[nfs480]

For those who have used Becker to prepare for BEC, how did you go about preparing for the written communication section of the exam? I’ve been trying their practice sims and while I feel like i’m doing my best to answer the prompt, my memo doesn’t sound anywhere near as good as the provided “answer.” Usually my first thought upon reading their answer is, “and I knew that too!”

For example, for the following prompt:

“The human resources director has approached you, in your role as controller, to assist in the development of compensation methods that would be based upon incentives. In preparation for this meeting, you want to describe some of the financial issues that have surfaced in some informal discussions. The methods of compensation and their impact on the financial model are not fully understood. The types of incentives and how they might relate to revenue generation also are not clearly understood. The human resources director has enthusiastically embraced total quality management and wants to develop incentive metrics based solely on customer satisfaction that produce cash bonuses. In a written communication to the human resources director, describe the financial issues that should be addressed when implementing incentive compensation programs.”

My answer looks like:

“The purpose of this memo is to describe the financial issues that should be addressed when implementing incentive compensation programs. It has come to my attention in recent informal discussions that the methods of compensation and their impact on the financial model are not fully understood. In addition, the types of incentives and how they might relate to revenue generation also are not clearly understood. An incentive compensation program can serve as a powerful tool for motivating personnel to pursue an organization’s goals and reward them for their efforts. However, these programs can also increase compensation expenses.

An incentive compensation program should focus on future-oriented, long-term goals, the success of which are under the control of the employees in question. This is to help prevent said employees from focusing too heavily on short-term ways to boost their bonuses while not paying attention to the long-term goals of the organization.

Types of incentive compensation programs could include a program that rewards employees through the issuance of stock, or stock options. However, this idea may not be fully supported by our shareholders who would most likely dislike the dilutive effect an options compensation program would have on the stock price.

I look forward to discussing these issues in a more in-depth manner at our upcoming meeting. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns that you may have.”

And their answer looks like:

“I look forward to our upcoming meeting to discuss the incentives-based compensation plan. Lining up employee compensation with company objectives should motivate our employees and drive growth, but we must first consider the costs of the program. I am particularly concerned with the employee behaviors that may result from the plan and the funding of the incentives.

The new incentives plan needs to promote successful product delivery as well as satisfy the interests of our employees. In designing the plan, we need to look at the timing and focus of the plan. Employees can be rewarded for reaching current goals, but unless there are incentives tied to future performance and ongoing business success, employees may pursue short-term goals and make decisions that adversely impact our business in the long-term.

We also need to consider funding options for the new plan. For cash bonuses or other monetary incentives, some of the costs should be offset by the increased revenues that resulted in the bonuses. To maximize this effect, our cash basis incentives need to be matched to measurable, specific increases in or decreases in sales. This may not be enough, however, so other cost reductions may be needed to pay for the program.

Stock awards or stock options are another alternative and have the benefits of not using cash and of encouraging long-term behavior by employees. Shareholders may not like this plan, however, due to the potential dilutive effect on their ownership interests.

We can further discuss these and other ideas in our meeting. I am sure our upcoming conversation will produce a solid plan that both maximizes the positive effects of the incentives while minimizing the costs.”

How badly am I screwed and how can I do better?

FAR 93
AUD 89
REG 81
BEC 87
Ethics 100

Becker 2012 Self-Study

[Mr. Mini]

I stopped reading after your first sentence. You really don't need to practice the written communications. Focus your time and energy on learning the material.

[momto5]

I haven't taken BEC yet – studying for it now. But I think you are doing great! I have not been working on this writing section at all – just skimming over their answers in hopes that I will have some time at the end to review this better. (I need to get through the last 3 chapters in the next 2 weeks, so I have been skipping through the SIMS). While I am good at the mechanics of writing, I don't think I will do too well with the content in a rushed setting like the exam. That worries me.

FAR - 92 (4/27/12)
AUD - 96 (7/17/12)
BEC - 92 (8/30/12)
REG - 91 (11/12/12)

[Mr. Mini]

@mom – Just keep doing whatever you did on your two prior exams. You should have no problem with BEC.

[nfs480]

momto5 – “While I am good at the mechanics of writing, I don't think I will do too well with the content in a rushed setting like the exam. That worries me.”

That's exactly what has me worried. I've always been a good writer and I believe I do a good job at conveying the idea behind what i'm trying to write. But at least with each of these practice essays i've always read the prompt and then just blanked on the technical details around which I want to form my essay.

Also thanks Mini, i'll focus more on the material itself in hopes that on the real exam that will serve me better on that fourth testlet than just working the Becker samples.

FAR 93
AUD 89
REG 81
BEC 87
Ethics 100

Becker 2012 Self-Study

[Whatdidyou]

Technical details don't matter. I don't think you're even graded on technical accuracy at all actually. But even if you are, the best practice for you is to do MCQ's.

I didn't do any of the BEC “sims”. Only practice I did was to make sure I had a couple introductory & goodbye phrases in mind. I did fine.

REG - Passed!!
BEC - Passed
FAR - Passed
AUD - Passed

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[Anonymous]

Learn how to BS through the material… It doesn't have to be technically sound. Just think of something logical, start writing, and go with the flow. If you have any semblance of writing skills, you should be fine.

[Author]

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