If you’re determined to ace your accounting exam, you need more than memorization. Success requires dedication and effective study habits.

Honest Tips from Your Loving Professor

Now that we’ve had our laughs about classroom cheating—let’s talk real talk. You don’t need tricks to pass accounting. What you need is strategy, practice, and maybe just a bit of caffeine. From someone who’s been both the nervous student and the suspicious professor, here’s my honest, student-tested, professor-approved advice:

1. Practice Like It’s a Workout

Accounting is not about memorizing—it’s about muscle memory. The more practice problems you solve, the easier it becomes to spot patterns. Adjusting entries? Depreciation? Cost behavior? Cost of production report? Trust me, after 50 problems, your brain starts doing them in your sleep. Ever wondered why I finish teaching all those end of chapter exercises and problems? You think I just like solving them for the past 30 years?

2. Make a Cheat Sheet—But Don’t Use It

Write your formulas, key terms, and sample problems on one page as if you’re making a cheat sheet. The act of creating it is already helping you organize the information. By the time you finish, you’ll barely need it. Back in the day, I memorized the income statement and cost of production report but not really digging into why it is supposed to be like that.

3. Understand the Why, Not Just the How

Instead of memorizing the steps, ask: Why do we do this entry? What’s the logic behind this adjustment? When you understand the story behind the numbers, even complex questions become manageable. Accounting is basically financial storytelling—just with ledgers and solutions.

4. Use the Textbook (Yes, Really)

I know it’s thick and sleepy-looking. But it’s actually your best friend. Read the solved examples, highlight the explanations, and don’t skip the end-of-chapter summaries. They’re gold. Now in the age of e-books, students barely ever buy them.  I can’t force students to buy, but it is your problem to have one.  Professor tip:  prescribed textbooks have library copies.   Visit the school library, it is cool and quiet there.

5. Teach It to a Friend (or Your Dog)

Nothing proves you understand something better than trying to explain it. Even if your friend zones out or your dog just blinks at you, the act of teaching reinforces your learning. When I was your age, I used to study in front of a mirror, yes, my mom’s dresser.  I found it more stimulating to talk to myself and teach me accounting.  Sometimes, me answers me back. Fun!

6. Sleep, Eat, and Breathe Right Before the Exam

All-nighters at the local diner are tempting. But a fresh mind processes numbers better than a tired one. Get proper sleep, eat something with carbs (your brain loves it), and stay hydrated. But no, you still can’t bring that “labeled” water bottle with FIFO vs Weighted Average notes.

7. Ask Questions in Class

Even the tiniest “Sir, why do we debit expense here?” can unravel the whole mystery. Don’t be shy. You’re not the only one confused—you’re just the only one brave enough to ask.  At least I know if you understood the lesson than just sitting unrecognized there all semester long.

8. Join a Study Group (The Honest Kind)

Group reviews can help you catch things you missed. Just make sure your group isn’t a “share answers during exam” syndicate. You want study buddies, not an accounting mafia. Ever wondered why the usual topnotchers ace the exam? They are friends for a reason.

9. Use AI Wisely (Not During the Exam)

Yes, AI can help you understand concepts, generate practice questions, and summarize topics. But don’t let it think for you. Otherwise, you’ll know how to ask questions, but not how to answer them.  Worse, you end up jobless because you did not develop a skill or knowledge in your undergraduate degree and AI rendered you – useless.

10. Believe That You Can

The hardest thing is not the exam. It’s believing you can pass it. You can. One entry at a time. One ledger at a time. One practice set at a time. And when you finally get it, there’s no better feeling than balancing that trial balance to the last cent. ⸻

Final Thought

You don’t have to cheat to win. You just need the courage to work smart and show up. And when you pass—knowing you did it on your own terms—it’ll be one of your proudest moments. As your professor, that’s what I want to see.

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