[jeff]

Welcome to the Q4 2016 CPA Exam Study Group for BEC.

If this is your first post in the study group – please post your target exam date (just the time frame to preserve your anonymity), and your past history with this exam (optional, of course).

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

[SONA]

Can someone help me with this question. Please explain why the answer is C.
My answer is (d) I took in the calculation the Job no 150 which is given in last two lines of the question.
But the answer is C, because they just calculated the amount given in the Data shown in the question.

Mason Company uses a job-order cost system and applies manufacturing overhead to jobs
using a predetermined overhead rate based on direct-labor dollars. The rate for the current
year is 200 percent of direct-labor dollars. This rate was calculated last December and will
be used throughout the current year. Mason had one job, No. 150, in process on August 1
with raw materials costs of $2,000 and direct-labor costs of $3,000. During August, raw
materials and direct labor added to jobs were as follows:
No. 150 No. 151 No. 152
Raw materials − 4,000 1,000
Direct labor 1,500 5,000 2,500
Actual manufacturing overhead for the month of August was $20,000. During the month,
Mason completed Job Nos. 150 and 151. For August, manufacturing overhead was:
a. Underapplied by $1,000.
b. Underapplied by $7,000.
c. Underapplied by $2,000.
d. Overapplied by $4,000.

Explanation
Choice “c” is correct. Since manufacturing overhead is applied on the basis of direct-labor
dollars, the total of the direct-labor dollars for August must first be determined:
$1,500 + $5,000 + $2,500 = $9,000
Manufacturing overhead is applied at the rate of 200%, so $18,000 was applied for the
month of August (200% × $9,000 = $18,000). Actual manufacturing overhead for August was
$20,000, so manufacturing overhead was underapplied by $2,000 [$20,000 − $18,000].
Choice “d” is incorrect. Manufacturing overhead is applied on the basis of direct-labor
dollars incurred during the period. If the amount applied is less than the actual amount, then
manufacturing overhead is underapplied.
Choice “b” is incorrect. Manufacturing overhead is applied on the basis of direct-labor
dollars incurred during the period. The total of the direct-labor dollars is $1,500 + $5,000 +
$2,500, or $9,000.
Choice “a” is incorrect. Manufacturing overhead is applied on the basis of direct-labor
dollars incurred during the period. The total of the direct-labor dollars is $1,500 + $5,000 +
$2,500, or $9,000.

[lilitvar]

Hey guys,
Had my exam yesterday, thought it was pretty tough in terms of how many conceptual questions there were. The problem with this exam is either you know the answer or you dont, unlike FAR, where if you understand the major topics then you can pretty much solve a lot of questions.
I used Wiley CPAexcel only, felt that it had prepared me for FAR (82) much better than for this exam. If i dont pass, the only thing i can do better for next time is to suplement with more mcqs like NINJA.

Written communcation was okay for me, I felt it doesnt really test your specific BEC exam knowledge, but rather your general understanding and knowledge of a busines environment. There is really no way you can prepare for this part.

For those still studying, I would advice not to oversee any topic, because ANYTHING can come up.

Good luck to everyone
Lily

[rhayder]

lots of IT, CG and capital budgeting questions

What is ‘CG'?

[ZacharyAlan14]

CG – Corporate Governance (COSO, ERM, CoBIT, etc.)

Took BEC this past Saturday. The questions weren't as complex as Becker, but were very specific (i.e. you know the answer or you don't). I would say I only had 25-30% calculations but they were fairly simple compared to Becker MCQs. There were a couple of curve-ball questions but that's to be expected. Written section was pretty reasonable. I would advise those studying for this exam to leave no stone unturned in regards to material covered and know your formulas. I forgot a couple and it probably cost me a couple MCQs. Also, don't try to grind through problems you can't figure out. Flag them and move on. Practice good time management. I didn't feel bad when I left, but I wish I would have spent a little more time on a couple topics. I think I could have boosted my score maybe 5-10%. It's a very, very broad exam.

Good luck!

[SONA]

Thanks Lily for the updates.

I wish you good luck for the scores.

[SONA]

I will be finishing with Becker this weekend with all lectures and MCQs except written communications. Then I will be switching to nonstop NINJA MCQs. Hopefully that will be good enough.

Any tips highly appreciated.

[financetx]

Does anyone know when we get scores? The NASBA site says 12/16 @ 1AM EST but haven't I read that scores come out a day earlier than the posted date?

[Abdulmajid]

Does “Trending Score” in Ninja consider the time you spend to answer the quesetion ??!!

[Margalit]

My last CPA section was BEC, so what I can recommend it's study hard conceptual topics such as Corporate Governance, IT, Strategic Planning and Operations Management – those are heavily tested and remember BEC is very similar to FAR but shorter, so the questions would come in combinations – conceptual and calculations. In order to save at least 2 min for calculations per question, you should be able to answer conceptual questions really fast (at least less than 1 min should be your target). Pay attention to IT, I worked for several years in IT and felt pretty comfortable with this topic, however in the feedback that I received my knowledge was comparable to other candidates. Be sure that you know definitions and also be able to recognize what are the functions of this particular software/hardware/network, main advantages/disadvantages. Be sure to Google the concepts, and also YouTube offers really useful videos on many topics. It will help you a lot to go back to your CPA AUD module and study in details IT AUD and segregation of duties- for those of you who already took AUD – it's worth to refresh it a little bit. Also, you can boost up your score by going back to FAR and studying in depth Foreign Currency Accounting, Derivatives and Hedging, Bonds Issue, and Leases – all these topics are explained in details in FAR.
At last, but not least, practice your calculations – these may involve the same numbers, but master fast processing on every example that you have.
I took BEC twice with 73 score on 08/31/2016 and then on 11/30/2016. I followed the above strategy and was able to get 83 on my second try.

Good Luck and with Hopes to Your Success.

Margalit.

[jeff]

Test Your Might – 6 Winners will be drawn: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/test-your-might-bec-mcq-6-winners/

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

[Margalit]

Only after I passed my last part of the CPA Exam did I realize how thin is the border between passing and non-passing. So, aim at your possible highest score, if your strategy is to get your 75 and not higher, the stress of the exam might easily take away a couple of points from you (and even more).
Cheer up, do your best and I wish your dreams to come true!!

[ilovepho]

Margalit: How many hours/day did you spend on your first try vs. your second try?

I have been spending 8 hours for 2/3 of B1 and haven't have enough time to go over MC problems and I only have like 15 days to study 🙁

[Margalit]

Actually, on my second try I spent twice as less as at my first try. Regarding B1 – this is heavily tested, and in order to get it running smoothly, you should go over and over again, however, good news -is that each time it will take you less and less to master this part. I would divide all time that you have to study each chapter – you can't afford to come to the test with whole chapters skipped. So, spend most of your time for a new topic, but be sure to leave at least 30 min per day repeating what you already had learned. Take at most 2 min for each question, then mark it if you either got it wrong or guessed, take notes of what exactly you missed/didn't understand, go to that part of B1 (or any other chapter). In this way you'll get it much faster than sitting and reading the material for long hours. Also, starting with B2 – combine concepts and calculations, if you got tired of calculations – go to review concepts and vice versa. Remember, budgeting and variance analysis seem huge, but once you get the idea behind it the questions would look similar to you and you wouldn't need a huge variety of MCQs to master these topics. Once you understood the idea, mark a few examples on each variance and budget calculation (you will notice that majority of these MCQs repeat themselves), and go to study B3 (Financial Management). Again, if you got tired of calculations, B3 could be studied in parallel with B4 (IT). B5 could be done fast once you study it through the graphs, draw the curves, visualize what happens and in what direction the shift occurs. The last chapter is the real mish-mash, I had no way of grasping it, but going back to FAR and getting through some examples on exchange rates, cash flows, derivatives, and hedging. Don't underestimate this chapter just because it's the last one. Doing a little example on options, futures/forwards, interest rate swap and foreign currency exchange rates will help you not only understand this chapter but also get through it effectively.
I hope this could help you, looking forward to your success.

[ilovepho]

Margalit: Awesome, thank you so much for your advise. And congrats on finishing 4 parts.

[knightrider75]

Taking the BEC exam in February 2017 but thought about getting an early start. I am getting Becker review course from my company for free but had a question. In addition to reviewing the Becker lectures and MCQs, would you recommend getting the index cards or Ninja notes to understanding the material better and improving my chances to pass? Also, any advice on choosing the live or the online classes?

Lets pass this!

[Author]

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