[Anonymous]

Hi All!

I just received a passing score for AUD, and am ready to move on to BEC. My question is how long are people typically allocating to study for BEC? I have passed FAR & AUD with an 86 & 92, respectively, so I am a fairly decent test taker. I was going to sit for BEC on 7/1 because I feel like I need a full two months for REG, which will allow me to finish testing by the end of August. Do you think this will give me enough time to adequately cover the material?

FYI, I do work full time and am in the process of moving.

[SammyJ]

Actually I think your scheduling is perfect. I passed BEC with studying for only 25 days. Granted, I had no full time job or other major committments. If you are working full time, I still think you can do it. You got around 40 days or so. Just gotta work hard and I always beg the question: Why Not? You've got 1 chance to pass an exam every window. If you fail, the only thing it hurts is your wallet. Definitely give yourself extra time for REG. So around 2 months is great. I say stick with your schedule. Good luck!

FAR-81!!
AUD-69, Retake: 84!!
REG-86!!
BEC-81!!
Education- Done
Ethics- August 2013
Experience- 7 Months of CPA Experience and counting!

[KatieM]

I just took BEC for the 2nd time… its pretty all over the place and according to several of my CPA friends… the hardest of all 4 parts… for a lot of people. I think it is mainly because it covers topics like IT, economics, management, etc… it isn't accounting… so if you are well versed in business and computers I think you'll be fine. I have studied for 5 months while working full time (I have 4 kids)… and failed the first time, just took it again yesterday and I don't know how I did but I certainly don't feel like I passed- I am however starting with BEC so I don't have any tests to compare this one to–

so probably I am not the person who should be responding to your post- LOL… but I decided to tell you what I know about BEC… It's really tough for a lot of people and from what I've been able to gather, its the most failed part of the CPA exam, so I wouldn't take your studying lightly because it's a small book. If you only have 25 days, I would study as much as possible during that time. Just my 2 cents…

BEC (2/2013-59) - 5/22/2013-2nd attempt
AUD-
REG-
FAR-

[Anonymous]

Wow, I envy you people who don't have to work. 40 days or even 25 days of BEC is overkill. Especially if you're studying full-time.

When I passed BEC the first time, I studied about 80 hours (so about 10 days). When you work & study, you need additional time because you'll forget more of the material as time passes, so I'm sure I could have passed with only 8-9 days. This time around, I'm studying 13 days just because I have the time to.

[J]

BEC really depends on the candidate in terms of preparation; if you have a strong background in general business and feel comfortable with the material, I think that 40 to 50 hours are more than sufficient. However others will say that you need three times that amount and it is the most difficult test; there is a lot more variance in terms of BEC preparation time than the other three sections. Most people study a lot (relatively) for FAR and REG and a little bit less for AUD. BEC is just all over the place. It's just a matter of getting to the point where you feel comfortable with the material.

[Anonymous]

I agree that study time also depends on your general knowledge in the BEC topics. But, like I said, 25 to 40 days is overkill. Even if you don't know anything about the topics, it should only take at max 100 hrs.

Keep in mind that it only takes around 50-60 hours to go through the ALL the lectures & questions. Spending an additional 260 hours (that's for 40 eight hr. days) or 140 hours (that's for 25 eight hr. days) to study is obviously overkill. Of course, when I mean “Pass”, I mean scoring around the 75-80 range (not 90-99).

[KatieM]

@charlie310— not everyone picks the topics up in 2 hours and some people really struggle with the topics presented in BEC… please be considerate of those who are really trying hard to pass this test and haven't. What comes EASY to you may be extremely difficult to others.

I know people who have taken this test 9 times and others who like yourself, passed the first time. It depends on the person! The exam prep time is unique to each individual, so what you may consider overkill may not be enough to another candidate and they may take you at your word (after reading your posts) and believe that they only need to study for 1 week before taking the exam… and for probably 99% of the candidates THAT is not accurate information.

BEC (2/2013-59) - 5/22/2013-2nd attempt
AUD-
REG-
FAR-

[Anonymous]

@KatieM

I am being considerate by telling it like it is. My advice is for 99% of candidates. Of course there will be that 1% that needs 320 hrs of studying to pass BEC. But, for the rest of us, 80 hours should be enough. I would actually recommend 100 hours to ensure you get in the 80-90 score range. Mind you, this is hours required if you work full-time and are only able to study 15-20 hours a week. For someone studying 8 hours daily, they wouldn't need as much time.

If you read my posts, you'd see I never said 1 week was enough to pass BEC. So be considerate and please don't put words in my mouth. Also, I know most people don't pick up the topics in 2 hours, and I don't know where you came up with that. If you do the math, 80 hours/ 6 chapters = 13.3. LOL.

You also forget that most candidates' exam scores expire, so it's beneficial to not over-study. Time is of the essence.

If you are having trouble passing BEC or are having to spend a lot of hours, you probably need to re-examine your study strategy. If you want any tips, I'm always willing to share. But, I think there are tons of threads already addressing that.

[Author]

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