2 weeks until BEC EXAM

Hi,

I took BEC early June and just received my score yesterday, and I passed with a 95. So I will give you a brief overview of what I did to prepare and what I focused on. Please note that I did not use Becker; I used Surgent.

I began with watching all lectures and taking notes on them; when I say taking notes, I mean I took notes on almost everything, because it was much easier to glance over my notes for a given topic everyday in 30 minutes than trying to rewatch entire lectures. Doing that allowed me to get more repetition with all material.

Then, I started doing MCQ's. BEC is an odd section, because there is a lot of material and it seems a little random/not as structured as the other sections. I found that there was a decent amount of questions on information I had not seen in any lectures. So after going through a round of MCQ's, I would read the explanations for the questions I got wrong, and I took additional notes on topics I had not seen before. After getting through the majority of MCQ's, I decided to make flashcards (using Quizlet) on topics that I thought would be hard for me to remember just by watching lectures and taking notes. And finally, I went through the simulations, which to me seemed to be the easiest simulations out of the 4 sections (they still are not easy).

Overall, I think there are a ton of formulas in BEC, and unfortunately it is highly recommended you know them all (especially financial management). I put a little extra time in going over formulas so I wouldn't forget them. As for the written communications, I didn't even bother writing them much. I read through all of the examples in my review course and wrote 2 responses myself just to get a feel for it. I suggest doing the same and reading online about formatting and how to do those. They are quite simple.

I will say, BEC took me to the very last second to finish. I finished REG, FAR, and AUD with PLENTY of time to spare. Time management, based on my experience, is the most important for this section of the CPA exam. My final piece of advice is to not be lazy. If there is a topic you are not getting well, do not take your chances that it won't be tested. Put in the time/effort and it will pay off. As for the final two weeks, continue to practice MCQ's, sims, review lectures on material your not confident on, and make sure you know the formulas and how to apply them.

Good luck to you, I hope this helps!

-Matt

I passed BEC with a 96. I basically just did the entire Becker course in order, module by module– lectures, skills practice, MCQ (until I got 100% correct), and sims at the end of each module. I didn't use flashcards or buy Final Review. I did look over some Quizlet flashcards others created. For my “final review,” I re-read the textbook, did practice tests, re-worked all the MCQ I marked for my weakest units, along with some of the tougher sims from each unit, and took all the Becker mock exams and the AICPA practice exam. I took notes on each question I got wrong for practice tests and mock exams. For what it's worth, I failed all the mock exams (highest was a 71). But in my experience, Becker prepares you well for BEC. Good luck with the exam!

I haven't scored in the 90s yet but this approach has worked for me.

1. Read the chapter.
2. Watch the video.
3. Do the skills practice.
4. Do the MCQs.

Then, one week before the exam (two weeks before REG and FAR), reread the entire book and redo all of the MCQs. I would only recommend doing the simulations for FAR and REG.