REG struggles… suggestions of Becker replacements???

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    Topic
  • #1306035
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Is anyone else so done with Becker???? I am studying for REG and am on Chapter 3 HW for C-Corps (which is 156 questions)… not only has it taken me ~4 hours….but half of the questions are 1) not covered by the lecture 2) ARE NOT PHYSICALLY IN THE BOOK. As a result, I am only getting around a 70% WITH THE BOOK OPEN. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what study materials to perhaps switch over to? After having this same issue with FAR (and as a result, having no strong basis in what was important/memorizing all these RANDOM facts that didn’t show up on my exams…), I want to look into other options.

    EX: In which of the following situations will a controlled foreign corporation located in Ireland be deemed to have subpart F income?
    a.
    Property is produced in Ireland by the Irish company and sold outside its country of incorporation.
    b.
    Property is bought from the controlled foreign corporation’s U.S. parent and is sold by an Irish company for use in an Irish manufacturing plant.
    c.
    Services are provided by an Irish company in England under a contract entered into by its U.S. parent.
    d.
    Services are performed in Ireland by the Irish company under a contract entered into by its U.S. parent.
    Explanation
    Choice “c” is correct. Subpart F income is taxable income includable by a U.S. taxpayer from a controlled foreign corporation. It generally includes income that has no economic connection to the country of origin. This choice describes subpart F income, because the contract is entered into by the U.S. parent and has no economic connection to Ireland.
    Choices “a”, “d”, and “b” are incorrect, because all of these transactions do have an economic connection to Ireland.

    WHERE WAS THERE EVER ANYTHING ON SUBPART F INCOME??? Ok sorry, psycho rant over. But this is ridiculous.

     
    “becker-cpa-review”/
     

Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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  • #1306053
    C / X
    Participant

    I passed Reg using Rog and Ninja. I liked Rog for emphasizing material like a hammer over the head and being funny about it and explaining the BASICS pretty easily (FOR REG anyway) It was great prep for MCQ's And before you walk you got to learn to crawl… That's my mindset anyway.

    I'm pretty sure you can buy piece by piece (even if it is more expensive in some ways) so you might want to do that for all the ones that you don't like as you still can use Becker (or maybe use it as a supplement).

    I liked Ninja book and MCq's for a supplement as with Roger he takes out most of the extras (so you either need to know it or you ain't gonna pass bubba) and I'm more of a safe bet kind of girl (but I wasn't willing to have too much material like Gliem, Wiley, etc seem to do).

    Ninja MCQ's and Sims were really good for the Sim portion of the exam. Whatever review course you use is what you make of it of course.

    #1306084
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Yeah… Same here pretty sick of becker at this point. I'm also studying for REG and have been watching some of the Rogers videos, mainly for parts that Becker doesn't explain well. It's defintely worth it, I found it easier to pay attention to and also he is great at explaining the stuff. I wouldn't recommend completely switching over to another software but yeah supplementing Becker with Ninja or Roger might be helpful.

    Also totally feel you on that C-corp HW (156 questions) it was beyond frustrating and scored in 60s on it lol. Tax is brutal.

    #1306101
    RE2PECT
    Participant

    I just finished going through all of Roger's lectures and reading the book. He has some great mnemonics for individual tax that help you remember all the deductions For and From AGI. I didn't do many mcq's as I went along because I just wanted to get through everything and leave myself enough time to focus mostly on them.

    I just went back and started working on individual tax mcq's and I'm getting hammered on them! It's not that I feel lost, but there's so many little things that can trip you up. I have exactly one month to hit the mcq's and sims hard and I'm hoping it's enough time.

    FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
    AUD: 73, 81
    BEC: 71, retake 8/29
    REG:

    #1306120
    mtaylo24
    Participant

    LOL OP is mad AF! You can seriously expect the same with any program and it can be aggravating. That's why you shouldn't place too much stock into the text. Many candidates cut it out altogether.

    AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
    REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
    BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
    FAR - (8/16)

    #1306125
    WANT2BTXCPA
    Participant

    I'm using Becker as well. But while I am listening to the lectures, I'm placing more emphasis on the MCQ's. I'm doing them now, and during final review, I will go back and drill the MCQ's and write down what I'm missing, and the explanation of why I'm missing it. I wouldn't get too caught up on it now. If you're making 70% your first go, I think you're doing pretty well.

    #1306131
    Olintos Apprentice
    Participant

    I don't really think it is fair to write-off a study program because of some “odds and ends” type questions. I also thought the Ireland subpart F income question was really stupid, but some questions just serve to make you aware/exposed to stuff. Nail down the main concepts and be familiar with the peripheral stuff. If you get lost in the weeds on FAR and REG they will swallow you whole. I don't know the first thing about any other programs but you can pass these exams with Becker. Buckle down here and trust the process.

    FAR: 89, 2/29/16
    AUD: 97, 5/9/16
    BEC: 92, 6/10/16
    REG: October 2016

    #1306138
    Spartans92
    Participant

    @olintos apprentice, please give me some advice on how to score a 75 on Audit. LOL.

    BEC- PASS

    #1306159
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    It's definitely frustrating but this is how you learn the material. It took me ages to get through the homework for C-corps too, but now during my review it's easy because I learned it the first time through. If the book covered every single detail of tax and business law it would be thousands of pages long. The book is meant to be a summary.

    In terms of “having no strong basis in what was important/memorizing all these RANDOM facts that didn’t show up on my exams”…that's the nature of the test. You have to learn a huge amount of material and only a handful of it shows up on your exam. That isn't Becker's fault, it's just the way it is. If you think it's bad now wait til you get to BEC.

    #1306170
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I used the Wiley book and Ninja MCQs to pass the Reg section. Also, I had 10 tax seasons under my belt so that didn't hurt.

    #1306314
    bhunt815
    Participant

    I passed them all using Becker so I of course think it's a good product. I just assumed that if Becker didn't bother teaching a certain thing, it must mean that it wasn't tested very often. I didn't put in anywhere close to the 200 hours studying per section that some claim and I passed with Becker. I think it's a pretty comprehensive review, but we all learn differently. Go with your gut and try something new if you think it will help.

    FAR 04/11/2016 - 84
    AUD 05/12/2016 - 79
    BEC 07/06/2016 - 81
    REG 08/29/2016

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