Am I an idiot or Rain Man?

CFA Level II
#1

I just wanted to see if I’m alone here. I never learned how to use my financial calculator for Level I and still don’t know. When they ask a question on IRR or PV/FV it’s usually within 4 periods so you can just write it out. I figure at this point I’m not going to learn now and I’ve only ran into two questions or so that require all those inputs. Anyone think I’m making a fatal mistake here by not learning? Also I’ve heard Level III is just PM management stuff anyways.

#2

Reggie- You’re neither, I would guess. It’s certainly possible to do TVM calcs by hand. I didn’t use my business calc until about 1 month before L1. As someone who made the switch similarly late, I’d suggest you learn to use it. The BAII+ is really straightforward to use, and you’ll save several minutes over some of the more complex problems.

#3

honestly man, you can probably figure it out within a 1/2 hour. Its definitely worth it, IMO, to spend that time…

#4

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback.

#5

look for some videos on atomiclearning com. There are easy how-to vids for the calc holds you hand and explains the function. very easy to use, very helpful.

#6

Thanks a lot CPA, reviewing Corp Fin all day, so should come in handy!

#7

I forgot how to do standard deviation and bond function from L1…gotta review agn :-/ anything else that is important to learn how to do from financial calculator?

#8

Somebody wrote a TI BA 2 plus emulator for the iphone http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/financial-analysis-calculator/id343146365?mt=8 I’ve been using it to do questions on the subway. I’m sure I cant use it on exam day, but it sure beats lugging around the calculator everywhere I go

#9

Reggie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I just wanted to see if I’m alone here. I never > learned how to use my financial calculator for > Level I and still don’t know. When they ask a > question on IRR or PV/FV it’s usually within 4 > periods so you can just write it out. I figure at > this point I’m not going to learn now and I’ve > only ran into two questions or so that require all > those inputs. Anyone think I’m making a fatal > mistake here by not learning? Also I’ve heard > Level III is just PM management stuff anyways. I used a borrowed BA2 plus for the exam and didn’t learn the IRR or PV/FV functions either. It’s quite easy to calculate PV/FV values using the basic calculator functions.

#10

Yeah I learned today, it wasn’t hard at all. I think you actually need the function for EAA in the first chapter of Corp Fin, there seems to be a lot of questions on it. But even with IRR you can figure it out with the numbers they give you, no problem.