When it comes to Series 86 updates to the exam, there are some ways you can prepare yourself. In today’s post, we discuss how to adapt to new exam questions.
Series 86 Updates: Tweaks
Like many exams, we believe a student is more likely to see Series 86 updates to exam questions that are minor in nature rather than complete overhauls.
The reality is that most exam writers would rather not spend an hour or more coming up with a complicated question every time there is an update.
What seems plausible is that a pre-existing question may be tweaked. Therefore, what we recommend in your preparation is that you not only know how to answer the practice questions asked, but would be fine if the question was asked in a slightly different way.
Such a scenario can show up in many forms. For instance, you should know whether aggressive accounting for a pension liability question is when a high discount rate is used or a low discount rate is used (Hint: it’s a high one).
Furthermore, you should also be able to answer questions where exchange rates move in the opposite direction to what you might be comfortable with in practice exams.
What About Totally New Stuff?
At some point however, there have to be some totally new questions.
When it comes to brand new stuff, that’s a much harder situation. Some new questions introduced on the exam may be experimental and very different than the curriculum. In other cases, new questions may be fairly topical to recent news. Some people may not believe such questions are directly addressed in the textbook.
Most of the time in the latter situation, an economic or business principle is in fact being addressed. But, you may need to extrapolate what you learned in the text.
Overall, Series 86 updates on the exam are not brick walls. Make sure to study as thoroughly as possible, and you’ll be able to navigate the simple tweaks. If you know the concepts deep enough, you may also make it through the totally brand new questions. If you need any help, feel free to reach out. Good luck!