[OMG]

Just from what I’ve seen from my colleagues and some people on here, a lot of people struggle with BEC and I’m wondering if anyone knows why. I’ve just started diving into the material so I haven’t gotten into the meat of it (Lectures 3 and 5 in Becker). But with only 5 lectures, I would think it’s not that bad. Is that why…people underestimate it?

[michelle119]

I think a lot of people underestimate it and it has a lot of information… It doesn't have as much as FAR but I found it difficult because it was a lot of unrelated information that was taken from a lot of my freshman classes that I hadn't seen in a couple of years. Just keep studying and you'll do fine. Best of luck!

FAR 7/2 - 88
BEC 7/30 - 87
AUD 8/27 - 80
REG 11/12 - 96

[Florida_Candidate]

My issue is that there seemed to be no “big picture”. with FAR, REG, and AUD I could watch all the lectures and then go back and fill in details and just continually add to this “picture” I had in my head regarding the overall material. For BEC it was literally 5 different mini-exams to study for. No big picture whatsoever and I had no idea what was going to be tested more heavily and what wasn't and I just felt really horrible about it lol.

FAR-91 (7/29)
AUD-99 (8/23)
BEC-90 (10/1)
REG-99 (11/3)

[yankees144]

I agree with Florida, BEC was just this mash-up of material they couldn't find spots for in the other exams. It was hard to make useful connections between chapters while studying, so you always felt like you were learning something completely new and disregarding everything you read in the last chapter. At least in the other sections, some chapters prepped you for later ones or expanded on previous material.

Becker Review Course - Done!!

BEC - 77, REG - 88, AUD - 90, FAR - 83

[Anonymous]

I underestimated it because everyone else told me it was so easy.. so I slacked just a bit on studying.. therefore my score suffered. The IS information was annoying! You have to be up-to-the minute on the information. The study materials unfortunately are not THAT up to date when you sit for the exam.. but we pass 🙂

[Trevor]

This is probably the most asked question on the forum… I really think that it is a little of both of what people are saying. I think we tend to not see a “bigger picture” or an end to bring everything together. The bigger picture helps I think because you can answer multiple choice questions thinking of the overall goal… you know what I mean? a more educated guess? And then there is the underestimating… I even did it the second time around. Honestly it is not a lot of information and I do not think the material is difficult, but when it comes down to it you just need to put in some solid hours. I think that this is where the problem is for most…

BEC: 73,81(7/6/2010); AUD: 75(5/24/2010); FAR: 76(8/31/2010); REG: 77 (10/18/2010) - DONE!!!!

[75orbust]

I think the most obvious reason is the lack of simulations. There is a reason that almost everyone seems to do worse on BEC than the other 3 sections and it is the only one without simulations(for now)…hmmm coincidence?? A lot of easy points can be gained in the simulations imo. The research is generally a layup, the writing is easy too- you don't even necesarily need to be correct in your response to get a lot of points if you can just formulate good sentences and use correct grammar and punctuation. And the tabs you can usually work your way through if you have enough time like in AUD in REG.

Also, BEC questions are less forgiving than the other tests imo. What I mean is most of the IT stuff for example is pretty cut and dry, either you know it or you don't. In comparison to AUD where you can generally think your way through questions without necessarily knowing the answer off the top of your head and you can generally narrow it down.

FAR-1/04- 86 KAPLAN Review
REG-5/12- 89 MN Licensed CPA
BEC-7/17- 81 ETHICS - 100
AUD-8/31- 85

[MPoni123]

For me, BEC just had the most confusing type of information to retain. The other 3 sections I actually understood first time around watching the lectures, etc. With BEC (using Becker), I just did not understand the material. It really made no sense to me. Once I switched to Yaeger and listened to Cindy explain it (mostly financial management and variances), I definitely grasped the concepts.

AUD - 84; REG - 90; BEC - 79; FAR - 75; ALL DONE!!

[kobebryant168]

Hello guys

Just want to know if people find Becker's supplemental questions useful for studying or not

Please advise, exam coming up soon ><

[italianCPA]

Kobe,

I found the supplemental becker info on B4 not necessary at all. My IT questions were vague, not technical at all, they looked like they came from the AUD exam.

Anyways, I suggest you don't blow them off, just skim through it.

FAR - 7/26/10 - 95
AUD - 8/10/10 - 88
BEC - 8/31/10 - 88
REG - 10/15/10 - 95

[Numberguy]

I just took BEC yesterday. I think BEC gives people problems because they look at it as the smallest test..shortest time and no Sims. I agree with everyone else for the lack of the “Big Picture”. Another reason is that you can have an IT Question and then you are calculating the NPV on the next question and the next one is on Partnerships…Your mind has to switch gears between totally different concepts throughout the test.

BEC 81 expired, 74, Oct 80
FAR 79
REG 70, 70, 82
AUD 74, 65, Nov

[kobebryant168]

Hey ItalianCPA!

Agreed with you, that supplement questions in IT are like, nothing

But my biggest concern is Managerial Accounting! thats where I failed last time and I m really having a hard time getting through that, any good suggestions on how to tackle it down?

Greatly appreciated!

[FARSUXCPA]

imo 1. it's lack of preparation may be due to underestimating the exam 2. it throws a broad range of topics into the mix and ppl may not have exposure to certain areas be it IT, NAV calc or cost 3. Both Becker and Wiley do a horrible job of preparing for IT questions 4. it's not curved (as much) because ppl have plenty of time to finish the test.

DONE!

[Anonymous]

Hey Kobe, if you are using Becker I strongly suggest the Becker final review

OR

Take a step back and look at the equations as you would like to remember them. For example, I remember one equation that becker tells you to remember like “2(a+bc) / bc-a” Why didn't becker have you memorize it as “2(bc+a) / bc-a” At least the letters would be in the same order so it is easy to remember.

Also with the Variance formula's I tried to make the letters fall in the same order …. something like…

AAAS AAAS; SSAS SSAS

Direct Material

Price (purchase x price) Quantity (quantity X price)

A X A S X S

A X S A X S

Direct Labor

Rate (hours x rate) Efficiency (allowed x rate)

A X A S X S

A X S A X S

A = Actual S = Standard

I'm not sure why Becker didn't make some of the equations easier to remember.. It helped me to look at each equation the way I could remember it, rather than the way Becker was telling me to.. I hope this helps someone!

[Anonymous]

there were suppose to be a lot of spaces in between all of those equations, but it didn't post correctly..

[HazeEastwood]

There is no rhyme or reason to BEC. I took FAR and I could tie alot of things back together in FAR and create a framework to remember the information. BEC especially IT is all over the place and very hard to follow. Plus the calculation seem to take forever to complete. Over all the test is far more challenging than I thought. I think I will take it in the next 2 weeks. Not looking forward to it!

FAR-81
BEC-84
AUD-91
REG-89

[Author]

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