I, personally, do not believe Becker is worth the money. Do TONS of people pass the exam using it? YES. Does that mean it is the best option? Absolutely not. Becker simply has the money to partner with these big firms and universities and basically cram their material down the accounting world's proverbial throat.
Someone above mentioned that it over-prepares you – I would argue that that is an understatement. As a matter of fact, the sheer volume of information I believe actually works against you in some ways. I watched so many colleagues/friends bury hundreds upon hundreds of hours (and thousands of dollars) into the exam and still come out with failing grades and a feeling of being severely overwhelmed and I always just scratched my head. I was one of the few who chose a different option, and while I did take the full 18 month window to get the exam done, that was 100% my own fault.
FAR – 60 hrs
BEC – 16-18 hrs
AUD – 10 hrs
REG – 50-60 hrs
So let's say about a max of 150 hours to pass all 4 parts (REG was the only one I took more than once – 3 times – and most of the study hours I listed came on the third attempt). I am seriously just a “Normal_Person” – not the top of my class, didn't go to a top school, hated homework/studying in college, wanted a social life and chose that over studying at times, etc. etc.
I used a single set of study materials – MDS by Steve Martin. I'm not going to sit here and be a fanboy and come off as someone who was hired to market MDS, but I will say that it is obvious that Steve focused on quality of materials and not quantity. Books are smaller, videos shorter, there are still thousands of HW/practice questions/practice exams/SIMS but it all focuses in on heavily tested and more complex topics, while going over less tested and simpler areas in much less detail – just enough to give you what you need in case a question does happen to come up. The only reason I failed REG twice was because I found the material to be a snore-fest and could barely stay awake – I just don't like tax and law at all (and I still got a “perfect score” on it – 75).
TLDR: Becker is a comprehensive program that will give you everything you need to pass (and more), but I believe its volume of material isn't a pro, it is a con. There are several more affordable options out there that will get you the same 3 letters, saving you both time and money.
Regardless of the course you choose – please realize that the QUALITY of your study time is far more important than QUANTITY no matter the materials in front of you (focused, no distractions, determined, not studying while hungry or extremely tired, trying to understand the concepts/logic and not doing rote memorization to the extent you can avoid it, applying common sense (except REG since tax law DEFIES ALL COMMON SENSE EVAR), etc.)
FAR: 1/12/13 ... 82
REG: 8/30/14 ... 75
AUD: August 2013 ... 89
BEC: July 2013 ... 84
DONE
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