say so I don't have an answer for that time If you are a working person and you know, I really give you a lot of credit for doing so Try to wake up half an hour earlier only 30 minutes in the morning that works for me And I hope it works for other people your brain is like a sponge because you know, you're you're you're rested overnight So you're gonna pick up the material faster that half an hour in the morning Might be equivalent to an hour an hour and a half studying at night also if you use your phone To learn the material then driving to your workplace what's gonna happen is you can listen to yourself You take advantage of that time driving back from your workplace and the more traffic There is the more time you would learn because you're listening to your You're listening to your own notes So you need a sacrifice maybe half an extra half an hour in the morning an extra 45 minutes at night and two three hours extra Whatever you're doing Try to put two three hours for the whole weekend Extra of what you can what you are doing now and your knowledge would accumulate Try to find people that are studying. You could always reach out to me I always help a lot of people just like people. They just text me on my if they have my cell number Or only they say look we're just frustrated and find someone you can vent to like i'm so tired You know, what should I do or sometimes you're stuck on a topic and that topic is not difficult But just you're so tired. You just you can't get over that people email me or they text me I was like, okay, no problem. And I'll just send them like a voice note. Okay. Here's what you do Is that boom it's done. So find someone especially if you are a working Individuals don't isolate yourself a lot of people said I'm gonna isolate myself Yes, I mean isolate when you're studying But have a support a person group whoever to stay motivated and the CPA exam is a lifetime investment You only do it once in your lifetime You only study for this exam and it will pay dividend for the next 40 to 50 years So it's very important to keep that in mind sacrifice short term for a long term Dividend and payments. That's what I would say Find someone find the support person or the support group. There's facebook I'm right here. You could always reach out to me Yeah, great, great. Yeah, of course like during the exam study journey Every person needs an accountability partner needs support needs motivation from anybody. So like For example, they can reach to you or to any other person and this will help them a lot because you know Support is very important because it's a long journey and it's very painful. Yes. So long and painful and you need that support and guidance I'm always here Yeah, great. Yeah so, um What is the best strategy for the final three to four days? leading to the exam Yes, and the last three to four days I don't think you should be learning anything at that point. You should you should be done You should be reviewing and the those last three to four days go over the notes every day Just like real quick over all the notes if there's any if you are still experiencing any difficulty in a particular topic Buy cpa questions about that topic and test yourself But you should not be under stress under pressure the last few days. It should be a review Assuming you have the time, but that's what it should be So you should not be learning the material last day and the reason I say this because you want to learn the material reflect on it Practice it and learn it because on the exam day you want to go in there with full confidence You don't want to learn something and you have any doubts about it because on the exam day You don't have that benefit of the doubt that to kind of absorb it. So that's why Have those last three days just as a review And I have a tip about after you take the exam. What should you do after you take the exam? Let's assume you took far You have to be careful with yourself Once you take far you have to ask yourself how well did I do? If you don't think you if you think you failed go back and start study for far if you you know If assuming you did not schedule anything else If you think you passed far and you're taking all the thing next every day Although you think you passed go over the notes like for half an hour just flip through the notes Just look at the notes. That's all you need to do and remember Everything that you can remember from the exam day write it down So this way you'd say in case you took it again. There's good chance. You might be tested on these topics so take notes as much as you can remember review the notes and Flip through the material because it's gonna take you half an hour to to Half an hour a day, but it's still fresh in your mind If you wait a month or two weeks until you look at it again for the first time You lost a lot of material that you learned because you're gonna carry that material And once you passed you're gonna forget everything. So you don't want to forget it until you have passed Yes, that's a common question. What should I do after I take the exam? Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah and um So what if the person took the exam and he doesn't have an idea like if he is gonna pass or fail You recommend like studying for the next part until you set up half an hour If you're not sure review for an hour your notes and start the other part. Yes, that's fine Sometime you could be like, I'm not really sure. I could have passed. I could have failed and that's what you do Instead of half an hour do an hour of review And start studying or for the other part now the good news a lot is in 2020 You're gonna be able to take the exam all year long and by the time you get your results It's gonna be much shorter. So that's gonna alleviate this problem because that's that's really a dilemma What should I do? Should I start studying or should I wait? So you just have to have that balance? But hopefully this is gonna go away It's gonna be less of an impact. Let's put it this way. Yes. Yeah, good news. Yeah, good. Yes So it's it's becoming easier when it comes to you know scheduling and taking the exams now. Absolutely. Absolutely. So it's gonna be like Available all year long and you can take the sections. It doesn't you don't have to wait for the next period or anything like that Once this is finalized, I'm pretty sure I'll put something on youtube about it. But yes, but that's They're heading that way. Let's put it that way Yes, yeah No blackout period Yeah, good. Good so, um How would you suggest um tackling the weak areas of the Exam of the subjects or the material Uh Weak area that's good for you If you know your weak areas for one thing if you think you're weak at something that's positive Why because this is the area that you need to focus on it means this is your weakness So if you again, I know I'm repeating myself go back to the basics like if your review course First of all, how do you know it's weak? It's either either bad on the multiple choice or you read the book and you don't you read your review course and you don't understand it I'm assuming this is how you this is how you find out. Well step away from those go back to what you should have known Okay, what should you what should you know before tackling this topic? And that's what you're missing and I'm gonna talk about this for real quick If you don't understand something in accounting, it's not because it's difficult It's because there's some prior knowledge you missed So nothing is difficult in accounting in a sense that it's like it's not rocket science accounting is in a sense It's straightforward But it's a lot of material. So if you are missing something, it's because you are missing a prior topic and so that's why you have to go back see what am I missing? Why am I why am why am I not understanding this? I must be missing some prerequisite find out what you're missing Go to that prerequisite tackle it come back and learn what you need to learn. This is my tip So always something missing not nothing is difficult. It's you're missing the prerequisite. That's all let's do it Yeah, great So, uh, do you have any tips to increase the exam score like during the exam? Most child candidates do like to increase their score If there is any tips, uh, no no particular tip. No the material And the the other thing asking about this question Grading the exam is a mystery. No one really knows how the AI CPA grade the exam I mean, there's many questions at least 12 questions They are they don't count against your grades even if you get them wronged or tested questions And no one knows how the AI CPA grade the exam So that to give you a tip, I'll be lying to you but knowing the material all what I know is this The AI CPA software They would know if you know the material enough to pass or if you don't know enough important material to pass Other than that I would not be able to know So my guess is sometime you might answer 75 Percent of the questions correct and you might fail Sometime you might answer only 72 and you might pass. So the point is know the material and show prove it Prove in your answers that you are comfortable. You have enough knowledge about the topic and you will pass So, I don't know how else to answer this question Know the material that's that's my And you only have to know it for the exam after the exam Don't worry about it But when you're when you're learning the material try to like it try to enjoy it because it's gonna make it easier for you to absorb it That's that's what I would say Good. So, um, can you give us some tips for the day of the exam like what shall candidates do on the day of the exam? Yes, I mean, I'll tell you what I what I what I always did I always Well, I had to I always had to schedule my exam far away from my house because I would schedule toward the end of the blackout period So what I would do I would you want to make sure you're rested the night before So I used to stay at a close by hotel and I have a funny story about this because when I took my first section This is really funny When I took my first section, I was very nervous in a sense. I wanted to make sure I wake up So the hotel called me I had my phone alarm And my my wife now who was my we before we were married. She called me from overseas. So my phone rang Uh, my the hotel called me and I had my phone So I had like three three alone because I wanted to be as ready as possible. Um, get rested the night before Um arrive an hour an hour and a half earlier Just sit in the car relax take a walk around the testing center and make sure oh, I'm glad I remember this Make sure when you register for the exam your name matches your id or your passport That's important because last time I was with the ai cpa meeting They said if your name does not match it will turn you down. So make sure when you register you have the id to show them that That that shows the same name. So, you know, if your name is spelled differently just be careful about that Um, I would say don't eat too much have a light light breakfast But you don't want to be dizzy just make sure don't eat too much That's what I would say walk around a little bit before you go into the exam be energized be positive be enthusiastic because it's gonna help It's otherwise it it will hurt if you're not enthusiastic if you're not rested definitely it will affect your crate That's crazy Do you advise the candidates to take that break through the exam? Or that's first that's personal preference. Um If you can build your stamina and what I used to do I I practice to like When I would practice I would sit down and answer questions for an hour and a half straight Literally this ends when I was doing this because I wanted to build my stamina So depending if you could build your stamina because it's gonna save your time if you don't take the break It's gonna save you time some students They need the break if you need and and you should know this before going into the exam How do you know this when you practice? How many questions can you take? Before you start to get tired if you know if you can take 50 Then that's 50 then stop if you can tolerate two hours, then you can do two hours. So that's also a personal preference Yeah, great So, um, is there anything you would like to tell for it like for the candidates who failed the exam? What would you like to tell them? Don't worry. I mean unfortunately and I say unfortunately I did not fail any exam I cannot talk from a personal experience, but I can tell you I failed many things in my life So don't worry. It's not a big deal. Um the exam. I know you're not gonna like this It's not difficult and why you have to ask you have to be truthful with yourself Why did you fail and the number one reason why you did fail is because you were not ready Why you were not ready because you did not learn the material Why you did not learn the material because you did not go back to basics and learn the material You did not take it seriously anyone can pass. I'm not saying you did not pass Anyone can pass and you did not pass. I'm saying anyone can pass If you devote enough time, so if you are really serious about passing you can pass You're gonna have my information at the end of this recording. I'm sure Allah if you listen this will share it with you Contact me if you have any questions. I can help you. I can guide you I can mentor you and I can be your support But everyone and anyone can pass as long as they put as long as they have enough time If you don't have time if you have Four kids you have a full-time job. You have other responsibilities. I'm gonna tell look this is not for you You should look for something else. But if you want to pass you could always pass. This is what I tell them So don't give up Don't and don't compare yourself to anyone else each individual have their unique circumstances Don't compare yourself to well that individual passed studying only five hours. Why can't I do it? Well, that individual is different. You are different. So you have to find out what works for you That's what I would tell them and anyone can pass including you Anyone anyone can pass If I can pass you can pass Great. That is really very motivational and You are absolutely true It's a matter of Hard work and putting in the commitments and anyone can pass. Yeah And you have to be truthful with yourself if you don't know something go back to the prerequisite You don't know it now because you're missing something Pre-requisite. I know I said this many times. Sorry. Go ahead No problem. Yeah, great So, um, we have a few moments left for this interview and I would like to inform the audience That you have offered them a free gift. So can you tell us a bit about your gift? Absolutely I'm going to share with you a lot my powerpoint slides for my most popular topic Which is the third income taxes. So they will have the powerpoint slides. I'm also going to share with you The blueprint for the CPA exam. That's not really mine. That's the AI CPA So you can I will share both of these and you can students can have access to them Great great So I encourage you guys to get this free gift and to learn from Mansoor like he has a library of accounting lectures and 1500 Wow, that's a hard work. Oh my god. Yeah 12 different courses Any accounting course you can think of managerial financial cost intermediate audit governmental, you name it international Now I have even international Wow, and you are also updating the material also, right constantly constantly constantly that's part of youtube. You have to stay up to date Yeah, good. Good job. Um, can you tell me about your product? Like I know you launched Recently a new product. So can you tell us a bit about it? Yes, uh, basically my youtube is 100 free all my lectures are 100 free now addition to my lectures I have a website on my website You can subscribe. Let's call it premium material or or additional Exercises true false multiple choice. And if you're studying for your exam 2000 CPA questions My material is best for students who are trying to learn the material so you can go to my website Learn the material practice questions before Using your CPA prep course. So basically again, I'm trying. I'm sitting in the student seat Sorry, what would the student need to prepare for the exam? They will need to be prepared on an undergraduate level if they are prepared They don't need me my website is useless But if you need that review review course for your review course My material is great because it's gonna help you and you're gonna use my questions to learn the material Then you can take the questions that you have for your CPA course and test yourself So you're getting more questions 2000 CPA questions I have over 250 exercises that I I consider quasi CPA simulations. They're not CPA They are CPA simulations, but they're not electronic CPA simulations They're exercises that you might see in the form of a simulation on the exam day And it's a subscription base and you can cancel anytime But you have to subscribe at least for one month in order to have access to the material Yes Yeah, great. And it's it's not expensive. I think it's only 30 dollars per month 29.99. Yes. So 30 dollars a month 30 dollars a month. Yes. I made it affordable because I know I have many international students and students in third world countries But I cannot do better than that It is uh, I mean it's very cheap. So it's like And if you need it for one month, if you are very efficient learner You can go and learn the material in one month answer everything you need to answer and cancel Just learn the material pay for one month and cancel until you're ready again You you restart your subscription the vote one month Take care of it. Then move on Great, great. So guys, I encourage you to Check Mansoor's youtube channel subscribe to his channel also check his product and Consider subscribing to his product. I'm sure you will benefit a lot from his lectures and from the questions he puts in his product so Um, and you could always reach out to me. Please Reach out to Mansoor also for any support. He's there uh there for you guys and I like you can testify to this I'm always online. I always answer questions. So I'm always available Yes, thank you. He is always available 24 hours available for you if you need anything. He's very helpful Yeah, um Is there anything you would like to add to this interview Mansoor that we did not discuss and To tell like the candidates a last word you would like to tell them before we end this interview Sure, some of it might be might be a repeat, but that's okay. Stay motivated You only have to study for this once and once you pass. It's a lifetime investment. So stay motivated I'm here to help you and good luck Well, thank you Mansoor a lot for your time today and thank you for those great tips tricks and advice You gave us to pass the CPA exam Thank you very much Ella nice talking to you So make sure guys to watch the next interview which will be with a new CPA exam speaker And a new CPA exam tips tricks and advice to help you pass the CPA exam on your first try So make sure not to miss the next video Goodbye