Becks
offlineMember
I would love to know the answer to this as well...my exam is scheduled on Tuesday. I guess you're first Charles. If you could please report back how you find the exam (I would be eternally grateful).
charles
offlineMember
Thanks, Becks! I feel like it went well - but, of course, I won't really know until I get my score back. :o)
I don't think that the exam was dramatically different than before. It definitely took longer than the previous test. Maybe this is because it is adaptive now, I'm not sure. I certainly hope that's why! I would take that as a sign that I did well. :-)
I was definitely surprised by my written communications topics. I thought that they would ease in to the new format, I was wrong! My topics were really tough. I had planned on spending approximately 45 minutes on every testlet. This was a comfortable amount of time for all of the multiple choice, but I felt rushed during the written communications. I ended up not editing all of my answers and just clicked "submit" for the test with 23 seconds to go. I was not expecting that at all!
Some of the multiple choice were challenging, but as a whole, they did not seem too different than before. It was obvious that they were following the new topic guidelines that they released and that they have embraced the international aspect of business, but I definitely saw a few questions straight out of the Becker materials.
Also, in case you haven't read it elsewhere on here, there is a lag while loading the written communications. If I hadn't read about this, I would have been freaking out! The screen went completely white and looked like it was malfunctioning. There was probably a lag of about a minute while loading the entire written communications testlet, then about 30-45 seconds while clicking between the tabs. Once you clicked on a tab, that was it for the lag, though. If you had loaded all of them once, you could move between them with no lag. I just wanted to make sure you are both aware of that because I am really glad that I was.
I hope that my ramblings have helped both of you understand a little bit better what you are going to be facing. Let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them.
Good luck!!
Becks
offlineMember
Charles, thank you SO much for sharing this experience with us. I heard random postings regarding the lag, but I wrote it off as "it must just have been their computer". So, I'm glad you shared that with me.
The time component is what got me before so I hope I walk out of that exam feeling the way you do. The last time I walked out after taking BEC I asked myself "why do you put yourself through this" - yeah obviously that last time around went that well. :)
Out of curiousity, what generally did you do in preparing? Do you feel like you were adequately prepared going into this exam (if you can't tell I'm doubting myself already)?
peter olinto fan
offlineMember
Becks...
Sorry to hear about that! I take it next friday, and i am pretty unmotivated to study. did you find the exam a lot different from the ones before? did you experience "lag" within the communications? any other random advice you have? I need to get back in that study mode for the next week and half...it's tough.
charles
offlineMember
Becks, sorry to hear that you don't feel you did well. You never know what's going to happen. I'm pretty anxious to see how they change the scoring this year. You never know - that might help! :-)
I apologize for not responding to your question about my study techniques earlier. I'll tell you now, just in case you still have exams to go. I decided after failing my first two tests that my problem is how to read the question, not the actual knowledge. So, I decided to just focus on working questions. I haven't watched any lectures since I've been studying for this exam. I've only read the textbook when I didn't understand a topic. I'll let you know if it worked once I get my score back.
Becks
offlineMember
Acutally BEC is my last exam...and I have a feeling it will be the death of me!
Oh well, I look forward to hearing you got a passing score!! You'll have to keep me posted on how that form of studying worked for you. I might give it one more go around before I re-take the Becker course, but if that ends up being the case I'd probably do something similar.
Peter Olinto Fan - yes there was definitely a lag involved! I thought it was funny that they included the disclaimer about the lag on one of the first screens you get prior to actually starting the exam. I just think lags are unacceptable because on a timed exam every second counts...but thats just my thinking. Really the exam seemed more theory based rather than computational based compared to before. Could have just been the exam I got though.
I know all about getting into study mode and how hard it is. I found out the weekend of December 4th that I had BEC left and I had already been out of study mode for about a month or so (I took my exams in October) so it was SUPER hard to get back into that now. Not quite sure if I did it correctly....but I definitely supported my local Starbucks over the last week! This exam had me to Gold status at Starbucks before I even sat for FAR! My theory is that for every candidate that they approve to sit for the exam, the examiners purchase another share of Starbucks stock. Seems reasonable, right? :)
Good luck with your exam and keep us posted on how you think it went!
Aadii
offlineMember
Hello Guy and Beck and Charles,
I took BEC last year Nov 27th and got 71!. i know just 4 point but now i have to take it again. I read that Charles mentioned about the case studies were very difficult, i want to know how difficult were they and what was the question?
I am taking it again on the 30th of Jan. I hope you all will pass this time. May be this time AICPA give some grace marks since its a new format :).
thanks and waiting to hear from you guyz
Adeel.
Becks
offlineMember
I realize that knowing a question that was previously asked on an exam would be really helpful, however when we sit for the exam, as you know, you agree not to divulge any information/content that was contained within your exam. So, although I hate to give you this answer (because it wouldn't be the answer I'd want to receive had I asked the question), we can share generally how hard it was but unfortunately cannot disclose the question that was asked on the actual exam.
Sorry to rain on your parade. Hopefully Charles has a good description he could give you because my description would be that the exam just was a thorn in my side.
james__w
offlineMember
I took BEC this morning. I took BEC last May and made a 72. I did well on Reg, so assumed I didn't need to study as much for BEC. Bad idea.
Anyway, this morning I was very surprised how well Becker prepared me. I had 4 questions straight from the Becker software, and nothing to out of the ordinary. The writing topics were all so different--ranging from moderate to difficult. I am a fast test taker, so I finished easily in 2 hours and 15 minutes, and that was with a break.
There are definitely lag times between each testlet. Screen goes white before the screen is loaded., Do not freak out about it. Also, there is a warning about the lag. Overall, they tested the new material as Becker said they would.
CCONVERSE
offlineMember
To Becks Charles and the other lucky souls who have already taken BEC in 2011:
Would you suggest to continue studying the BEckers 2010 BEC materials or starting over with the 2011 info. I have to take the exam next week and have just received from Beckers the 2011 materials and it looks alot different than the 2010 info I was studying. The new materials seem to have alot of Sarbanes, Treadway and not really anything on Entity structure (corporations ect) or Variances calculation. Variance was a big topic Peter said to concentrate on but does not seem to be real prominate in this new updated book.
james__w
offlineMember
CCONVERSE-I received the 2011 material, and I have the 2010 Becker material. I 100% recommend using the 2011 material. The first chapter for 2010 does not even exist on the test anymore, and it is replaced with COSO information, which is heavily tested(approximately 20%). Also, the new format, in my opinion, is better because it provides ancillary material that probably will not be tested as much. With that being said, you still need to be familiar with the ancillary material. Variances are still going to be tested, so do not ignore those topics. I just think the format of the variances is more efficient in 2011 than in 2010. If you have more questions, please ask.
Also, I would recommend having a set outline for the writing simulations. You can have the same format for each topic, which will save time.
james__w
offlineMember
By "set outline," Becker provides a rough outline on how to write a memo/letter/email for full credit. Essentially, I had a one to two sentence opening stating why I was writing the memo(restating the question almost), two to three body paragraphs(discussing advantages/disadvantages or each point, etc), and a formalized closing(If you have any further questions about such and such topic, please do not hesitate to contact me.) I prefer to have a set plan of attack, so I do not have to worry about writing an outline for each question.
Sorry it took me so long to respond, but I am studying for FAR. Any suggestions for FAR would be appreciated.
CPAWannaBe
offlineMember
Question about written communications: do you put the memo heading (to, from, date, subject)?
It seems like they put the "to" and "from" already but I never put date or subject.
Becks
offlineMember
@CCONVERSE - I apologize for the delay - had major drama this last week (not exam related - but if its a sign how 2011 is going to go I have a feeling it won't be good).
Anyways, I don't know when your exam is/was but yes the 2011 materials are the way to go! The 2010 materials wouldn't be the worst but it won't cover the new material at all.
CPAWannaBe
offlineMember
Corporate Governance is about 16-20% now. That is huge but there don't seem to be many practice questions on this. Anyone feel like Becker or Yaeger prepared them well enough?
I saw someone say the 2011 Wiley online questions were great. I can't really afford to buy $87 for questions but I will if Becker and Yeager don't do a good enough job.
KPM0915
offlineMember
I had taken BEC on 11/30/10 and got a 70 so I re-took it 1/16/11. I really think I knocked it out of the park. I did not feel good at all last time but this time I felt amazing when I left. I did not feel strapped for time at all. I am so glad business structures is gone and the IT questions were actually applicable this time. I am glad I left enough time for the written questions but, all in all, I think the 2011 one was much easier than the one I took in 2010.
Jeff - another71.com
offlineadmin
We have 2 threads going here on the same topic...I'm going to close this one to keep the discussion in one place.
http://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/bec-cpa-exam-review-2011
This topic has been closed to new replies.
