[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

Just got through Becker Chapter 1 and I don’t see how BEC is considered easiest exam. Just got killed by module 5 MCQs (47%). Hedging sucks.

[Matt]

No section of the CPA Exam is “easy”. Every exam is very difficult to pass, and BEC is not an exception. Many people have that perception because of the high pass-rates, but I found that BEC was one of the more challenging sections to study for. If I had to guess why BEC has a higher pass rate, I would say it's because the written communications are easier to get points on, but that's just conjecture. The difficulty of the material that is covered by BEC is right up there with the rest of the exams. On top of that, it takes by far the longest amount of time to complete on test day. I submitted at the very last second.

My advice would be to study hard and treat BEC just like you would FAR, and you should do just fine. Do not treat this as if it is “easy” and not study as hard, it will come back to haunt you. It will be worth your time and effort when you get a passing score.

Good luck with your studies!

[jeff]

Ask yourself: “How would Tony Ferguson handle BEC?” and then do that.

[Biff Tannen]

I’m in the same boat as you are – currently studying for BEC using Becker – exam is 2.5 weeks away. I’d say the most challenging section will be B5, so watch out for that. If you have the Becker flashcards, id recommend using those to study the formulas; there’s easily over 70 formulas to remember, so the flashcards are a quick and effective way to study. Also, if you can afford, I’d supplement with Ninja. I listen to Ninja audio on my way to work each morning and at the gym.

[Jimmy Dugan]

I don't know how many people have said it's easy, just that it's a little easier than FAR and REG. That's what I thought as well but not everyone will be that way. There are many posts here where people talk about struggling with BEC the most out of all the exams. It really doesn't matter which one is the hardest to you. Just do whatever it takes to prepare yourself.

[CH89]

@Jeff – That comment is beyond hilarious!

[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

hey @jeff , diaz or pettis?

[jeff]

😀

I like Pettis, but I think Diaz picks him apart with boxing and finishes it on the ground RNC.

[Mike J]

BEC is certainly not easy.

I suggest that, assuming you take notes, to group like formulas together. So for your ratios write the current ratio next to the quick to see how they're different. For your cashflow formulas list them together. So on and so forth.

Also, don't be afraid to take a step back and attempt a small group of MCQ with your notes in front of you. I did that for the variance formulas. It helped. For those, I had the formulas and beneath them the unit conversions.

Everyone is different but that's how I passed.

[Recked]

Everytime I needed to use a formula I would write it out. A little more time consuming than just looking at it for reference, but it helps you retain it.
I think most people refer to BEC as easier because the book is half as thick as FAR. Some people will have an easier time with the concepts than others, but I would definitely not slack on BEC.
I wish I had done BEC before REG since REG is more in my wheel house. Would have liked to have BEC hammered out before tax season started ramping up in Feb.

[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

@Jeff you were exactly right on Pettis vs Diaz….how you think Ferguson vs. Khabib will shape up if they finally get it to happen? also Diaz vs. Masvidal gonna be great too.

[I can and I will]

BEC is the only test I only had to take one time, and studied the least for. But I had also failed FAR twice , and REG once. So BEC was my saving grace… I desperately needed a change of study materials and BEC was it for me. I can't tell you why it was easier it just was for me. I think BEC felt more piece meal/memorization than big picture stuff like FAR is.

Anyways- everyone has their struggles. I took audit three times as a real life auditor. I thought that was supposed to be easy but I actually really struggled with the subjectivity of it. I also found some of the practices in my firm were not always textbook.. haha.

hang in there!

[12tang]

The only thing that I found easy about BEC was that it didn't require tons of hours. Other than that, the exam was very challenging and unique in its own way compared to the other exams. With that said, sometimes you just get hit with hard versions. I don't care what the heck people say, there are versions of some exams that are designed to fail you and only a much smaller percentage will pass those.

Using Becker self-study
FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
BEC: (XX)
AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
REG: (XX)

[bigstakk]

I think “hard” is relative. I think you could get lucky or unlucky that a topic you put in a lot of effort in May or may not show up on your exam. What I’ve noticed is many people are not practicing SIMs and then do poorly on them. For REG I decided to not donmany SIMs and I did less than average on them on the actual exam. For FAR and AUD I did the MCQs and SIMs for each chapter and did average or better than average on each. I do think it’s easier to learn when reviewing MCQs but I think you still need to practice SIMs heavily and I plan to do so with BEC after seeing it hurt me on REG in terms of my SIM performance. But it goes both ways since I did really well on MCQs so there is more than one approach you can take but ultimately getting some good practice on SIMs is key.

[Flash]

BEC wasn't too difficult. Yes, there are a lot of formulas to know (financial ratios, variances), but if you just grind out MCQs for a week, it'll start to gel. Main chapter that I struggled with was the IT chapter (B6 in Becker). Wouldn't worry too much about the essay/memo portion – just concentrate your time on MCQs/SIMS and you'll do great!

[Orpheus]

We all have so different experience… I would say REG was much easier than BEC; for me BEC is a total nightmare. Especially Var. analysis, Cost accounting, and time managemant (unrealistic task for me!!!).

[Author]

Replies