[jeff]

NINJA Study Notes, Flashcards, and Audio: https://www.another71.com/products-page/

Wiley Software: https://www.another71.com/wiley-cpa-software/

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[momo5]

Hey guys. I'll be taking the FAR section on May 26th. Do you all suggest I do the REG after it or the AUD section? I've heard that REG has gotten much harder recently. I want to finish the harder exams first, so should I take REG after FAR?

Thanks.

[1examleft]

How to Tackle REG in 2011:

To all of you freaking out about 2011 REG…

I took REG in Oct 2010 after about 100 hours of studying. I felt very rushed throughout the exam and didn’t finish the 2nd simulation. I got a 73. I put in another 100 hours of studying and took REG again in Feb 2011 and passed with an 82. In 2011, I thought there were less long list-type calculations (for example- convert book income to tax income calculation) on the multiple choice and more “theory” questions (for example- will muni bonds be included in taxable income for this company). I thought the research question was more difficult in 2011. On the 2010 exams they basically gave you the search words in the question and you would plug the words in the search box and up popped the answer. Now you have to do some digging. Definitely practice the research on the AICPA site. I wasn’t surprised by any of the task based simulations. I felt comfortable with the research question and 3 sims, the other 2 were on topics I knew of but not in detail. I answered what I could. During the exam, I budgeted 30 minutes for each testlet and 90 minutes for the simulations. I used the full 3 hours. The good news is that there weren’t many changes to REG from 2010 to 2011. I felt like the 2011 REG exam was easier than the 2010 exam I took. I don’t know if it was because I was better prepared or if I received less long calculation questions and wasn't as rushed.

Here’s how I studied things the second time around…

I used the 2010 version of Yaeger CPA Review and the 2011 Wiley book for my Feb 2011 exam. I categorized all of the topics in my head this way: 5 big topics (individual, partnership, corporations, property, gifts & estates) and then business law (many small topics-Yaeger provides condensed notes).

Studying for the 5 big topics:

While I watched the videos I highlighted the sections of the Wiley book that were covered by Phil. After watching all of the videos and struggling through the MCQ’s once I took out a fresh notebook and went through each of the 5 big topics page by page in the Wiley book and wrote in my own condensed words all of the info I highlighted during the videos. Sometimes I just put a numerical example from the text instead of words because the example explained it all. This did not take as long as I thought it would, a few hours for each of the 5 topics (maybe 20-25 hours). Don’t copy the text; just write the gist of the info in a few sentences. Once I had my “master notes” all of the MCQ’s became easy because I remembered an example and I knew right where to find the info in my notes to review before I answered the question. I studied partnerships, corporations, and property the most. Individuals was a matter of memorization and gifts & estates seemed very easy to me.

Studying for the business law section:

During the videos I wrote down the stories and examples that Phil used to explain each topic in the margins of the handout notes. I didn’t read any chapters in Wiley for any of the business law sections except for the new 2011 stuff. I didn’t make any of my own condensed notes either. I just studied the Yaeger handouts and did the MCQs a second time. Because I wrote notes during each video and had to stop the video every 2 minutes, each 1 hour video took me about 1.5-2 hours to get through.

Study tips… planning and following through:

I printed out a blank calendar online and wrote the title of each 1 hour video in the calendar each day. For example on Sunday watch Mod 20 video 1, Monday watch Mod 20 video 2. I watched 1 video everyday (except for my day off every Friday). Yaeger videos are usually about 1 hour long. That was my set schedule that I had to stick to, watch 1 video everyday. I did all of the minimum MCQ’s that Yaeger suggested either on the weekends or if I had time during the week after I finished a video. I also wrote down on my calendar how many hours I studied that night. For example, watched Mod 22 video 2– 1.5 hours, Mod 20 MCQ’s– 1 hour for a total of 2.5 hours that night. Aim for 20 hours of studying each week. Also, aim for an 80% or better on each module of MCQ’s and a 70%-75% on the practice test in the back of the Wiley book.

If I could do it all over again I would… watch the Yaeger videos for a Module, then go back and make my own notes, then do the MCQ’s on my own and really try to understand everything before moving onto another Module. Doing the multiple choice questions are so much easier after you actually understand the topics. I had been doing things backwards. I had been trying to answer the multiple choice questions to learn the topic. If you start the first multiple choice question in the back of a module and can’t figure it out, you don’t know the info well enough to start the MCQ’s. Go back and write or reread your notes. I had many wasted hours struggling through multiple choice questions waiting for things to make sense when I should have been trying to understand the material first. I would also plan on studying 150-200 quality hours over 2-3 months. I know it seems like a lot but that’s how I passed.

I am now studying for FAR and yes I think FAR is still harder then REG for 2011. 15 Yaeger DVDs for FAR versus 10 DVDs for REG- More material for FAR and IFRS hasn't helped cut that down

[Anonymous]

I am taking REG on Friday. It seems everyone says that the sims are hopeless, should I just focus on doing MCQs than and forget studying the sims except maybe a last minute overview on Thursday?

[adampierson1]

From my experience the simulations were a toss up. I took REG the first time in 2010 and scored a 74 thinking that I did not get one answer right on the simulations. I took REG again in 2011 during the first window and scored a 72 after thinking that I nailed the simulations. The first time I took the test in 2011 I had two research questions that I was unable to confidently answer and I feel that I missed both which is why I did not pass. I took REG again April 30th and had very detailed simulations requiring a lot of individual calculations and only one research question (which I made sure to get right); I do not feel that studying additional simulations would have given me any more advantage. I would focus your efforts on the core concepts to make sure you have a strong foundation, but definitely practice the research questions, because as stated above the research questions definitely got harder. Research questions are easy points if you can find the correct statute.

BEC - 84 (expired), 79
AUD - 81 (expired), 90
FAR - 69, 73, 73, 77
REG - 74, 72, 73, 78

[HazeEastwood]

The SIMS are a stab in the dark. You never know what you're going to get.

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

[Accounting Pilot]

Having taken the test on Friday, I agree with adampierson1 and HazeEastwood. Sims are a stab in the dark. Some are relatively “easy” and some are difficult. I would do a few sims to get a feel for them, but focus on core concepts and MC.

Wisconsin Candidate. NTS 450
BEC - 82 AUD - 85
FAR - 83 REG - 71, 86

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain this to me…this question was released by the AICPA.

Robin, a C corporation, had revenues of $200,000 and operating expenses of $75,000. Robin also received a $20,000 dividend from a domestic corporation and is entitled to a $14,000 dividend-received deduction. Robin donated $15,000 to a qualified charitable organization in the current year. What is Robin's contribution deduction?

a. $15,000

b. $14,500

c. $13,900

d. $13,100

Choice “b” is correct.

[jbeans2009]

Can deduct 10% of charitable donation before dividend received deduction. Therefore-200,000 operating income +$20,000 dividend income -75,000 expense is $145,000. B is %10 of that.

[Anonymous]

thank you

[Ruby2]

I almost wish friday was here allready so I could stop worrying about this thing.

Last one I need. However if I fail, I lose FARE 🙁

[Anonymous]

Hi All

I am taking REG this Tuesday. I am using Becker. I took their first practice final exam and these are my results. Kindly analyze. Thanks.

# of Questions # Correct % Correct

Testlet #1 – M/C Questions 24 21 87

Testlet #2 – M/C Questions 24 21 87

Testlet #3 – M/C Questions 24 16 66

Testlet #4 – Simulation 1

“Medical Deductions” Tab 4 3 75

“Casualty Losses” Tab 5 3 60

“Tax Treatments 1” Tab 10 7 70

“Tax Treatments 2” Tab 5 5 100

“Research” Tab 1 0 0

“Tax Issues” Tab 9 7 77

[Anonymous]

The law is 20% or 40% somebody up said its 40%. What is the correct figure?

Are Business structures tested in great numbers?

Anyone using Becker – How you see Becker preparing us for the exam? Thanks.

[kb24]

Business Law is 17-21% and Ethics and Professional Responsibilities is 15-19% for a total of 34-40%. Since a lot of the professional responsibilities section is about legal issues, many people think of that as law.

The CSO lists 6 major topics, one of which is business structures, in the business law section so it's included in the 17-21%. That probably gives you a rough idea of how many questions you'll see, but each test is different.

There've been a number of different opinions about how well Becker prepares you for REG. If you include the ancillary material, I thought it did a decent job on the non tax stuff, but not great on tax. IMO Becker went overboard in what they included as ancillary so you do need to study that material for all topics. Becker does a good job on the tax topics it covers, but I and others had several questions that were on topics barely mentioned or not covered at all. This is the first year I've taken REG so I don't know what it was like in the past. However, other posts have said that the exam has more questions on obscure topics than it did last year so maybe this is a change in focus that Becker hasn't adjusted to as of yet.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your exam.

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

[Anonymous]

@Kb24. Thanks so much for the reply.

[Anonymous]

Another Question – Can somebody tell me how much time I should plan on leaving for the simulations. When I did Becker exam, I completed it with more than 50 minutes early. Any suggestions?

[Author]

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