[CoachEmUp]

Just wanted to ask a couple of questions for those that have taken the exam before (and the designated study thread you guys wouldn’t be looking at):

1. Are there research questions in the SIMs? I’m guessing no, but am curious.

2. What timing did you use for the exam? It looks like on paper that 4 hours is a lot, especially since I take MCQ’s usually pretty quickly. Did anyone run out of time? How much time to allot for Written Communication’s?

3. Wiley didn’t give any advice for the WC questions. What is the sure fire way to dominate the 3 WC’s on exam day?

Thanks for your help and input!

Licensed CPA in Michigan

Used Wiley CPA Excel Throughtout
FAR- 90 (7/17)
AUD- 89 (8/17)
REG- 92 (10/17)
BEC- 94 (11/17)

[r00shine]

1. No there are not

2. I got through the MCQ pretty quickly but took a while to get through the SIMs since I was confused at some of it. Left 1:30 for the written comm and used up all the time….but that might just be because I knew I had the time to take it slow.

3. Just look at the example full credit WC answers they provided and try to imitate the writing style.

AUD - 83
BEC - 80
FAR - 77
REG - 81

Oh Hi There

[TommyTheCat]

I didnt have any research questions, but when i took it (Q1 2017) it had not changed formats yet. I had just the MCQ modules and the WC.

My goal was to leave 1 hour for the WC and spread the rest of my time out over the MCQ. I remember feeling very comfortable with the materials going in and walked out thinking I had been kicked in the nuts by IT questions. A ton of those must have been pre-test questions since I fared alright on the exam score wise. I think I finished with about 20 mins left.

For the WCs, the guidance I had been given (by Roger and by my coworkers who had taken BEC already) was to just above all things keep to the format:

Paragraph 1 – tell them what you are going to tell them
Paragraph 2 – tell them
Paragraph 3 – tell them what you told them.

Seems simple I know, but it works. Make sure you have a proper introduction or salutation as the problem presents itself, and in P1 restate their question/request and explain that you are going to assist blah blah blah. Paragraph 2 get to the guts of your position…fake it if you dont know what the subject matter is. Be sure to restate questions and use the key words or concepts from the question. Use proper grammar and punctuation and spelling. Don't ramble and NO BULLET POINTS or LISTS.

Paragraph three “in conclusion”, blah blah blah recap paragraph 2. End with a proper signoff/closing (thank you for reaching out, please contact me if you have any further questions).

For my two WCs I knew the subject matter solid of one and only half knew the second. i stuck to the above and ended up getting stronger scores on my WC.

Also, I drafted my two WC responses somewhat simultaneously and found it actually worked well for me. I started on the one and jammed the first paragraph or so, then switched to number two and drafted paragraph 1 and 2, then flipped back to 1 and kept doing that. I found it helped me clear my head from one to the next and I came back to the WC each time with a somewhat fresher perspective. It also forced me to stick to my structure more.

Good luck to you, kick its ass

AUD - 85
BEC - 89
FAR - 91
REG - 97

[Anonymous]

There is no good way to study for the WC's, except to just know all the material in BEC solidly.

I know this is going to sound ice-cold, but I wish they'd weight the WC's more heavily as a way to keep some people from passing. Or, force them to improve upon their written communications skills. Some people can't communicate for sh*t…they can't write a decent business letter. They can crunch numbers like they were going out of style, they know all the rules of GAAP and IFRS to boot, but they couldn't write a decent paragraph if the remaining moments of their life were measured on a 60 second egg timer. It needs to stop – or be curbed. Learn English. Learn how to spell words correctly. Learn how to write convincingly and with conviction. Learn how not to write haphazardly in random “bullet point” list format.

They should put WC's on more than just BEC I think. Maybe sometime they will.

Can you guys tell that I like to write? Rhetorical question.

[cpa1234]

1. There are no research questions

2. I actually had an hour and a half left on the clock when I finished. I spent (approximately) 30 minutes on each section.

3. Use as many words from the question in your answer. Try to make your memo look as professional and official as possible by using official titles and vocab words from the question. Say as much as you can about the topic even if you think it's wrong. Check your spelling and grammar. Just make sure your memo *looks* like it would be sent to an official governing body as is, whether the actual content is correct or not.

AUD - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 76
REG - 79

BEC: 78 (May 2017)

FAR: 76 (Oct 2017)

AUD: 83 (April 2018)

REG: 79 (June 2018)

[alabe]

I'm going off topic a little bit, well a lot. @eventualcpa11 how did you restudy for FAR? I noticed you got a 60 the first time around. I just started restudying and had gotten a 59 the first time. I really just don't know where to begin. I feel like I know more information that a 59 depicts and that I shouldn't have to restart my study course all over.

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 79
FAR - 75
REG - 75

So close to becoming a CPA!

[cpa1234]

@alabe I use becker for studying (just to clarify what I wrote below):

the first time around I studied for 2 months, with large breaks in between when I went on a trip or had some weekend plans. I was taking my own detailed notes while I listened to lectures. I took the exam and had just as much time left as I did on BEC (1.5 left) and just waited for my score. After I failed, I scheduled the retake for about 4 weeks later and I went through each module's pre-test. If I scored 80% or higher, I moved on from the topic and maybe looked at my notes once before the retake. If I scored between 65% and 80% I put those notes in my “short review” doc, which I went over a couple times before the retake. If I scored less than 65% I looked at the topic and decided whether I thought it was truly important or if the likelihood it'll be tested is low, based on my experience with practice exams and the actual exam. If I felt it wasn't likely to be tested, I moved on. Anything I scored below 65% and felt it was truly important I put in a long review. In my long review I also put those “big topics” that everyone says are (and I experienced) on the exam. I looked at that long review many times. I also re-took one of the mock exams. I made sure to use the full 4 hours this time and I definitely triple checked that I was putting blanks and zeros where the instructions said too. MCQ were same difficulty. Some sims I usually thought were easy were actually a bit difficult, I had 2 sims that were basically the same topic but in different scenerios, and I had 1 sim I am convinced is the pre-test because it was so different from all my practice sims and other sims they have tested.

Hope that helps!

AUD - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 76
REG - 79

BEC: 78 (May 2017)

FAR: 76 (Oct 2017)

AUD: 83 (April 2018)

REG: 79 (June 2018)

[Author]

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