[krokofilen]

Hi all

I need to plan my study time this fall and with full time work I think I can come up with a maximum of 130 study hours for BEC. Is this enough? My planned approach is to read all Becker chapters and do the Becker MCQs right after, with 6 chapters I hope I can do that in 75 hours), and then spend the remainder of time on review of my notes and NINJA MCQs (so 55 hours).

Is this doable? How many hours did you spend on your BEC study?

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[krokofilen]

rana_cali: Yeah, if you're paying yourself I can imagine 600 dollars every time you do an exam feels in the wallet. I am spending well over 2,000 dollars on every exam, including travelling etc, but my empoyer ´is paying for it so I'm cool with it.

Sir Study Alot:

I fully agree with what you're saying, except for the part that most people from a US or European college would pass on the BEC writing part. I definately do not have that high thoughts about the English skills of Europeans in general, so to be honest I think most (more than 50%) would fail even if they knew the topic. But that's just my guess, before having done the BEC. Maybe it's really easy. In either case, I hope my English will be sufficient (I will obviously put more effort into it than when posting here, i.e. use fancy words, focus on grammar, etc.).

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[krokofilen]

Hey just a thought, since we were discussing that some people may be able to pass BEC just based on previous experience. I feel fairly confident with business concept in general, all though I've been out of college for 8 years now. I also feel confident in business writing and COSO, since that's part of my daily work.

You think I would be worth a try to just go there and take BEC, now that I'm in the U.S. for FAR anyways? I have one day to waste. Could I get a new NTS covering both FAR and BEC in one day or is that a longer process? (my current NTS was just for AUD and FAR) Money is not an issue.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[rana_cali]

Ur English is really good! You don't have anything to worry about. No need to use fancy words…just business-appropriate language.

AUD: 84
FAR: 75
BEC: 78
REG: 75

DONE-ZO!!!!!!!!

REG: Used Becker 2014 book, NINJA MCQ, Ninja notes, ninja audio
_______________________________
CFE since Oct. 2013.

[rana_cali]

NTS's usually take longer than 1 day. And I honestly don't think it's a good idea unless u just want to get a feel for the exam. I think it needs a lot of studying/memorizing/preparation time and shouldn't be overlooked as an easy exam.

That's just my opinion.

AUD: 84
FAR: 75
BEC: 78
REG: 75

DONE-ZO!!!!!!!!

REG: Used Becker 2014 book, NINJA MCQ, Ninja notes, ninja audio
_______________________________
CFE since Oct. 2013.

[The Ex Lurker]

Thanks, Caro3line. I feel like I'm behind on my studies. I went through the first 3 lectures and couldn't concentrate on the HWs. So I decided this week, to move onto ch 4-6. I finished ch 4 lecture in one evening. Honestly, it wasn't bad at all. Hopefully, I'll be able to knockout ch 4-6 (HW and Lectures) within a week. Which gives me a week to go back to ch 1-3, and a few days for final review and practice exams. Anyone in a similar situation in regards to materials covered thus far?

F: Apr 14' Passed
A: May 14' Passed
R: Jul 14' Passed
B: Aug 14' Rematch in Oct *Passed*

[Sir Study Alot]

@ krokofilen

I am not sure why I included Europeans.I went to a business school in London where most of the students were European and quite fluent in English, so I was using my limited experience to generalize(and no I am not talking about British students).

A fast NTS takes two weeks. Since about 40% of the test is IT and college level econ you will probably not be able to pass on your COSO skills alone.

Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

[krokofilen]

My new strategy is to take BEC and REG at once, in November. I will spend 85 hours for BEC (and 100 for REG). No experience in tax law. Good or bad idea? Seems like 85 would be OK for BEC.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Sir Study Alot]

For an international candidate who is averaging a month per exam it is a good strategy. If you spent 100 hours on Audit then you will probably need between 120 to 140 hours for REG. The US tax code is way different then anything you probably seen out in Europe. 85 hours may be enough for BEC, but I am at about 85 hours into BEC and I would say I am at my 70% ready point. If I had more time I would probably go has high as 120 hours for BEC to be certain of passing(then again who goes into these exams at that readyness?). You seem like you are a sharp guy, so you are probably good with the 85 hours on BEC, but may want to tweak the REG to 120.

Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

[krokofilen]

Sir Study Alot: Thanks for your word of advice. I probably would be able to tweak REG to 120, and do like 80 on BEC. Thing is that I overstudied for both FAR and AUD – I don't need another exam in the range 85-95, what I need is 75. My main ambition is to pass each of the exams on the first try over a relatively short time period, while spending as little study time as possible. That's why I'm so concerned about the hours.

As you say, I am sure REG will be tough due to the US rules. On the other hand, I am confident I can pick it up rather quick. Sounds like 120 hours would be fine.

Big 4 Audit Manager from Europe here to pass the CPA in the U.S. of A in 2014! Niiice!

AUD - 95 / Jul 15 / 130h over 4 weeks
FAR - 86 / Aug 14 / 240h over 4 weeks
(11 week break)

REG - 81 / Nov 14 / 200h over 4 weeks
BEC - 87 / Nov 17 / 30 h over 2.5 days

[Claudia408]

Anyone NOT PASS and studied more than the recommended study hours? If so, any thoughts on what went wrong?

BEC - 75 (3x)
AUD - 78 (3x)
REG - 67, 66, Aug 1
FAR - 54, Sept 8

[Anonymous]

I spent around 50-60 hours total. Around 30 hours skimming through the Wiley Book and doing practice problems; then, 20-25 hours doing the practice questions over and over again in the testbank. Maybe a good 5 hours on the writing simulation practices as well. Passed first try!

[Author]

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