[Tripin93]

My test is in 3 days, and I’m considering skipping R8. Would that be a mistake? I’d rather view the other stuff, specifically tax. Right now, I feel pretty decent on tax and the other chapters, but not tip-top shape. I want to hammer in R1-R4 (tax) in greater detail. Is it bad to skip R8?

For those of you who don’t use Becker, R8 covers the following:

-Surety and creditor’s rights

-Agency

-Business structures

-Employer-employee law

-Money laundering

-Antitrust law

-Documents of title

-Dodd-Frank Act of 2010

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[MaLoTu]

I would say know the personal tax stuff inside and out … like above the line and below the line deductions. Know partnership basis. Have a “gest” knowledge of BLaw, especially focusing on the UCC stuff. Maybe study R8 on agency because I have heard that it is likely to come up. Know the contract stuff (MYLEGS). The tax part is more important.

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[jcbcpa]

Tripin93, I actually had the exact same predicament. I had 2-3 days left for REG and had not started Chapter 8. I went over the first two sections: Surety and Creditor's Rights & Agency, but did not have time for the remaining sections. Instead, I re-watched the lectures from Chapters 1-4 (and a little bit of Chapter 5). I found re-watching the tax stuff helped solidify my knowledge and helped me out A LOT on the exam.

My REG exam score: 81! Obviously, that is not a super fantastic score, but it is passing by a decent margin!

So I think focusing on the tax chapters is your best bet, with your limited time. Having said that, I would suggest if you have a chance, try to watch lectures/do MCQ's for at least the first two sections in Chapter 8 like I did, ESPECIALLY Agency!

AUD - 85 (8/30/2015)
FAR - 73 (10/13/2015), 85 (2/29/2016) (AND DONE!)
BEC - 83 (11/04/2015)
REG - 81 (11/30/2015)

[Tripin93]

Thanks MaLoTu and jcbcpa! 🙂

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[MaLoTu]

Do you have any pointers on FAR? I take my exam this coming Friday?

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[Tripin93]

Hmm. DO NOT underestimate governmental. And um… Know how to do consolidating journal entries. For calculating eps, know the formulas- and don't forget to subtract preferred dividends on your numerator!

Are you doing Becker? If yes, fyi you'll survive if you don't take F10 seriously. I ran out of time and didn't do any F10 homework. I watched the F10 lecture at 2am on test day.

Good luck!! 🙂

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[Tripin93]

Regarding government, you don't have to master it. Just be decent at it. If you've reached the decency level, devote your studies to the other chapters. Personally, in my review phase I love mainly doing simulations.

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[MaLoTu]

Thanks,Tripin!

I was thinking about skipping F10 because I am doing a chapter a day and could really use the day I would dedicate to F10 to go back over some of my problem areas. I write down things I don't get to and/or understand and the list is growing rapidly.

How important are bonds, leases, and pensions? … those are by far my worst areas. I don't even think that if I had more study time that I could master them … it is just SO foreign to me!

This is a retake for me, but I feel like I have no idea what to expect.

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[Tripin93]

I had several pension and lease questions. Not too much bonds. Have you worked the simulations? For me, the simulations really helped me understand how to do pensions, leases, and bonds. Yes, there's lecture and mc. But I think nothing compares to actually doing it in a simulation.

It's sort of like learning to ride a bike. Yes, you can watch others do it or you could read books about bicycling. But you won't actually learn it until you do it yourself.

And don't panic if you don't score well on a simulation. The whole point is to learn from it! If you learned how to do it, then mission successful.

Some might disagree, but I am not against using the book when taking sims. Yes, it's good if you don't need the book, but if you do need it, the whole point is so that you'll learn how to do it (and the book will help you learn.)

I feel like I'm ranting…

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[Tripin93]

Also, when practicing with the simulations, don't rush it (if possible.) When you speed, you focus on covering area. Your goal should be mastering concepts. Take it one step at a time.

If you cover all of the material, but can't recall what you learned, then guess what? You wasted all your time.

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[Tripin93]

Also, about F10, I did have a couple mc over it. Watching the lecture did help. Don't know if I got the answers correct, but at least I've heard of the stuff before.

Motivated by JC. I do it to make God proud.

FAR: 91 July 2015
AUD: 83 October 2015
REG: 81 January 2016
BEC: 83 February 2016

[MaLoTu]

Thanks for all the advice, Tripin … hopefully I can pull this off!

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[rosecpa]

Malotu, everyone's test mix is different. I remember seeing more bond amortization questions on mine…

And now, real advice on REG please! Which numbers for individual income tax do we have to know, and which ones will be provided?
And for those who've taken it in Q1 2016, was SOX really not tested?
Anything else?

[MaLoTu]

I took REG a little while ago, but what I can recall is that you need to know how to get to AGI and know the difference between itemized deductions and the items to arrive at AGI. There is a mom and pop tax on the earning of passive income, know the threshold amount to be eligible for that. Know the gift tax exemption amount. I think they pretty much give you the other numbers you would need.

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[Author]

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