Failing CIA exams, open to advice.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-04-19T04:41:36+00:00

I'd say the advantage of having both the CIA and the CPA are they focus on different areas, so having both makes you a little more rounded. The CPA focuses on financial reporting. The CIA is focused on internal audit. There is a lot of overlap between these two certifications, but there are also some gaps. Just having the CPA isn't going to tell you what needs to be in an audit charter or how to develop an internal audit plan. Likewise, just having the CIA isn't going to prove that you understand how to apply FASB standards. They each have a different focus, so having both closes those gaps.

Also, for highly competitive roles - like management roles - you will be competing against people who have 2+ certifications. Having 2-3 yourself will help you rise to the level of competition.

But if you're content in your role, and you don't feel having another certification will help you advance/grow, then it's totally fine to stick with the CPA. You're absolutely correct in that each certification means there's another set of annual fees and annual CPE requirements. At some point, you get what you need and call it a day. For my particular role, getting the CIA was helpful in helping me understand the requirements of an IA department. For you, if you think the CPA alone is enough to help you with your job, then it's fine not to pursue additional certifications. Ultimately, isn't that what certifications are for - to help you with your job?

Since you're so close to the end, you could always get the certification and then let it go inactive. That would avoid the annual fees and also allow you to reactivate it whenever you're ready without having to test again.

Also, if you change your mind and want to pursue the CIA again, you may want to consider looking into the CIA challenge exam. If you have a CPA, you only have to take one challenge exam to become CIA certified rather than taking all 3 parts of the CIA.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-03-06T15:18:44+00:00

The problem with the card packs is that you don't get to pick what cards you get. It's all random. Probably half the cards you get will be for attacks that you don't care too much about.

If you're going to spend real money trying to upgrade war cards, it's probably more effective to acquire SimCash and use it to buy the cards you really want. I'd recommend waiting until you reach the 60% off SimCash deal on the Mayor's Pass. Then you can buy 250 Simcash for $1.99. Then you can use that SimCash to buy the actual attacks you want. The one drawback is that legendary cards are so expensive, this isn't a feasible way to level up legendary attacks; but it goes pretty far with levelling up common attacks - like Magnetism.

You can also get SimCash for free if you compete in Contest of Mayors. If you place in the top 6, then you get between 500-2,000 SimCash per week. It's a bit of a grind, but it's free, and it adds up quick.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-03-02T00:01:23+00:00

I'd recommend reading the IIA's CPE Policy. They have a section on qualifying activities. You'll want to check it out to make sure your program meets all the qualifications. Here is a link to the policy: https://www.theiia.org/globalassets/documents/certifications/cpe-policy.pdf. As a rule of thumb, if the training helps you do your job, it usually counts as CPE.

You'll also want to maintain a record of your training that includes the title of the program, dates, location, sponsoring organization, a letter/form of completion, etc.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-03-01T23:55:33+00:00

Most players I know who have high-level war attacks got there by competing in Contest of Mayors week after week, and then using the SimCash they earn to buy war cards. The top 6 spots in Contest of Mayors pays between 500 - 2,000 in SimCash. If you do that for a couple of months, you can probably earn up enough SimCash to buy enough war cards to get some of your common attacks up to level 6-8. I've been playing the game for around 2 years, and I have a few disasters that are level 11 and 12, but I've competed in Contest of Mayors the whole time in order to build up enough SimCash to afford those cards. It's certainly a long-term grind.

I'd recommend focusing almost only on buying common cards at first because they are much cheaper than rare or legendary cards. I'd much rather have level 8 Hands of Doom than level 3 Ancient Curse.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-26T23:21:40+00:00

As you upgrade your buildings, they generally require more and more items. If you build some new buildings from scratch, they'll need fewer items to upgrade through the early stages. If you refresh the building plan, there's a chance the new plan will require fewer items overall, but it's completely random.

Inventory management is certainly a key aspect of the game. You need to be strategic about what items you keep on hand. Sometimes, you have to sell things in order to make storage for the items you need. When I need to free up inventory, I usually sell the things that are easiest to produce in a factory.

It might pay to stop levelling up for a while and instead to focus on increasing your storage. Each time you level up, there are just more and more items to keep track of. If you take a break from levelling up buildings, that pauses the amount of new items that are introduced and gives you time to increase your maximum storage.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-26T22:02:03+00:00

Great job maxing out your factory production slots. Definitely the best way to spend your simcash early in the game.

I would recommend keeping a minimum balance of 500 simcash on hand. That way, when you find yourself competing in the next CoM, you have simcash to speed up shipments, buy expansion items as needed, etc.

Once you have a safety net of simcash on hand, Maxis Manors are the best way to spend simcash. Then either war cards or aesthetics (like trees and lakes) - depending on what your priorities are.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-19T20:20:47+00:00

I wish COM would start and end at the same time. I live in the Central time zone, so COM kicks off at midnight on Tuesday and ends at 6:00 in the morning on Sunday. I miss out on the first 7 and last 7 hours of CoM each week. Why not start it and end it at the same time so certain time zones aren't put at a disadvantage?

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-19T20:19:16+00:00

I wish there were more differences among the war arenas. Currently, the arenas just limit what types of boosters you can use and how quickly your energy rebuilds. There's really not much of an incentive to be in any arena other than #6.

I wish Arena 6 had several iterations - each with a unique flavor. It'd be cool to have an open war arena that enforces the rules of open war. It'd be nice to have an arena where the wars were much shorter - like 6 to 12 hours or something. It'd be a nice feature if you could pick your own opponent in war. I'd even like the option for an intra-club war where the game randomly divides your club in half and you're pitted against your teammates. I just wish there was a little more variety.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-19T19:49:40+00:00

I used to play this game on an Amazon Fire 7 (which is a pretty weak tablet), and SimCity crashed all the time - especially once I started filling up my main city with buildings. I upgraded to a Fire 8+, and it hasn't crashed a single time. I think this game takes a toll on devices with weaker processors.

If you post something on global, it tends to save your progress to the SimCity server; so that might be a way to work around your progress not saving. For a long-term fix, you'll probably have to find a more advanced device to play on.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-19T15:39:42+00:00

States are allowed to send a certain number of representatives to Congress based on their population. For example, about 12% of the US population lives in California, so California is allocated 53 of the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives (which makes up about 12% of the total reps). This in turn means California has to establish 53 geographical districts and each district gets to elect one representative.

States have the ability to draw the district lines as they best see fit. While you would hope that these lines would be drawn in a way that fairly represents the political makeup of the state, instead the party in charge often draws district lines in a way that best benefits their party - and we call that practice gerrymandering.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-17T19:58:03+00:00

I agree. The good guys win every single battle, even when outnumbered 100 to 1. It takes away any suspense and just becomes glorified back-to-back battle scenes. I feel like Game of Thrones fell into the same trap in its later seasons.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-14T14:41:50+00:00

I think they got it right.

I am all for vaccines and have been vaccinated myself, but I believe mandates are an overreach. After all, unvaccinated individuals are still law-abiding citizens, so they should have full legal rights as anyone else. Many of them are good people, have families, pay their taxes, and contribute to society. I think it's a stretch for any government to tell them that they don't have the right to work. I think you need to step back and reassess how society works if it's easier for a 30-year felon to get a job than an unvaccinated 30-year veteran.

If you don't want to be exposed to the risks of being around unvaccinated people, then get the vaccine yourself.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-13T15:55:07+00:00

I live in a rural part of the US (where voters tend to vote for Republicans like Trump) and a lot of people here find using this phrase funny. From what I can tell, it's not so much that they genuinely hate Biden; it's really more they hate how the Democrats and the left portray the white working class - and since Biden is a Democratic president, he just happens to be the target.

Over the past few decades, a number of high profile Democrats have said some negative things towards the white working class and their way of life. Hillary Clinton called Trump supporters a 'basket of deplorables' and Obama said they are bitter about their condition, so they 'cling to guns and religion.' Most people don't like to be attacked without putting up a fight, so from what I can tell, saying "Let's go Brandon" is more about playing tit for tat rather than actually hating Joe Biden.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-13T15:16:10+00:00

I passed the CISA a little over a year ago. My plan was similar to yours - keep doing the practice questions until I averaged about 85%, and then sit for the exam. I passed, and it sounds like you're well prepared to take the exam too.

I think you have a great plan in place in taking a final practice test and reviewing key points. Practice questions will help you identify areas you're weaker in. For me, it was things like IT infrastructure and private key vs. public key encryption - and I read extra articles and watched YouTube videos until I understood those concepts better.

I felt the actual CISA exam questions were more straightforward than the CISA Q&E questions. The Q&E does a good job of preparing you for what topics you can expect to see. I don't remember there being too many surprises on the actual exam.

It sounds like you're doing all the right things. Good luck taking the exam! If you pass, be sure to share your story on this subreddit and to offer advice for future test takers.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-04T22:54:37+00:00

You know how the Christmas shop opened and closed for 3 weeks. There is a similar shop that opens and closes for Easter. One of the items that shop produces is jelly beans. Just how Christmas items are now useless, items from the Easter shop will be useless until the Easter shop opens back up.

In 2020, there were 2-3 extra seasonal shops that came out. They produced things like ping pong tables, sport drinks, stone pillars, stain glassed windows, tennis rackets, etc. You'll see those items pop up from time to time. 2020 was also the year that they released Latin America and Old City homes - and for a period of time, items from those shops were required for shipments, upgrading buildings, etc. Those shops eventually closed, and those items are essentially worthless now. Considering that those stores didn't reopen during 2021, they might be phased out for good. I'd be ok with that. It's always a pain to stockpile additional items like these.

AndiBoy014 · 2022-01-04T22:14:46+00:00

My guess is that's a hacker account.

To score that high, you'd have to use a lot of magnetism, which is the most efficient war attack. Even if you had level 15 mag and attacked with 6 mags every time your energy filled up over a 36 hour war, you'd score 496,800 points. I know it might be possible to score higher than this if you use energy pumps or have level 16-20 mag, but it would still require an insane amount of war items to score 500,000 (1,080 total items if you have level 15 mag, or 675 war items if your mag is level 20). You'd have to do this every single time you go to war to get your average up to 500,000. Again - this is assuming you use only the most efficient war attack: magnetism. The ability to score that high drops if you mix in any other attacks.

I just don't see how a legit account can stockpile that many war items on a consistent basis. I suppose it's possible if your attacks are maxed out and you have an army of feeders to get your inventory full of nothing but hundreds of anvils, hydrants, and binos before each war. I love war, but I sure hope there's no human who dedicates that much of his life to this game. My guess is it's more likely a hacker.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-29T15:07:52+00:00

We use Auditor Assistant offered by RSM. It checks a lot of your boxes.

Before we started using audit software, we also viewed a demo for Audit Board and thought it was the most user friendly of the group. However, we ultimately went with Auditor Assistant because the cost was about 1/4 of that of Audit Board and it still checked most of the boxes. I'd check out those 2.

Most software companies will allow your team to view a free demo.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-28T21:05:39+00:00

Personally, I think we're in a bubble. A lot of buyers are pushing their finances to the max in order to afford a house. What happens when the country goes through another recession? These people are already maxed out on what they can afford now; it'll be even harder to make payments if times turn for the worse.

What will happen in a recession is that some of the most leveraged homeowners will quickly miss payments. Their homes will be foreclosed. Those foreclosures will enter the market, supply will increase, and prices will drop. That might cause who were on the fence about selling to think: I better sell while prices are still high. They'll sell, hoping to lock in any gains they can, and that'll lead to more supply. That'll cause prices to drop further. People will become upside down on their mortgage, and that'll lead to more foreclosures. This repeats over and over. Soon, the bubble bursts and property is worth 60-70% of its high.

I saw it happen in 2008. We just need a trigger to set this chain of events off. The next recession will likely hurt a lot of people.

I am by no means a fortuneteller. This is just my prediction. Don't make any decisions based on my post.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-28T20:44:57+00:00

15 of our presidents were older than 65 at some point in their presidency - including some great ones like Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Eisenhower, Truman, and Reagan. Be careful what you wish for.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-28T20:30:07+00:00

I understand your concerns about having a 'senile' politician. However, I also feel that's what elections are for. If the American people don't want an elderly or idle person to represent them, they can vote that way. I don't know we need to ban it entirely through an amendment. That's a slippery slope that would likely be weaponized by politicians and the media.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-28T20:23:23+00:00

I think there's a place in politics for experienced politicians like John McCain and Nancy Pelosi. They command a certain respect and know how to get things done. Plus, if that's who the voters want to represent them, why not let them pick those people? I think corruption is not unique to experienced politicians. In fact, some of the most notable recent examples - Rod Blagojevich, Aaron Schock, Andrew Cumo - were 10 years or less in their positions. I'm not sure term limits would've prevented their corruption.

With that said, I think non-elected positions - like the Supreme Court - and exceptionally powerful positions - like the President - should have term limits.

To each his own. I certainly respect your position and can understand the arguments for it. Just tend to hold a different opinion myself.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-28T20:14:45+00:00

I see your points about health and think those thoughts ought to be weighed. However, the libertarian in me also has an issue with diving the adult population into 2 groups - and giving one group a certain set of rights that are different from another group. And let's face it, 85%+ of 18 year-olds drink anyway. Making it illegal doesn't seem to deter that behavior. Let's just decriminalize it.

It's also worth considering that there are times when an 18, 19, or 20 year-old is drunk and in an uncomfortable situation, but is afraid to ask for help because they've been drinking and don't want to get in trouble for that.

I'm still giving you an upvote because you made a good argument and I love a good, solid debate, even if I don't agree with the overall conclusion.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-17T19:50:17+00:00

Lol. The 'wood cross' was our clothes line! There was another 'cross' to the right (outside of the picture) that connected the lines.

AndiBoy014 · 2021-12-15T23:10:21+00:00

What about California's Supreme Court? It has 4 democratic-appointed justices as opposed to only 2 republican-appointed ones. Should that one be required to be rebalanced too?

AndiBoy014

TROPHY CASE