How to Study for the RSM219 Midterm (Fall 2026)
Practice RSM219 on Rottly with exam-style questions and explanations.
See RSM219The midterm in numbers
According to the Fall 2026 RSM219 outline, the midterm exam is worth 25% of the course and is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 7:10 to 9:00 pm, a 110-minute sitting, subject to change. Only the final exam (40%) is worth more. The weekly assignments (10%) are the best rehearsal you have, because they are built from the same material.
Rottly's timed RSM219 midterm practice exam covers weeks 1 to 6. Check your syllabus for exactly which weeks your section's midterm includes.
What the first six weeks cover
Week 1: Introduction to Financial Accounting. Who uses financial statements and why, the four statements, and the difference between financial and managerial accounting. Exam questions here are definitional and quick; do not lose easy marks.
Week 2: The Accounting Cycle. Journal entries, posting to ledgers, the trial balance, adjusting entries, closing entries. This is the mechanical core of the course. If you can take a transaction from journal entry to its effect on each statement without hesitating, you are in good shape.
Week 3: Revenue Recognition. When revenue is recognized, the five-step model, deferred and accrued revenue. The classic trap is recognizing revenue when cash arrives instead of when the performance obligation is satisfied.
Week 4: Internal Control and Cash. Bank reconciliations and the controls around cash. Reconciliations are formulaic; practice until the format is automatic.
Week 5: Receivables. Allowance for doubtful accounts under both the percentage-of-sales and aging approaches, write-offs, and recoveries. Most lost marks come from mixing up which method starts from the income statement and which from the balance sheet.
Week 6: Inventory and Cost of Goods Sold. FIFO, weighted average, the effect of each on COGS and ending inventory, and lower of cost and net realizable value. Expect at least one multi-step computation.
Where marks are lost
1. Signs and directions. Debits and credits on contra accounts (allowance for doubtful accounts, accumulated depreciation) reverse the usual pattern.
2. Adjusting entries at period end. Accruals and deferrals are tested in almost every sitting.
3. Time. 110 minutes goes quickly when a question has five linked parts. Practice under a timer at least twice.
4. Reading the question. "Net" versus "gross", "before" versus "after" adjustments, "ending" versus "average" inventory.
A two-week plan
Days 1 to 4: one module a day, weeks 1 to 4. Read, then do the Rottly quiz for that module without notes. Review the explanations for every miss, not just the ones you guessed.
Days 5 to 6: weeks 5 and 6, the computational modules. Do each quiz twice, a day apart.
Days 7 to 9: flashcards for all six decks, focusing on definitions and the direction of each account. Rottly's mistake review brings back the questions you missed.
Days 10 to 12: two timed practice exams. Mark them honestly. Go back to the modules where you dropped points.
Day 13: redo the weekly assignments from weeks 1 to 6 from a blank page.
Day 14: rest. Review your mistake journal in the morning, nothing new in the evening.
The AI policy, since people ask
The Fall 2026 RSM219 outline allows generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot as learning aids, and states plainly that they are not permitted on the midterm test or final exam. Using one to explain an adjusting entry you got wrong is fine. Relying on it instead of practising is how students arrive at November 3 unable to do the entries themselves.