On to BEC

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    Topic
  • #199474
    Broag
    Participant

    Took FAR today. I actually feel okay on how I did for whatever that is worth. You just never know with these exams. Since the clock is ticking, I have to get BEC in before the end of February. My target date is 2/27. I was going to give myself a few days off to regroup, relax, and spend time with my family. This will give me, roughly, six weeks to prepare for BEC. I have Becker study materials, but I also plan on getting Ninja notes for my review. Does anyone have a mode of attack for this type of scenario? I feel that watching lectures is a waste of my time. I benefit much more (I feel) from reading the book over and over and doing MCQ.

    What have you done?

    REG - 79
    FAR - ?
    AUD - ?
    BEC - ?

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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  • #754535
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    Did this exam feel any different than the previous ones? Did you notice any newly tested material (without divulging too much)? I have been waiting to hear people's opinion about FAR, but no one is really saying much! I take my exam Friday.

    I will be taking BEC afterward, as well. I am aiming for 2/11. I am going to give myself a couple days for each chapter, a couple days to go over the first 3 chapters of Becker again, and then a couple more days to do final review. I will be taking BEC for the second time.

    Good luck!

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #754536
    Broag
    Participant

    Versus the last time I took it, I felt pretty good. MCQ I think went a tad better and SIMs definitely were easier. Last time I guessed on five out of the seven SIMs. This time I only totally guessed on one. I don't really know what to take from that, but I need to move on regardless. Any advice for BEC? Any material that is more important than others? Should I not waste my time with the lectures? What would you differently if you were studying for BEC again? I really want to knock this section out first try.

    I can't wait to be done…haha.

    REG - 79
    FAR - ?
    AUD - ?
    BEC - ?

    #754537
    lswang
    Member

    I don't find the lectures helpful myself. I only gave myself 3 weeks for BEC. I took thorough notes for the whole Becker book and then banged out as many Ninja MCQs before the exam. It worked.

    FAR | 81 - July 21 15
    REG | 66 - Oct 1 15 | 87 - Jan 7 16
    AUD | 90 - Oct 29 15
    BEC | 86 - Nov 25 15

    #754538
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    I think you need to do what works best for you. For FAR, since I only had 12 days to prepare (my own fault), I have been watching the lectures and then doing the MCQ (one chapter a day). I much prefer writing notes, but it takes too long.

    I like Iswang's suggestion. If you are using Becker, B1-3 are the most important chapters. Don't stress out about the WC portion. If you can put together 4-5 paragraphs of buzz words then you will be fine.

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #754539
    lswang
    Member

    Also if I may add.. When you do the MCQ, actively avoid memorizing the questions. Know why you got each question right or wrong, and know why the other answers are wrong. You won't go through as many questions that way, but you will become much more familiar with the material.

    FAR | 81 - July 21 15
    REG | 66 - Oct 1 15 | 87 - Jan 7 16
    AUD | 90 - Oct 29 15
    BEC | 86 - Nov 25 15

    #754540
    CPA788
    Participant

    BEC is a test where the material can seem easy and straight forward but the range of material is so wide it's easy to bomb the easy questions. If you already know lectures aren't useful to you, don't bother. Make sure you know the easy IT stuff (definitions and such) as well as the managerial calcs. At least do 50 questions from each chapter if you can't do them all. But if you kick butt, you can just do a chapter a week, hit all the questions, and be ready to go in 6 weeks. You got this.

    BEC - 74, 77 (Becker only)

    FAR - 72, 71, 78 (Becker+NINJA)

    REG - 69, 59, 69, 72, 76 (Becker+a private tutor+NINJA+Gleim free trial+seriously anything else I could review)

    AUD - 77 (Becker only)

    CA candidate

    BEC - 74, 77
    FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
    REG - 69
    AUD - Q4 '16

    CA Candidate

    #754541
    Broag
    Participant

    CPA788

    To give you a bit of background, I have very little experience/exposure to a lot of the topics in BEC which is worrying me. Topics like Cost Accounting, Finance, Economics, Variances, etc. I don't feel comfortable as to where I stand with those. The IT and COSO framework stuff I have some exposure to since it was in my Master's program. What are the hardest chapters in Becker for BEC?

    I apologize for being annoying. I just need to get to studying and ask questions later.

    REG - 79
    FAR - ?
    AUD - ?
    BEC - ?

    #754542
    GHardesty
    Participant

    Broag,

    The cost accounting portion, specifically related to equivalent units (FIFO vs weighted average), and the variance/FBE analysis, joint product costing are the most challenging for me. My first practice with tests Corp Governance, financial ratios, and Econ were near 100%. Even the IT portion (which is very obscure and strange to me, given the basic nature) I scored pretty high the first time.

    Even if you have had exposure to IT and COSO, I'd be weary of taking anything lightly in regards to testing.

    With all of that being said, 6 weeks is more than enough time.

    Good luck,

    AUD 80 05/31/16 (1x)
    BEC 80 01/16/16 (3x)
    FAR 78 11/23/15 (2x)
    REG 87 02/29/16 (2x)

    #754543
    Broag
    Participant

    Thanks everyone…Best of luck!

    REG - 79
    FAR - ?
    AUD - ?
    BEC - ?

    #754544
    Yukkeko
    Participant

    Really depending on how comfortable you are with the material.
    Time wise I think 6 weeks is more than enough for BEC.
    Lectures aren't very helpful, at least to me, but I still try to go over them (listening to help me sleep, while driving, etc.). Just in case they mention something really useful.

    AUD - 99
    BEC - 92
    FAR - 97
    REG - 94
    Accounting

    FAR (4/14/14) - 97
    REG (11/17/14) - 94
    BEC (11/30/14) - 92
    AUD (2/28/15) - 99
    TEARS!

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