BAPetapi09
offlineMember
hi all- quick question, I'm using becker 2009 software for Reg on jul 16th, and manually updated all the numerical values for the tax law sections using becker's patches. I havent taken this exam yet so I'm wondering to what extent do they test us on dollar values (ie, standard deduction amounts or casualty loss deductions/floor calculation, etc.)? Thanks in advance!
Anna
offlineMember
You might see 2-3 MCQ which use dollar amounts. Sorry, can't go any more precise.
So I'm changing my whole system. Going with Yaeger Homestudy, starting with Professional responsibilities (M. 21) to the end, and then moving to taxes. I hope to schedule exam in the end of July - very beginning of August, so I could be in first wave. Need to pass this thing before December so that I could get my bonus.
leebird
offlineMember
See lots of short posts on this exam. Maybe they will increase in volume as time rolls on....
REG -- My last one. Used Becker for all of the other 3, with FAR - 83; AUD - 76; BEC - 82
To the people who have not passed a section yet, this is my second time through the exam. Failed FAR and BEC over two years ago and nearly gave up.
Keep moving forward. I would suggest getting all of the material you can afford and make a rigid schedule on prep. Do NOT shortcut anything!! What is the point in studying twice?????
You should be able to form your own CPA exam questions after studying for a few of these...i.e. --You shoudl be able to predict what and how items will be asked.
Good luck. BTW, I have put in total prep times for each section:
FAR - 12 weeks @ 4-5 hours EACH night, all day Saturday and Sunday
AUD - 8-9 weeks @ 3-4 " "
BEC - 10 weeks @ 4-5 " "
Patrick
offlineMember
Jason, I work for a medium sized firm in MN. We are about 100 people, with three office locations. Are you in public accounting as well?
Wendy - I second the Becker mneumonics for amt if those types of things help you remember concepts. Otherwise, unfortunately, amt is just one of those areas you will have to commit to memory. See if you can find a practice simulation invloving AMT and work it until you have it down. I know for me, the mnuemonics don't really work and it just comes down to working as many practice problems as possible until it becomes second nature. I do know that it is important to get it down though, several of my co-workers had a simulation entirely on AMT last year...
Jason
offlineMember
Hey Patrick, no I don't work in public accounting just yet. I am in Michigan and our economy is brutal. I graduated back in December and pretty much knew I wasn't going to get a job unless I had something other people didn't (CPA exam). Only job I got was internship in private accounting called me back and I decided to decline. So long story short didn't really try hard to get a job out of college. I will be re-applying in September.
Do you like working at a small firm? I think that would be ideal for me and is what I'm hoping to land. I'll take PWC, EY, Deliotte, KPMG any of those but would prefer something smaller.
Patrick
offlineMember
Jason - I do really enjoy the firm I am at. It is big enough (100 people) but not too small so that growth is limited. I have friends working at Big 4 and know that my salary is about the same, granted you do not get the same notoriety from a medium sized firm if you think that you want to work in industry some day. Hours are pretty nice too, we definitely work from Jan-April, but summers are 36 hour weeks with half day Fridays. I have a family at home, so working at a mid sized firm was a no brainer for me.
Mpofu
offlineMember
Anna,
I am betting for you this window, you will make it.
Jason
offlineMember
Just took the becker final exams, wow they were brutally hard. But I would suggest everyone take them because it forced me to learn all the tax concepts in a lot more detail. I now understand the tax concepts more thoroughly than I have at any point studying thus far.
Everybody using becker, do these!!
Danny EA CPA CFP
offlineMember
First time writing on here, I love the motivation you gain from this site and hearing everyone's experiences and insight. I haven't seen much said about Roger's CPA review course. I'm using his course and I love it. I literally look forward to listening to his lectures. He makes the lessons entertaining and most importantly he makes understanding the difficult concepts easy. Anyone using Roger?
LuckyShot
offlineMember
I passed my first three exams averaging a 90 but failed REG with a 71. I used Gleim the first time but bought Roger for my retake next week.
I'm hoping that a completely different angle of education gets me those 4 extra points!
I agree that Rogers is fun to watch...my wife (not an accountant) will even listen in!
DocHalladay
offlineMember
I just took Becker. I REG (7/2), and it was not what I expected at all. Without getting into specifics or anything, I had stuff on my REG exam that was not covered whatsoever by Becker I was stunned when I walked out. I felt very well prepared, like I had an excellent grasp on the materials in the review course. Then, I took the test.
I didn't use a single mnemonic (there were about 20 of them I had memorized/thought were extremely useful), and had some of the supposedly "heavily tested" areas in Becker not tested at all. Literally, I could list 5-6 things that were covered extensively (multiple pages) in the review program that were not covered on the exam. It was frustrating; I felt "ok" after the first testlet, and the second one was harder, and the third wasn't a cakewalk either. I can only guess that I got a lot of new material.
The simulations-- definitely not what I expected/practiced, and I just tried to make sure I wrote well on both communication sections and at the very least found the research/authoritative guidance questions. So for those of you preparing for REG, I hope your test goes better than mine!
DocHalladay
offlineMember
Yes, I'm aware of the point breakdown of the exam/simulations, but when you're running out of time and need a point or two, those two points can be really helpful. I'm just saying don't ignore them, they can be the difference between passing and failing.
whitesoxfancpa
offlineMember
Jason,
The research tab is not necessarily worth one point. Simulations are 30 points overall, as you know. The written communication is 10 points. Everything else is 20 points, which includes the research tab. It's not necessarily one point.
Why would you skip it?????????
aazaidi2000
offlineMember
Hi:
This strategy to lose one or two points easily can give a grade of marginal failure like 74, but if during research, you will find that it is wasting your time then you can give up your effort.
Can we practice research by using IRC database? I could not find it in AICPA and FASB professional literature sent by NASBA as free 6 month subscription.
Jason
offlineMember
Because it's a waste of time when you're already racing for time with these exams.
You can sit there for 10 mins researching some stuff that you probably won't even find for one point (yes, one point ask Jeff) or you can use that 10 mins to write two memos and finish up both simulations. On audit I looked at the first research tab it was ridiculous so i skipped it, and moved to 2nd sim and finished that instead. If you got plenty of time on the exam to sit there and look stuff up then answer it, but it's not going to make or break or your grade unless you've bombed the rest of the 100 plus questions.
Just my two cents...
Jason
offlineMember
It's just time management because what ends up happening is you spend 10 minutes looking for this and then you get to the second simulation and you run short on time. So you just end up just filling stuff in the other tabs because you've used your time looking stuff up. It's all in the test taking strategy.
divabekki
offlineMember
I just took REG on 7/9 and I don't feel like I did too well. The second and third testlets were pretty hard and the sims were on topics that I never would have expected! I also took FAR last week and I felt pretty good about it. I still haven't gotten my score for BEC because they wouldn't give it to me until I finished my last semester of college, which I finally finished on June 27th. I sent my transcripts this week so hopefully I will get my BEC scores soon. As for REG I guess I just have to hope, and remember that most people will fail at least once. Now I just have to focus on AUD! This test is crazy!
DocHalladay
offlineMember
@Patrick, I can't go into detail per say (i.e. against the confidentiality agreement), but it was stuff that you wouldn't really know to look for, and I even came home and looked it up right after the exam, and I couldn't find concise information on it on the web/various websites. My best guess is that they were some of the "test" questions; however, don't panic. I could always narrow it down to two choices and hope that I made a good educated decision.
And back to my point about the research tabs-- I'll take a guaranteed 2 points over 0 guaranteed points if you don't look at those tabs. If you're that pressed for time, you haven't managed your time well enough over the course of the exam, and that is the fault of the test taker.
Jeff - another71.com
onlineadmin
I will go out on a limb and say that many candidates are weak on 1231, 1245, 1250 assets...Like-Kind Exchanges with a Liability swap, and AMT preference items.
Why? Because I hated these topics and skipped them and it netted me back to back 74s.
When I finally studied them, I scored a 92.
For what that's worth.
whitesoxfancpa
offlineMember
Jason,
I'll say it again. The research tab is not necessarily worth one point. It's part of the 20 points of the non-written communication tabs in the simulations. It may be a point, it may be three points, it may be no points. But it's not necessarily one point.
I don't understand why you'd skip it on the second simulation if you finish everything else and have time left.
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