[Emily]

Hi All,

I have no background in tax and began studying for REG after the changes so I have no knowledge of prior REG material. I scored above 80% on all progress tests and took the first two Becker Mock exams and scored about 70~80% on them and thought I was prepared until I took the last ME today– 60%. I bombed one SIM where it asks for the negligence and substantial understatement penalties, which I thought was too detailed to have to memorize. Then came the NOL SIM where it requires us to know the prior NOL carryforward rules. I only knew that the new NOL can be carried forward indefinitely and is limited to 80% of next year’s operating income. Anyways, my question is, are we required to know the old tax rules? (in this case, NOL can offset 100% of next year’s income but can only be carried forward for 20 years) And do we really have to memorize all the minor details such as phaseouts and penalties for taxpayers/tax preparers?

 

 

[Jimmy Dugan]

Do not worry about the old stuff, phaseouts, or even the results of your mock exam. Penalties, I’d suggest having a basic knowledge of. Accountants’ negligence/defenses are definitely something to know well.

The Becker mock exam is not realistic because it tests too widely, ie not giving enough questions for areas that are more heavily tested on the actual exam. People make 65 or 70 on the Becker mocks and end up with 85 or 90 on the real thing all the time. It’s a good analytical tool to see where your weak areas are but that’s it. A much better indication of where you are is how you do on blocks of random MCQ’s using a test bank.

[melissa]

Yeah don't worry about any of the old stuff, it won't be on the new exam. I noticed the same thing when taking the REG mock exam on Becker that the practice exams had not been updated for new MC's/SIMS. A few of them relate to old rules – which is pretty confusing but hopefully theyll change that soon.

[Puppykoala]

I had the exact same problems as you @Emily for the 3rd mock. I was legit doubting myself for the whole day today as my progress tests are normally around 85%. Based on your actual REG score I think I'm overreacting. Glad I came across this post

[Rob]

I've been waiting for my score on REG before adding to this post. My Becker mock exam scores for the first two mock's were 78% and 84%. Then 3 days before the exam I took the 3rd and final one and got a 66%. It really freaked me out. I got an 85% on the MC and a 47% on the SIMs. I almost rescheduled my test. Then I searched and found this post and realized other people messed up the exact same 2 SIMs I did. If nothing else, getting that 66% scared me enough to study nonstop for 3 days. All being said, I got my score last night and got a 94 on REG. Don't freak out too bad if you bomb the 3rd REG becker mock exam.

[Author]

Replies