[Anonymous]

I am sitting for BEC in a few days and am feeling overwhelmed. I decided since I took FAR on July 10th, I would sit for this exam before I start working full time on August 12th. Even though I have only had 4 weeks, I have been through the material twice and am currently just reviewing weak topics. I am using Becker and to no surprise I am struggling with Cost and finance the most. I have been getting 80’s on Becker progress tests and 70’s on Wiley test bank (with slightly lower scores on Cost and finance). I am trying to recalculate questions everytime I see them no matter if I have the answer memorized or not. I also try and understand the conceptual answers to the best of my ability as well to avoid falling into the question memorization trap. In addition, I have been reading and doing flashcards as well. I know you are never supposed to feel “ready” for these exams but I am not sure if I am in a good place or not at this point? I have been reading alot on this forum about Becker not being the best review for BEC and that the exam is a crap shoot. I am worried what I am doing will not be enough! Any input and suggestions would be appreciated!

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you're pretty well prepared! If cost and finance accounting are your weak points, and you've seen all the MCQs before, then I'd suggest pulling out an old textbook (either yours or the library's) or doing some Googling to find new problems. However, 70's and 80's and pretty decent scores, and twice through the material is impressive!

As for how good Becker is for this test…I've got two thoughts about that. First, you've supplemented with Wiley TB, and I thought that Wiley TB was pretty good for this exam! (Actually, my average in WTB was 81, and my exam score was 81… 😛 ) Second, you can read on here that any and all review courses are great and terrible for all subjects. When someone fails miserably after studying from XYZ curriculum, they'll think that XYZ was bad for that test…and when they then pass with ABC, they'll think ABC was superior, even if the only thing superior was their knowledge the second time around. I'm not saying that Becker is great for it, cause I've never used Becker…and I'm not meaning to discredit the opinions of the people who didn't like Becker for BEC…but just pointing out that those thoughts are subjective. I'm sure that Becker presents enough information to pass, it's just a matter of how well they convey it, how well you understand it, and how well you remember it. So, I'd take it all with a grain of salt. At this point, you have Becker, and you know it pretty well, so I'd say you're alright…but it's too late to worry about it now. 😛 Just Googled relative to Becker and BEC and found this old thread praising Becker for BEC, especially when coupled with WTB: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/wiley-vc-becker-bec

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you are in decent shape all things considered. Spend your last couple of days focusing on your weak areas within Cost and Finance. There is a difference in being able to get through a problem and being confident in the topic. People rarely like to do what makes them feel inferior. This natural tendency hurts us when studying for the CPA exam since we should be highly focused on those bits that give us trouble.

I used Becker and did BEC fully within the month of February (started on 1st, test before end of month) while working full time. It can be done and it sounds like you are close.

[Anonymous]

Okay great thanks for your feedback! It seems as if I'm on track, just really struggling with 2 and 3 way variances and some other tricky questions from the cost chapter. I have been trying to google videos and stuff to help explain them to me (roger CPA I heard) but nothing's really helped with that. I dont think i have my cost book around, do you suggest any other ways i could get some clarification on this topic? I'm not worried about the writing as much, I feel like I could handle most topics they throw at me.

[Anonymous]

@Elisabeth I totally agree with you on your thoughts on becker…I think it certainly has to do with the time you put in and what study methods work for you. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on something!

[topharry123]

I don't think you will ever feel “ready” for the exam. I never have done so far yet I have come out with good marks. I take BEC tomorrow and i'm getting 85+ on MC questions on Wiley and CPA Excel but there are always questions I miss because some topics I just can't get my head around. I just hope that there are limited questions on the exam on those topics. All in all, it sounds like you have studied hard and are getting decent scores so you should be fine. Good luck with it, hopefully we'll be able to celebrate our scores at the same time !!

FAR - 95
REG - 93
AUD - 91
BEC - 85

[Anonymous]

@topharry123 Good luck to you! It looks like you are working hard too!

[Anonymous]

@topharry123, Curious how you are doing second review with CPAexcel or are you just pushing through MCQs like mad with CPAexcel and Wiley TB?

I have BEC scheduled for 8/13 and just starting the reviewing and getting in low 70s…so feeling less confident…trying to push up the heat on review and then MCQs to see if that helps pick-up the scores through the weekend.

[topharry123]

clbrown, I went through CPA Excel all the way through the first time reading all the text, watching the videos and doing all questions. Since then, I have literally hammered about 10,000 questions exhausting Wiley (at least twice) and CPA Excel I don't know how many times! This is the same process I used for the other exams and it worked then so hopefully it will pay off this time ! I would advise to just do questions over and over. Do 300-500 a night and you will get it. It takes A LOT of work and time but ultimately if it's the difference between a pass and a fail it's worth it!

FAR - 95
REG - 93
AUD - 91
BEC - 85

[blandrover123]

I think you should also make sure to know the general “formula” or outline for the WC as I believe they saved me on the exam.

[Anonymous]

And make sure you read for all areas you are struggling with…I know with my first exam I didn't read enough and that is why I failed.

[topharry123]

To be honest i've kind of skipped out on the WC's completely. I've read a few answers and will just go with the standard kind of response (introduction “The following memorandum discusses **copy and paste question if possible, if not repeat as close as possible**, Body – 2-3 paragraphs explaining the question mentioning plenty of keywords, conclusion **To summarize, **repeat important points briefly** then add **If you wish to discuss this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me**.) I write plenty of memo's at work so hoping that will be enough to see me through this section !! @cch, I find it's important to read the questions wrong and to learn why it is wrong so good advice. Both Wiley and CPA Excel are good at explaining the answers.

FAR - 95
REG - 93
AUD - 91
BEC - 85

[Anonymous]

I have never heard of the summary paragraph at the end…have you read that that is important or is the intro, bodies and conclusion good?

[topharry123]

Check the link below out. It's the 2013 released questions which have examples of WC's. Both have a small summary, and I mean small at the end so I was going to follow this format as closely as possible!

Created with Compare Ninja

FAR - 95
REG - 93
AUD - 91
BEC - 85

[Haldius]

How have you done on the Becker Practice Finals? As long as you haven't completely bombed the Becker Final exams, I think you'll be good to go. Plus, if you've been through the materials twice and have studied without cutting corners, you should be super ready for BEC!

REG (5/31/12) - 90
FAR (7/12/12) - 85
AUD (8/23/12) - 91
BEC (10/13/12) - 85

Using Becker 2012 Materials, Self-Study

[Anonymous]

I stopped doing the final exams after my first exam because they are just complete confidence killers

[Author]

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