[khachik2003]

I have no background in tax at all and im studying for REG using becker…needless to say, there is a ton of information and I’m getting scared.

How difficult is the exam? Is it curved like crazy?

[yankeeaccountant]

@kb24,

It was a good evening! Finally! We really needed one. I ate way too much pizza, but a concession I gladly met! It is so fun to be a regular person. My husband was sure happy to have his wife for an evening.

In terms of mcq's-what I didn't articulate was that in comparison to the sims, I felt ok about them. The last testlet being easier isn't a great sign, but I am hoping that since I had that with BEC and FAR that maybe I could still squeak out there. But now, even with another day gone by, I am uneasy about how fast I went through the mcq's. I really kept to the 30 minutes on each testlet. I quickly went over the items I had marked, maybe 10 seconds each. In retrospect, was going that fast the right thing to do? I definitely went through these mcq's faster than BEC. I didn't hold to the 30 minutes at all on that exam. So, I might not be able to trust the count of marked items. OIY. I hate this.

On the sims, I am glad you felt the same way I did on the research tab info. I mean, can the IRC be worded any more confusing? I felt confident that I had found the correct info, but after using what I read, I still felt unsure if I got it right.

Glad to hit Audit. I will enjoy this. Strange as it sounds, but since I just took it in May, It will refresh quickly. I am going to take jeff's advice and not use any lectures or crams. Just hammer mcq's on this. I pulled out my notecards yesterday and started on them.

Oh well, time to get the day started. Still completed exhausted from REG. I just can't get enough sleep.

How is your husband doing? I feel for him, seems like this economy isn't confidence building stuff in the eyes of the small business owner at all. I hope there are better times ahead for him.

Any bites on the job search? I am pulling for you! I am going to dust off my resume and call the recruiter this week, just to get the ball rolling myself.

Have a great day!! Thanks for your confidence in me. 🙂

[greeneyesCPA]

If anyone is interested in discussing regulation topics, please let me know. I am taking the test October 4, and just finished R 1.

FAR Passed
BEC Passed
AUD Passed
REG Passed

[greeneyesCPA]

If anyone is interested in discussing regulation topics, please let me know. I am taking the test October 4, and just finished R1, individual taxation in Becker.

FAR Passed
BEC Passed
AUD Passed
REG Passed

[Loaf]

the thing that makes the reg sims so much harder is the fact that you have to type in the answer…aud i remember the sims were choose the right answer so they were all in front of you and you have to just pick the right one.

[HazeEastwood]

I walked out of most exams feeling like I had performed ok. Non of the test are exactly easy but I left thinking I did well in areas and had my challenges in others. I walked out of REG the first time feeling like I got completely ***** slapped. 2nd time I was far more prepared. First testlet no prob, second testlet nightmare, 3rd testlet nightmare but not as much as the 2nd testlet. SIMs were ridiculous. I just saw a topic that was on my SIMs that was no where in my Wiley book. My staff accountant is taking indivual tax and was talking about this concept and I was like wow it really does exist! It is a remote topic that I doubt any teacher would focus a lot of time on. I don't know what they're thinking when they hit us with those SIMs

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

[yankeeaccountant]

I agree with you Loaf and Haze. The sims were nuts. I think they did me in. I had read posts that people felt that they didn't really know what was being asked in the sim……I initially thought that was a wacky comment, until I experienced the same thing myself. Who writes these things???

Well, for me, it is a roll of the dice….AICPA dice that is. I am going to stay positive otherwise I will make my husband and family crazy.

[kb24]

@yankee

I felt the same way as you prior to REG about other people's comments when I saw so many complaints about poorly worded questions. I hate to say it, but I thought they were either exaggerating or griping because they hadn't studied enough. When I took REG, though, I was rudely awakened as to how right they were by the first two MCQ. That seemed to get better as I went thru the MCQ, but then came the SIMS. The IRC is already almost impossible for normal people to understand so I guess the examiners felt the need to word the questions just as badly. They probably got former IRS agents to write them.

As to the questions in your earlier post, things seemed to have calmed down a little bit for my husband, but it's not great. Part of the problem is that he is one of 7 partners, but only he and one other are willing to handle the business details and the other guy's been on vacation. The others aren't interested except for the impact on their bottom line which they complain about constantly. The job search isn't going great either. I've submitted lots of applications but have either been rejected without an interview or haven't heard back at all. Perseverance is the key, I know, so I'll just keep at it.

I hope that you've recovered from REG and that AUD is going well.

FAR 4/1/11 - 89
AUD 4/15/11 - 85
REG 4/29/11 - 80
BEC 5/13/11 - 85

[khachik2003]

@kb24

the market is extremely poor, especially here in California. I'm currently in an internship that will end soon and who knows if they will keep me though I'm sincerely hoping they do. Wages are down, unemployment is up, and 30-somethings are applying for jobs that should've been for new graduates.

On a side note, anybody use the wiley online and/or ninja notes? I'm thinking of buying both for all sections for a total of $200. You think it would be worth it? I have the becker books (no lectures) and the wiley books so far.

[yankeeaccountant]

@khachik2003,

I think the Wiley test bank is great. I started to use it more this year and it has proven to be effective for me. For myself, I seem to memorize the Becker questions fairly quickly, so working them too often is counterproductive. Not sure about the Ninja notes. I read through them only once in my review. I feel like I need to use my own notes for review for the best results. I had gotten them as part of my membership on Club 75, so I didn't pay for them directly. They did seem like they were very comprehensive.

best of luck with reg!!!

[yankeeaccountant]

@kb24,

Glad to hear from you. Been thinking about you and your husband. Especially with this see saw market we have been having. This kind of market does no favors for the small businessman. Hang on to your seatbelts…probably going to be bumpy for a bit. I feel like people are over analyzing the Fed's intention to keep rates fairly low until 2012…it just adds to the movement. I was sure glad to see an upward swing today. Ok, enough of that!

Seven partners. That is no easy feat. Especially when all they are concerned about is the bottom line. I wish him the best on that one.

I am sorry that you haven't found anything yet. But like I have said before, you just need one. One interview, one employer to offer you that perfect fit. It will come. I will look at it this way: the right company hasn't found YOU yet. They will. It won't be long before I jump in with you on the job hunt. I, of course, have been sidetracked and haven't called the recruiter yet. It is on my list for next week. My sister who is back in Chicago, lost her job in March. It is funny because she seems to be unhappy that she keeps getting “bong” emails…..my experience from the last 5 years has been that I send out a zillion resumes and get nothing back. That is maddening….and bad manners to boot. I will tell you a funny story, before I found the last job I had, I was frustrated that I had sent out so many resumes. I finally got a reply. I was thrilled. It was a perfect job. It was an accounting position at a bank (I have many years working at a bank -Controller, Asst Controller, etc) so the tasks were things I knew about: call reports, financial statements, interest rate risk..etc. Yahoo!. So, I called the number and we started to talk. She was very nice and very happy to find someone with prior experience , and then she said, but so you are ok with moving then, right? We are located in Minnesota. UGH. I was so excited that I finally got a callback that I didn't pay attention to the state. I was crushed…but it wasn't more than 2 weeks that I got the next reply and that was the job I took. Ok, shame on me for going on. You are right, perserverance is key.

Audit is going very slow. I am just doggin it this week. I have been doing alot to help my mother in law with Gramps. We are trying to find a new doctor for him. So, I have been sending out communications to all the siblings so that they are on the same page. This is helpful to me and my husband because my mother in law seems to forget everything we discuss. So, this saves me time repeating things to all of them. And then I send my mother in law a copy so she can reread it when she needs to! I think my husband needed me to do this. He was just like a deer in headlights on this latest development. I hate to see Gramps struggle, I know that he is cognizant that he is not right and that makes him more irritable, and my mother in law too. I just made a cup of tea, so I am going to get right back to Audit. I am making a pact with myself to hit it hard tomorrow as well. I have to say that some things have made more sense. Crossing my fingers.

Wow, I have been a chatty kathy lately. Sorry for the long post. Hope you are starting to cool off in Texas! Have a good weekend.

[Anonymous]

I was doing some of the Sims on Wiley Software and find them a bit ridiculous!! There's a lot of questions that go beyond what Yaeger covers. I've been studying so hard and I'm at the point where I can tackle almost any MCQ thrown at me, but when I look at the software's Sims, I'm stumped!! Is the actual exam like that?? If so, I don't know if I'm going to pass this section. I feel so demoralized.

[khachik2003]

As long as you score comparable on the sims, youll be fine.

[vi3tdragen]

how is the job market for a new CPA in California? Do they make good money start out?

[yankeeaccountant]

@cpaman,

take a deep breath. it sounds like you have been incredibly detailed in your studying approach. that should be a confidence booster. overall, the sims are extremely difficult. There is no other way to put it, sorry, I don't want to sugar coat things for you. I felt that the mcq's were mostly things that I had gone over—there is always a couple of questions in each testlet that are out of the ordinary—but the sims were out of left field. I had one where I had no idea what the question was asking. I did the best I could, but I am sure I bombed that one. In comparison to BEC and FAR, I felt like I could work through the sims with more confidence.

I agree with jeff in that there is no way to really prepare for the sims. his thinking that the mcq's will be the best thing to help prepare.

keep your chin up, you shouldn't let the exam have you feeling demoralized. I also think that your mindset is an important factor in taking these exams. you have some great scores on FAR and AUD, so have confidence that you are halfway there and have been quite successful thus far. whatever you are doing now to prepare, keep it going!!

Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

I must've been lucky when I took FAR. I did have difficult Sims on that exam, but it was on topics that I studied. They were challenging, but they weren't out of left field. When I took AUD, my Sims were out of left field. I thought they were ridiculous, especially my research question (which you'd think would be the easiest). I can't believe in REG, they give difficult Sims. I don't know how people get through this exam. It looks like it's impossible. I've been studying like crazy, but something tells me that I'm going to have a score that will look like I didn't open a book. And what's worse is that I'm at the point where I feel like I've overstudied for this exam and at the same time, I don't feel prepared at all. Ugh!!! This is a nightmare.

[Author]

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