[job895]

So I take BEC on November 13th and multiple people on here have said that IT is heavily tested, and that Becker didn’t thoroughly prepare them for it. What is a better source to review for IT? I have NINJA Sniper. Thanks!

[Kev]

Do you have the old BEC book before the new structure for the exam was introduced in April? If so, I would review that.

[job895]

@Kev I don't. I didn't start the exam until June of this past summer

[shawn in VA]

JOB-

No review course is up to date on the IT stuff that is asked on BEC. Read the hundreds of posts within BEC threads to see for yourself. I took BEC 3 times (74,74,81) The 3rd time (pass) I had very few IT and COSO questions and the ones I did were super easy. The 2 fails were an IT and COSO nightmare.

I got lucky on the version of exam I got on my 3rd. Although there are many people on this forum that say that LUCK plays no factor in these exams. Ok sure

[Sandy]

I used the Roger CPA and Wiley CPA to prepare for the BEC exam.
Wiley CPA has lots of materials related to IT.
At first, I thought I don't have to spend lots of time on it, but when I did MCQs in the Wiley test bank, IT questions kept coming up. I was frustrated and decided to focus on IT and spend tons of time trying to figure out each terms and structures mentioned in the lectures. It turns out I got several IT questions on the exam. I remember one question related to big data that I didn't answer correctly. Other than that, I am confident with the answers.

The professors in the Wiley CPA teaching IT related courses is very helpful.
I hope this helps.

[RB]

Sophie – thank you for your experience here. Can anyone else chime in on this?

I've been using Becker, I have BEC in 3 days, my last and FINAL exam. I saw Wiley has a 2 week free trial so I signed up for that and I've been going through their MCQ for ITquestions and there are SO MANY terms that I haven't even seen in Becker. I've done becker 100% and done all of the MCQ 100% and studied any errors.

Should I be devoting alot of time with Wiley for IT? Or move on?

(As a side I'm pretty comfortable I will pass… but in the remote possibility I get 98 I can get Sells-Watts… So if IT stuff is going to come up I want to be prepared. I just don't know what to expect. It seems like alot of people say Becker has fallen short there, but Becker has well prepared me for the other exams).

[Sandy]

Hi RB,

I would say if you are confident with other materials and IT is your weakest spot, you should definitely spend time to understand the IT terms. (just to get form A to A+)

Btw, I am currently preparing for REG and it's been tough (frustrated) . Your REG score is really high and I am sure you have mastered it. If you have any tips regarding how to prepare for REG TBS, please share with me.

[RB]

Comfortable with the rest yes… confident, never 100% walking into these exams. I'm running through as many of Wiley's IT problems as I can so at least I have a shot at hitting those questions when they come up, and tomorrow I'm going to reinforce everything else so I'm pretty comfortable with the remaining 85-90%. (Exam Wednesday).

I really don't have an explanation on the REG Sims. My approach to every test has been to make sure you have the base concepts down. I do the sims in Becker at the end of each chapter, and (just like every MCQ) write down what I got wrong, or write down a better way to explain it to myself so I can understand it the next time I see it.
I spend more time on the MCQs and think of the simulations like a series of MCQ in a row. Mark each MCQ you struggle with and do those marked ones each 2 more times before the actual exam. If you're doing the MCQ correctly you'll do the simulations correctly.
Not a magic bullet, although I don't think there is any for these exams

[jenpen]

@RB while my scores aren't nearly as impressive as yours, I follow that same general logic for simulations. I feel like if I understand the concepts then the SIMs are manageable. I don't typically spend much time working on simulations because at the end of the day, you never know what you're going to get and its hard to prepare yourself otherwise. The most I generally do are the AICPA practice tests for each section. I feel like those are a must before I take the exam, and typically do them a few days before my date.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[RB]

Jen, I'm mostly using Becker except for Wiley's free trial I'm using for some tech familiarity.

I would generally recommend doing the sims at the end of each chapter (I think Wiley has them?) once you complete it as part of your step 1 final review of the chapter.
Some you bomb, but it does lay out the problems differently so you can have some familiarity with how you'd see them on a sim. And sometimes it smacks you in the face like crap, okay this could come up for alot of points and I have no idea how to work it, let's make a note to study this.

Just my strategy, I do think they're good practice, but otherwise absolutely focus on the content.

And MAKE your own notes, I don't think many people are. I think people study from the book too much, that will always hold you back. You can re-write it in a way that clicks with your brain.

[jenpen]

The note-taking is a part I've been slacking on during this round of studying, and I'm already regretting it. I'm even contemplating just re-writing my notes from last year to get them fresh in my mind. I'm going to sit down this weekend and re-write a lot of the formulas over and over until I have them memorized. Plus, use Wiley's test bank to work through some of them a few times. I feel like if I can get the formulas down, I'll be ok. Just 2 more weeks, and then I coast until the 19th.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[RB]

Jen, are your notes typed or hand written?
I'd probably suggest a hybrid approach either way. Take your notes, read them once. Look at our MCQ and what you're still getting wrong and start marking up your notes with what you need to say so you understand it.
Re-writing them is not a bad idea tho, because re-writing does a great job of re-inforcing the concepts. Either way yes, use that as a starting point.

I always print out my typed notes at the end and read them 2 or 3 x fully, while going over MCQ again in the final days.

I know on EACH exam I've had there were many problems with 2 very good looking answers and 80% of the time there's a voice in my head saying yo, its B, you know its B, because of something I wrote down in my notes that stuck with me.

[jenpen]

They are handwritten notes. Based on how my Wiley program looked when I returned to it this year, I'm guessing I worked straight from the book last year. I literally have no recollection of studying this stuff last year – it's like I blocked it all out. I'm really, really kicking myself for not taking it again in January!

And I have that voice also. I always have to train myself for each section to go with my gut. Usually it's right. I love the times when I'll decide between two answers, and think to myself as I'm waiting for the score to be revealed, “Come on, show me the red bar because I know it's (A, B, C, whichever I DIDN'T choose).” It's a process.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Sandy]

Thank you for your advice RB.
These are very good tips.
Wish you best tomorrow!

[Author]

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