[M.O.D.]

It seems most everyone with questions here is using Becker. Even refer to chapters such as B6, B7. Why is Becker so popular?

I read it is the most expensive too. Over $2000/year.

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[mla1169]

a lot of employers (I think all big 4 but may be mistaken) will provide Becker materials. No idea why or how. Kind of like most public schools only have Mac's and never PC's.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[JamesBJames]

It has an insanely good reputation around my university. The Big 4 endorse it pretty heavily, as well. Additionally, my firm covered all the costs, and they're not even Big 4.

I've been very satisfied with Becker so far (91 on FAR, 97 on AUD), but I definitely understand where the criticism against them comes from. They're greedy, and even though I feel like they're good enough to command a premium, the amount they charge over the other review programs is borderline criminal. They also have some of the most strict policies regarding review content expiration.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[thechapman]

My Big 4 pays for 100% of Becker, which would cost about $3,400 if you paid for it yourself (I'm sure the firms pay far less than that). That makes it a pretty easy choice as far as what review course to go with.

Passed - 2014

[zieba]

So much so that some people have made a niche for themselves selling partially used Becker licenses for pennies on the dollar.

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[Anonymous]

It's free for most people. The end.

[Uhartsoccer21]

Becker also offers zero percent financing for everyone, no credit check so you can make monthly payments over three years. Only review course I was aware of that offered this. Plus the return for a CPA license is far greater then $3,800 (more accurate figure for entire review course). I wanted to be able to buy one product and it be sufficient for all sections, so far it has delivered.

A - 89 10/23/2014
R - 90 2/27/2014
F - 75 5/25/2014
B - 83 8/28/2014

[zieba]

I could NOT have done FAR w/o NINJA and WTB, so to each their own.

AUD - 75*, 88 done 5/14! (*exp)
BEC - 74 , 77
REG - 65 , 76 (10 point combooo!!)
FAR - 69 , 75

Dr: perseverance
Dr: intelligence
Dr: luck
. Cr: . advisory score

[Anonymous]

Becker is exam oriented . They don't really care what you learn , they just want you to pass .

Also they have a higher percentage of passing out .

(Not sure if its the material or because we get serious by paying the 3xxx$)

[M.O.D.]

Gleim is exam oriented to, as is every other CPA review course. It is the only reason they print their books and the only reason to read their books.

Paying $3000 seems ridiculous, when used accounting books can be had for single dollars.

Something else is up.

BA Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Certificates in CPA and EA preparation, College of San Mateo
CMA I 420, II 470
FAR 91, AUD Feb 2015 (Gleim self-study)

[Anonymous]

Becker is the best. I got it for free when I started in public accounting and never finished the exam so I repurchased it for myself. I have used Rogers and Wiley and they don't come close.

I've heard Gleim is really lengthy and covers anything that you could possibly have one question on. Becker is very concise and focuses you on what you have to know to pass.

[Anonymous]

but their Sims…there aren't enough to practice…

[Kimboroni]

It's all in the marketing. Becker is the most famous review program– they actively go to campuses and do presentations, and they reach out to CPA firms large and small to make deals with them (they brought some really fancy donuts to our firm a couple of weeks ago).

Whether or not it's the best, I can't say, as I haven't used it. It's certainly the most expensive. The advice from my tax and business law professor was that Becker is overpriced, and there are other programs available that are just as good. So I decided to see if I could get away with just using cheap materials. It has worked so far.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Becker is over-priced but is still a great review course. I did less than what they recommended and still passed easily. The pass rates are super high since big 4 subsidizes it and most new hires are all recent graduates.

[RIST]

I'm gonna stand up for Becker:

I have an awesome career path, and one perk was all the CPA prep companies were willing to give me their stuff if I offered to advertise them if I used them to pass. So I compared 3. I will not defame the other two by name (since they did give me free stuff + trinkets :D) but I will say this:

As goofy as Becker is sometimes, it is a more serious and more professional product than the competition. I am perhaps a bit judgmental, but one prep software just felt amateurish (and it is one of the largest BTW). Their videos were run by teleprompter addicts and there were frequent cuts and misspoken words. It grated on me pretty fast!

So even though I have 3 sets of software and books I NEVER ONCE used the other two after the comparison phase. Becker just seemed the head and shoulders favorite.

I'm with Becker, Peter, and Tim.

[Anonymous]

I graduated with a 2.3 GPA so basically i had to teach myself everything cause my accounting knowledge wasn't very good coming into studying for the CPA exams. Got Becker and so far I'm 2 for 2.

[Author]

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