<p>Hi,</p>
<p>School is starting in a week so I was wondering what the more difficult topics in Intermediate Financial accounting are so that I can try and learn some of the info before school starts. Also, any tips for surviving and doing well in that class would be much appreciated as well. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I or II?</p>
<p>I didn’t have very much trouble with Intermediate I, but for II it was leases and pensions. I loathed that stuff. Even if I thought I had it down 100% before the test I would still manage to mess it up. Make sure you ace the first midterm/test (the easy stuff rehashed from Intermediate I like bonds and income statements) so you can be fine once you get to that.</p>
<p>My study pattern was to show up to classes, take good notes, and then start cramming ~ 5 days before each test (we had 3 per semester). Practice tests, assigned problems, practice problems, etc. all help a lot for study material.</p>
<p>It’s not that hard. Just learn the concepts and don’t try to memorize debits and credits. That makes it a whole lot easier because you can figure things out on your own. All you really have to memorize is unique accounts that only come up in a few situations(that’s mostly in Intermediate II anyway).</p>
<p>Hmm, well my school is on quarters and thieves inter 1,2,3, but I will be taking the first in the sequence. Would you both say that intermediate is virtually the same as intro, or what is the major difference between the two? I only hear people with no work ethic complain about intro financial, but even the sharper accounting students complain about intermediate. So I guess what I’m asking (aside from what topics to review in advance) is if intermediate is something that just requires a lot of work to be successful at, or is it something that is so complicated that only few will understand it outside of a few geniuses?</p>
<p>It’s not complicated. Accounting is saturated with idiots because of the recession. Idiots will complain about all the upper level weed out classes.</p>
<p>That’s the reason weed out classes exist. It separates the people who think the major is a quick way to money/jobs from people who actually have work ethic.</p>
<p>Can I piggy back on this question? What topics should you have down pat before taking Intermediate Accounting I? What should we have memorized perfectly from Intro to Financial and Managerial?</p>
<p>Nothing. Intermediate I will spend the first chapter as a refresher. </p>
<p>I’m saying this as an accounting minor, btw.</p>
<p>I would say you should know journal entries, debits and credits, and t-accounts down pat (you can go without t-accounts for a lot of it, but they just make things easier). Knowing how everything flows together would be good too (ex. how would $100 of depreciation flow through the statements with a 35% tax rate?).</p>
<p>But yes, intermediate spends the first chapter summing up intro to financial.</p>