[Jsn3004]

I just passed FAR and I am moving on to BEC. I used CPA Excel and supplemented with Ninja MCQ. I wouldn’t have passed if if I didn’t use the Ninja MCQ (Thank you Jeff). The thing is all of these topics for BEC are foreign to me, especially IT, and I heard the lectures for CPA Excel are kind of a waste for (For BEC).

CPA Excel did help alot for FAR, especially for someone who didn’t take Gov/NFP and I like that the materials for CPA Excel do not expire which was good for FAR because I had to extend my studying time for various reasons. Has anyone only used Ninja for BEC? I’d appreciate any advice. Thanks!

[sancasuki]

Ninja for BEC is way harder than CPAExcel. Questions are very time consuming. For FAR, CPAExcel goes overboard and does a thorough job. For BEC, CPAExcel just sort of glosses over everything.

Corporate Governance, IT, and Economics were not so bad. Finance, Strategic Planning, and Operations Management had me wanting to pull my hair out.

[Iceman6]

I used Ninja Notes and MCQ for BEC, passed with a 77. Probably did close to 4,000 MCQ between the first time I failed and the second time I passed. BEC is definitely a grab bag exam where they can throw anything at you so its helpful to see a lot of questions at least once to feel prepared. I only did about 10 SIMS since I was extremely confident in my writing skills

[garnerr2]

I used CPAexcel for both. Passed BEC with 79 using only CPAexcel material. Waiting on FAR score.

For BEC, i finished all of the lessons in under 48 hours of total study time. For FAR, it was around 130 hours.

If you survived FAR with CPAexcel, I would just use that for BEC. Do all of the lessons/MCQs/TBS and then possibly supplement with NinjaMCQs or Wiley Test bank during review.

AUD - 76
REG - 78
FAR - Aug 2016
BEC - 79

[Jsn3004]

@garnerr2 Were you familiar with the material that was tested on BEC before you started studying with CPA Excel? Like I mentioned before I really don't have any knowledge of the topics for BEC so everything will be new to me.

@circadianmalfunction It said you used CPAExcel and Ninja MCQ. Do you think that would be sufficient for someone who isn't familiar with the material? It seems like you weren't too hyped with CPAExcel for that subject.

[garnerr2]

I would say I had a decent understanding of Economics prior to studying for BEC. There are a decent number of lessons on that topic as it is around 16%-20% of the exam.

I have only used CPAexcel for all of my tests and passed AUD, BEC, & REG on first try. Waiting for FAR score. I rarely have been asked a question on any exam where I haven't at least seen the material once.

If you are concerned, I would definitely supplement with Ninja MCQs. I personally haven't used them but everyone seems to love them and it couldn't hurt to get resources from somewhere other than your primary study material.

AUD - 76
REG - 78
FAR - Aug 2016
BEC - 79

[sancasuki]

I passed, so I guess it's sufficient. You didn't take economics, finance, and cost accounting in school?

[Jsn3004]

@garnerr2 Yeah it looks like i'll probably use both CPA Excel and Ninja MCQ so I can have more practice with the MCQs. Although i'll be purchasing NinjaMCQ do you think that CPAExcel is sufficient for someone who doesn't know any of the material that will be tested on BEC?

I didn't take Government and Not for Profit in college but I felt that the instructor for CPAExcel did a great job and I was actually hoping to see as much Gov/NFP questions as possible when I was taking FAR.

[Jsn3004]

@circadian malfunction I did but I had the stupid mentality during college of passing just to pass and not really retaining the information.

[sancasuki]

Then you are on about the same level as everyone else taking the CPA exam.

[garnerr2]

CPAexcel is sufficient in my opinion. Sometimes I think they go into too much detail on topics.

I drank my way through college and made sure I did just enough to graduate.

You will be fine.

AUD - 76
REG - 78
FAR - Aug 2016
BEC - 79

[Jsn3004]

@garnerr2 I guess it's better to have a little too much information than not enough. It's too bad at 23 I don't know the topics of BEC.. I'm glad I was able to remember information from the intermediate accounting classes though. I can't imagine having to learn all of FAR.

[thetoddgreen]

@garner: I was actually coming to ask if anyone else feels like they just kind of blew over BEC with CPAexcel. It has me concerned that I am not actually learning, and I am only spitting out what I just read or heard (since every lesson is pretty small)

I started by being WAY too detailed and now I am behind, by writing notes and highlighting and getting everything down. It just felt like overkill. Then I started doing very brief notes. Now I am just listening to the lecture, may take a note or two if I had to think about a topic twice. Then I fly through the Proficiencies, MCQs, and assessment.

I am not some over-the-top scholar, but I feel like CPAexcel makes BEC seem WAY too easy. There are a couple pieces here and there that aren't the same. Like the Corp governance was a definition snooze-fest. Then I saw where @circadian said that CPAexcel just glosses over BEC, and it all made sense.

@circadian, do you think it's bad that CPAexcel just glosses over it? Like I said prior to @garner, I feel like I am just breezing by this way too quickly now that I stopped taking a ton of notes etc that I felt I didn't need (I have only watched the videos and haven't taken a single note in macroeconomics yet and I did the assessments fine – but maybe it's because I just watched it??)

[sancasuki]

Well, Corporate Governance and Economics are the easy sections. Finance is harder and Planning & Measurement is the worst. But even those are not so bad in CPAExcel. Wait till you try Ninja MCQ…..so much fun.

I don't know about videos, I only read the text.

[thetoddgreen]

Was “so much fun” sarcastic? Or was it legit fun? Hahaha. Depending on how I feel at the end of the month, I may consider purchasing a supplement like Ninja or something. CPAexcel is making me think I might be getting false confidence and it's scaring me, hahaha. Then again, the two parts I have done, you said were easy. Corporate Governance was annoying. Just so wordy with no practicality it seemed. It also seemed incredibly short for it to be said to get tested as much as it does. Also another concern.

[NeedsA75]

Corp governance and econ were harder for me than Financial Management for some reason

[Author]

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