[jeff]

Welcome to the Q1 2017 CPA Exam Study Group for BEC. 🙂

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

[ng3926a]

I know this is probably a dumb and basic question, but I'm having a hard time differentiating between a director and a manager or executive.

I guess directors direct by setting goals and strategies, managers manage employees so that those goals and met, and then the executives also manage?

[CPYay]

@Nathalia

My understanding is:

Managers – Manage employees and/or resources
Directors – Manage Managers and make higher-level decisions
Executives – Manage Directors and make strategical and high-level decisions for the entire company

[Joe]

@CPYay I felt the same exact way yesterday with Financial Management. Today I've been working on Operations. That got my confidence back up.

My plan for Financial Management is to
1. read through the chapter again
2. rewrite basic concepts
3. work through some of the Roger's mcqs (easier than Ninja) to reinforce basics
4. jump back into Ninja MCQs

[ralbrecht7]

So I just retook FAR today (praying that I passed but some of the sims were confusing) and I need to retake BEC asap before it changes (scored a 72 on 1st try in extended testing week of Q4), my job is ramping up for busy season starting this week and i'm looking at seat availability trying to decide if it's worth trying to cram and retake next weekend or wait until the 29th, I appreciate any suggestions!

Used Becker+NINJA notes for first try at BEC and now bought the NINJA audio to listen on my hour commute, Financial Management chapter and all those PV/NPV/IRR formulas were definitely my weak spot so any suggestions for ways to improve on that would be helpful as well. Thanks!

Good luck everyone!

[CPASF1]

in addition to the post above regarding Board of Directors and Management, Board of Directors are not an agent of company, therefore can't enter into contract on their own, they have Fiduciary duty
while Management are agents of the corporation

[CPASF1]

anyone having trouble getting through the NINJA book especially IT and financial management sections, i read the Roger one and now I am read the NINJA one and it seems so much harder, which i am guessing is a good thing?

[CPYay]

@CPASF1

I don't have the Ninja book, but I have the Roger study materials and supplement with the Ninja MCQ. Ninja is 10x harder.

I just did about 60 Roger MCQs based on Joe's post, and scored 90%. I can't tell if Ninja prepared me very well or if Roger's questions are stupidly easy haha…

[CPASF1]

@cpYay i know i feel the same way, so do u do the ninja mcq's first?

[ng3926a]

Platinum Co. has a receivable due in 30 days for 30,000 euros. The treasurer is concerned that the value of the euro relative to the dollar will drop before the payment is received. What should Platinum do to reduce this risk?
a. Enter into an interest rate swap contract for 30 days.
b. Platinum cannot effectively reduce this risk.
c. Buy 30,000 euros now.
d. Enter into a forward contract to sell 30,000 euros in 30 days.

Correct answer is d.

I'm not sure what “the value of the euro relative to the dollar will drop” means. 1 dollar will in the future buy less euros, or will 1 dollar in the future buy more euros? 1 euro will be worth less dollars or 1 euro will be worth more dollars?

I guess if something is less valuable, it will cost less? so in the future those 30,000 euros will be worth for example, $10,000 instead of $15,000 like they do now?

So if we enter into a forward contract we are locking in that we will get $15,000 in the future for those 30,000 euros, instead of just straight up getting $10,000 in the future?

Is there another way of thinking about this? The phrasing of current exchange questions has always gotten to me… Like this literally took me about 15-20 minutes and some investopedia videos before I think I understood it.

[afrieband16]

@Nathalia the wording the euro weakens in relationship to dollar means you will be able to buy more euros with one dollar i.e. if the current ex rate is 0.78 euro to $1, the treasurer is worried it might become 0.50 euro to $1 which means when they receive the receivable it won't be worth as mush dollars in 30 days. In order to reduce this risk you would enter into a forward contract to guarantee or “lock in” a certain rate to hedge against the risk of the euro decreasing in value. Putting hypothetical numbers in to make more sense:

30,000 euros to be received in 30 days. Currently euro = 0.78 to $1, treasurer is worried it might be 0.5 euro to $1 dollar in 30 days

To hedge against this he enters into contract to sell 30,000 euros at 0.67 in 30 days, therefore the risk of the euro weakening is reduced because he has the ability to sell them for more than the weakened amount.

I hope that helps and makes sense!

[CPYay]

@CPAFS1

Yes. When I start studying for an exam, I watch all the Roger videos and take notes. After I finish the videos, I go straight into Ninja MCQs and write notes for any questions I get wrong or get right but don't completely understand. I usually don't do any Roger MCQs at all, but I did some this weekend to reinforce some basic concepts and boost my confidence haha

[distracted]

Has anyone taken BEC in Jan and would like to share their experience?

[mooseonloose]

when doing becker MC or Ninja MC, what do you guys usually score?

[CPYay]

Depends on what you mean.

Overall… my average is 71% while my trending is 82%.

My average is low because in the beginning of my studies, I jump straight into MCQs after I watch the videos, so I miss a lot of questions.

My trending is skewed a bit because I memorized some of the answers (try not to, but it's unavoidable). So I imagine my true score is somewhere around 75%.

[afrieband16]

in regards to written communications:

how do you practice? do you try and “self-score”? what are some important things to consider/make sure to know other than not writing bullets/graphs/charts?

lastly, how often do you, if at all, practice?

any tips/suggestions are appreciated

[Author]

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