[jeff]

Recommended prep time for BEC is 4 weeks @ 20 hours a week.

Study Notes: https://www.another71.com/cpa-review-store/

Study Videos: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam/cpa-exam-review-video/

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[njguy26]

I'm taking BEC on Friday and am also spending my next week with Chapters 3 and 5. It seems like 1,2, and 4 are pretty straightforward in the book but I pretty much expect a lot of the test to focus on 3 and 5. Gonna spend the next couple days doing every chapter 3 and 5 question at least 2 times. A little disconcerting seeing well over 100 questions in the supplemental questions area for each chapter, but just gotta take it one at a time. Good luck to everyone studying!

[Florida_Candidate]

njguy – we must have the same exam date! w00t w00t! Let's keep each other company in here 😀

p.s. I'm up to 6% of the MCQ's now and breaking for dinner…. this is going so SLOW.

And yeah, chapter 3 and 5 are the heavy ones. I've finally memorized ALL the formulas in 3 though and feel somewhat confidence with all the formulas in chapter 5 🙂 So yay, no more memorization. It's just applying everything now for me 😀

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[njguy26]

Florida_Candidate: Sounds good to me! I've gone through the video once and have studied each section in the chapter once on its own. For the other sections I did the questions after studying each chapter, but for 3 and 5 I've found it more helpful to really study one section of the chapter then work on the questions. Plus some of the calculations are really long in the Becker HW, I'm hoping real ones on the test are not this involved.

I'm currently working through Chapter 5 questions and they are a handful but at least I feel like I'm learning the processes by doing the calculations by hand.

It is so slow, you're right. I thought BEC wouldn't be too bad after chapters 1 and 2 but 3 and 5 are a whole different animal.

[Florida_Candidate]

Oh man I can't even imagine – I'm still on chapter 1 MCQ's!! And I think your study strategy sounds good 🙂

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[njguy26]

Yea chapter 5 is really tiring me out. Some of the practice questions involve almost a full page of calculations that I can't imagine the real test would have too many of these, or at least I hope not haha. Thanks, it's seemed to work well so far but the fact that each chapter is totally separate than the others is worrying me a bit since I'm so focused on one topic I don't wanna forget the others. I'll probably go back and do all of chapter 1, 2 and 4 questions during the week to keep it fresh in my mind. Time for dinner for now, I need a break!

[Florida_Candidate]

I took dinner a few hours ago and haven't been able to pick myself up again. Too bad the library is closed 🙁 Grawr!

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[njguy26]

I think I've hit a wall for today. Chapter 5 is so daunting and frustrating I feel like just giving up for now but know I shouldn't.

[Florida_Candidate]

You know what I found really fun for chapter 5? And I'm not being sarcastic here… it REALLY helped me get down variances….

my friends and I (and keep in mind that we are all accounting nerds) got a couple bottles of wine and came up with the most obnoxious/R-Rated examples of “businesses” that fit the different variances and then we came up with examples for those businesses… for example… a drugdealing business for direct material variances and labor variances and used a brothel as our manufacturing overhead variance example 😉 It was pretty darn funny. Keep in mind we were all incredibly drunk so it may not be as funny to a sober person 😀

I totally get variances now 😀

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[Florida_Candidate]

oh and just finished my first attempt at B1 MCQ's… got around 85% overall on them. Moving on to B2…. Come on, we can both do it!

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[njguy26]

Good job with B1! I got in the 80s too on B1, 2, and 4 the first time through so I feel good about those, but 3 and 5 I've been in the low 60's to upper 70's. However after doing them again I'm starting to see where I made mistakes so I feel a little better about some sections, but a few others are killing me. I think I'm gonna review all the questions from 1, 2 and 4 I got wrong the first time around and spend tomorrow really learning (or attempting to) the rest of chapter 5.

Sounds pretty funny with the variances, I'd say if it works for you then keep using it! I've come up with so many phrases, abbreviations, mnemonics, etc. that I couldn't even begin to explain to anyone haha. But they've helped me remember some of the more random points so I'm sticking with them.

[Florida_Candidate]

Hehe you can get chapter 5, just go to bed and look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow. I think that's one chapter that if you keep re-reading it it just gets more confusing. Put it away for a while and re-read it at another time and all of a sudden it makes more sense 🙂

I've just finished the MCQ's on the first two “topics” in B2 and I'm going to bed 🙂 11pm is my “brain-shut-off-time”. I'll be up nice and early though to kick it tomorrow 😀

See ya in the morning!

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[Florida_Candidate]

oh and for the record, ended the day with 16.9% of the MCQ's “successfully” answered…. 19.8% “attempted” LOL!

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[2010Please]

Florida_Candidate…did you use Becker, and Becker alone, for your 91 in FAR?

This is my third exam (passed AUD and REG in July/August window) and first post…was a latecomer to another71.com. I plan to take BEC on 10/4 and FAR on 11/29.

I'm like the rest of you here…getting Chapter 5 and 3 to stick seems to be the toughest part…especially variances. Plus, my cost accountant teacher was new and pretty ineffective, so I feel that I'm sort of learning from scratch at this point…hope it soaks in soon. 🙂

AUD 92, REG 85, BEC 90, FAR 85
Ethics 100
Obtained License 7/11/11 🙂

[njguy26]

2010 Please: Yea the variances are pretty tricky, but I've actually found the PURE DADS pass key pretty helpful if you're using the Becker book. I basically read that box like 10 times and it seemed to make a little more sense each time. It's all about finding what works for you. My cost accounting teacher was pretty bad too so you're not alone in feeling like you're learning it from scratch. Glad someone else shares my misery.

I'm heading to bed too after a while too much studying becomes ineffective.

Until tomorrow!

[killaking]

retaking this on the 3rd got a 72 the first time hoping CRAM comes threw!

FAR: 7/17/10 missed exam FML reschedule 8/29/10-77 EPIC!
REG: 5/31/11-73 SMH, 8/31/11-85
BEC: 4/15/10-72 : retake 10/3/10-80
AUD: 11/28/10-74, 02/27/11-71 FML, 8/1/11-80
Ethics 10/22/22-80, retake 11/28/11 - 88

[Author]

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