A new subject for the new 2024 exam system! TCP overview ☘

In TCP (Tax Compliance and Planning), as the name suggests, you will study compliance with tax laws and tax planning.

As students may know, the AICPA (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountant), which makes the U.S. CPA exam, releases "Blueprints", which contains information on each subject.
The TCP pages show that the subjects can be broadly divided into
(1) Tax Compliance for individuals and companies
(2) Tax planning for individuals and companies
(3) Personal financial planning
so there seems to be a demand for knowledge and skills in these areas.

As a student of TAC's USCPA course, I studied using TAC's course materials and Becker's online practice software.

In addition to textbooks and exercise books, TAC's course materials include a booklet called "TAX Preparation Summary," which summarizes important information. After watching the class, reading textbooks, and studying through exercise books, I often looked at it when repeating materials or solving problems in Becker's software.

This last-minute summary contains most of the REG (Regulation) contents as well as TCP, and is packed with detailed knowledge and formulas to memorize, so I can carry it with me to check and consolidate my knowledge in my spare time.

I used to color in this last-minute summary with markers, and also wrote in additional knowledge and points that I gained through the classes and problem solving exercises.

There are many things to remember for the exam, but I think some are easy to remember and some are hard to remember, so I wrote out in large letters on loose-leaf what I could not remember easily (here, organizing the knowledge in my own way makes it easier to remember) and looked at it frequently.

By writing down the issues I had difficulty with in my own way, I was able to find new common ground and meanings in the content, which helped me to make progress in my study.

The image of TCP is that it is required to perform deeper and more detailed parts of knowledge and applied calculations among the tax law rules that you learn in the REG.

In addition to the need for detailed and accurate knowledge, I think that comprehensiveness is first and foremost important in this study, because there are various conditions and points that must be considered in order to obtain each value in the calculation questions.

In the U.S. CPA exam, as is the case with any subjects, when solving a major question called Task-Based Simulation (TBS), you need to read numerous materials quickly and memorize the necessary information as you solve more and more questions.
(All subjects are PC-based exams. Note papers are given, but I was prepared to have very little time to take notes due to the large number of questions and lack of time.)

In other words, it is of course important to have a comprehensive knowledge before the exam, but you cannot compete just by having knowledge.

You need to understand the issues in front of you, be able to calmly read and understand which issues are targeted in the first place, and have the practical skills to apply your knowledge of the issues in a speedy and certain manner.

And, as you may have guessed from the previous contents, this subject is expected to have many so-called trick questions. You need to be attentive.

In order to demonstrate these in the tense atmosphere of the examination hall, I have been trying to do so through trial and error, in my own way.

I hope that those who read what I am about to write will consider it as a reference, and that it will give you some ideas in your search for an original study method, as I am sure that students has different study methods that suit them.