[jeff]

Welcome to the BEC CPA Exam study group for July & August 2018 exams. 🙂

Please introduce yourself & when you’re taking your exam (approximate timeframe).

BEC Study Group Links and Resources:

1. NINJA Monthly – Full BEC Course for $67/mo
2. How to Study for BEC with NINJA Only
3. How to Pass BEC in 20 Days
4. How to Retake BEC After Failing
5. Video: Study Advice for BEC
6. CPA Reviewed Podcast
7. CPA Exam Score Release Dates
8. NINJA MCQ Trending vs Actual BEC Scores
9. I Passed the CPA Exam!
10. I Passed BEC!
11. NINJA BEC Written Communications List by Topic
12. Free Downloads: NINJA BEC

[Anonymous]

@Neek,
Gleim doesn't explicitly lay out formulas for the different flex budget variances, but I believe they are basically the net amounts of DM, DL, VOH, FOH variances for each type. (so add up the DM, DL, OH spending variances and net them and you have your flex spending variance)
**Another way of looking at it is that flexible variances are the budgeted amounts adjusted for actual input. To understand this in my Cost Accounting Class we created a five column chart with actual, flex, and static columns and then the flex variance would be the difference between the actual activity column and flexible budget column, while the sales activity variance would be the different between the flex and static columns.
If you google “flexible budget chart”, the first image that pops up is a good example…

[zrula]

@The_Benjamins
Thanks! that was very helpful!. So I spent a whole day just reviewing the variances module. especially after one person mentioned that his exam was variances heavy.
I also am a visual person so I laid out a chart detailing each one of them so they would stick… Hope I don't screw it up on the exam… 2 more days to go!!

[Rainbow Butterfly]

I have a serious question for everyone… Am I really going to need 17 COSO and 20 ERM principles? cause good golly I am never going to remember them all!

[DoubleBogey]

No. You don't have to be able to rattle them off of a list. The 5 items around internal controls should be sufficient if you can apply it to COSO and ERM.

[Anonymous]

I took my BEC exam yesterday. The 1st testlet was ok. The 2nd one was terrible. I am not sure if the questions got harder, or it was just lack of knowledge on my end. The 2nd testlet covered all IT and COSO questions. Questions that I have not seen in my studies. Note I used three resources WILEY, BECKER and NINJA, and didn't come across any of these questions in all three. I don't know. The simulations/essays were ok I guess. I hope I managed to get 75. It is my last section!. Now I have to wait until Sep 19 really!!

[TalkNerdyToMe]

CPAANNOYING, on the AICPA grade release schedule I have hanging on my wall, it says that you'll receive scores on September 11th for BEC if you take the exam before August 31st. If you take the exam between Sept. 1-10, you'll get back the grade on the 19th. Anyone know if this is correct?? I sit for the exam on the 13th and was hoping to get my score back a little early!

[Anonymous]

Yes you are right. It is mistake on my end. If you take on or before Aug 31, release date is Sep 11 and not the 19. Regardless it is still long time to wait!

[zrula]

I took my exam today and I want to share my overall impression on the exam before I migrate to the REG thread. Hopefully, I don't have to come back here after Sep 19.
So MC were heavy on IT and I don't think Beck covered all the concepts that appeared on the exam. Some IT question were intuitive, but for the most part I guessed my way through them. It took me 80 min to go through the first MC teslet. I panicked and worried that I won't be able to finish all the testlets, but thankfully, WC was not so bad.
have a mixed feeling about the simulation as some of them were ok while others were very confusing, and again, I had to guess through them. WC part was surprisingly smooth sailing, granted I didn't have time to edit, but I felt like I knew what I was talking about. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't worry about WC as much as did. Good luck to you all.

[Anonymous]

@Zrula — i pretty much had the same experience with the first MC testlet as far timing. The second testlet took me a while as well…

This is sort off topic but I had a question over a piece of material that I was very familiar with and knew like the back of my hand and I swear the correct answer was not an answer choice.

[jeff]

Video: What To Study During CPA Exam Test Week

https://www.another71.com/video-what-study-during-cpa-exam-test-week/

[Jane]

Does anyone know if Becker has a place to find definitions for BEC? I don't see anything in review or in the back of the textbook. There's the flashcards but it's not the same. Looking to get a nice summary of IT definitions

[Kyle]

Jane,

This probably isn’t the answer you want to hear, but the best strategy I have found is to go through the actual modules and write them down. Each section is essentially nothing but definitions, so I’ve written down “the most watered down” version I could to remember them. Then, on the MCQs, I jot down the role/responsibility that the specific title/control owns- this is for the MCQs I miss, btw. Not enough time to do them all! Hope this helps!

Also- for anyone reading, what simulations would you say are “must do’s” in preparing for BEC? I don’t really have the time to do them all with my test scheduled in 2 weeks, but I am wanting to focus strictly on simulations with a higher probability of actually being on the exam. As of right now, I plan on doing the following SIMs:
-Internal Control (COSO/ERM)
-A few IT
-Cost Accy
-Budgeting
-Variance Analysis
-Eco/Bus Cycles

Anyone see a concept that I should add to this list for good measure?

[Neek]

Would anyone be so kind to provide some insight please? I don't need a long answer, just a sentence or two would be much appreciated. I am not seeing the relationship between cost of equity and inflation as presented in the following question:

An analyst expects a company to pay a dividend of $5 with a dividend growth rate of 3%. Th inflation rate is expected to fall from 5% per year to 3% per year. As a result of the change in inflation premium, the company's:

A.) Stock will likely decrease
B.) Cost of Equity will likely remain stable
C.) Cost of Equity will likely decrease (CORRECT ANSWER)
D.) Stock Price will likely remain stable

Thank you!! FYI this question is from the AICPA practice test

[maplewood]

@Neek

One of the ways to calculate Cost of Equity is the CAPM formula: Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta * (Market Rate of Return – Risk-Free Rate of Return).

When looking at Beta, one of the factors that affecting Beta (the volatility) is inflation. More inflation = more volatility. If the inflation rate drops from 5% to 3%, there is a decrease in volatility, meaning Beta is smaller, meaning the Cost of Equity is decreased.

[maplewood]

@Neek

One of the ways to calculate Cost of Equity is the CAPM formula: Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta * (Market Rate of Return – Risk-Free Rate of Return).

When looking at Beta, one of the factors that affecting Beta (the volatility) is inflation. More inflation = more volatility. If the inflation rate drops from 5% to 3%, there is a decrease in volatility, meaning Beta is smaller, meaning the Cost of Equity is decreased.

[Author]

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