[Anonymous]

For anyone who uses Becker and took or is taking REG in 2011, please respond.

Is it me, or do the REG simulations on the exam seem rediculously difficult and hardly represent anything provided as study material in Becker? I took REG in 2010 and received a 71 as I had not mastered basis. I then took it in Jan 2011 and received a 70 as the simulations were absurd and now worth 40% with no writing. I just took it again today, and the multiple choice were increasingly difficult, which is good, and I felt good overall. Then the simulations came. I obviously won’t disclose any info, but I will say that of the tabs that were provided, 1 was utterly impossible, 1 was really difficult, and the other was based on a concept for which was covered in Becker by an entire sentence. The research was also rediculous and for the first time, I couldn’t find what they were asking for. I’m not saying Becker is bad; it helped me pass AUD, FAR, and BEC. Does anyone know if the simulations are graded in pure black and white, or is there partial credit (i.e. Giving a list of items to calculate, say 5, and you calculate everything but 1. Do you miss the whole answer or do you get partial credit?) This is kind of an open ended vent of frustration. I feel I studied my ass off and still feel like crap. I did feel very well on 3 of the tabs, so I guess that is good.

[Anonymous]

I agree with kb24. The wording and setup for the sims was very difficult to understand. I find that I used most of my time in the sims figuring out what they want in each cell and less on the topic at hand…ver frustrating!! The one tab I literally stared at for 1/2 an hour. I knew the concept and what they were testing on, but the application was nearly impossible to determine, especially under time constraints!

[pshustler]

I take this exam 5/31 and the more I read on here the more nervous I get.

BEC - 86
AUD - 94
REG - 88
FAR - 89

[Zizoty]

Same here pshustler. From reading these posts, it seems like we cant really prepare for SIMS.

AUD - 83 Feb11
REG - 75 May11
BEC - 73 July11 84 Oct11
FAR - 63 Aug11 76 Feb12 I'M DONE!!!!!

[Anonymous]

I don't mean to worry anyone!

Without giving anything away, all I can say is that for maybe 2 of the tabs on the sims, you should have enough in the Becker study course to prepare you (not fully, but give you a good head start). As for the others, you would either have to have a few years of tax experience or think outside the box on complex topics and create scenarios in which you feel could be asked in a simulation form. I will say that using Becker more than prepares you for the multiple choice! I actually got a multiple choice question on the test that was ancillary material in Becker of which 5 practice questions were provided! With REG, maybe more than any other part, it seems ancilarry material is popular, especially if you get a difficult testlet. Good luck to everyone!!!

[w00dyallen]

@ pshustler

I just took the REG portion today.

Without giving away any details, I found the MCQ to be about what I expected. And I feel very confident on how I did on them. HOWEVER……. the sims leave a lot to be desired.

The best advice I can give anyone (regardless of Wiley, Becker, etc) is to give yourself AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE to complete the simulations. Don't waste your time checking your answers to the MCQ's. You will need to use that time in the sims.

It's not that I think the sims are too hard…… but the level of detail they go into is unprecedented. All the info you need is at your finger tips, but trying to find something in the IRC or setting up a spreadsheet in that shitty spreadsheet program they give you will take forever.

Good luck!!! But, if you budget your time correctly, you won't even need it!!!

[wedger]

hello all-I am using Becker…i currently seem to struggle most with R-5 & R-6…the rest of the chapters I seem relatively confident with but commercial paper, documents of title etc topics i seem to really screw up for some reason. I know this is just one small area within the whole book, but am I looking for trouble with this assuming i don't get a grasp here come exam time?

thank you.

FAR-Passed

REG-May 24

BEC-July 12

AUD-Aug 30

[Anonymous]

I am taking REG on Monday. I slacked on my studying, this is my last part and I lost momentum. I'm reviewing everything, doing MCQ's etc all weekend and praying I've retained enough information in the last few weeks. My question on the SIMS is if there's a research tab where we can access the IRC like for the research question. I had this on FAR and AUD, so I'm hoping it's there for REG in case I forget how to treat something…?

[Anonymous]

@cathie: Yes, there is a research tab on the SIMS! Good Luck on your exam!!! 🙂

[Anonymous]

Yes, the IRC is available when you do the SIMS, but I wouldn't rely on it. I took REG last window and thought I could use the IRC to help me if I forgot how to apply a rule, but it took me so long to look for the information, and it took me so long to read it all and try to understand it, that it really didn't help that much. I think if you are familiar with how the IRC is organized and good at using it for research, then maybe it can help, otherwise I wouldnt count on it.

[Zizoty]

Just got back from the exam and here's my take on it. MCQ questions are pretty much like the one in Wiley. Sims are nothing like the one in Wiley because of the detail they want. For research question, you have to read it like a million times to understand what they want. One thing that helped me to answer the research question is to use quotation mark in the search. Manage your time wisely because you will need it for the SIM. I allocated 1hr 20mins and used every second of it. Dont leave any questions blank and do the easiest SIM first to get you going.

AUD - 83 Feb11
REG - 75 May11
BEC - 73 July11 84 Oct11
FAR - 63 Aug11 76 Feb12 I'M DONE!!!!!

[Vern]

I just got back as well. I must have had an easier test, because I thought the test was fair. My sims were ok, nothing that I wasn't prepared for. I used the Yaegar cram and it helped out. You could never be certain about these, but it wasn't that bad.

Audit Passed
FAR Passed
REG Passed
BEC ??

[Anonymous]

took the exam today. I used Becker and while the first testlet was a complete breeze, the second testlet got significantly more difficult. There were a few items that I felt were not mentioned at all within the book.

As for the sims, I felt that at least my exam wasn't as difficult. I felt pretty prepared to answer them all (hope this doesn't mean I did poorly in testlets 2 and 3!)

And a tip for the research: I've taken FAR and AUD already and was able to figure out the research pretty easily playing with the advanced search feature, but I felt REG was more difficult to search for (search function doesn't work to search for figures and percents and things like that).

I found it much easier to simply navigate through the table of contents on the left column by subject. The titles are pretty self explanatory to figure out what you're looking for.

[Nbkna2c]

what's everybody committing to memory on captial cost recovery? What classes of property? I'm a little on overload and needed a little help. Thanks. Good luck to you all . I'm going in on Friday!!

BEC 78
REG 84
AUD 76
FAR 83

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info on the sims. Ironically, I like the sim part of the exams better than the MCQs- is that weird? We'll see how I feel after today though.

I'm a nervous wreck! I thought took FAR first thinking it was the “hardest” of them all, but I think that the numerous accounting classes I've had prepared me better just through repetition- certain things were second nature. Having only 2 tax classes in my life and only 1 biz-law 2-3 years ago, this was like learning to walk all over again. I regret saving it for last because I think I'm losing steam. Oh well, I'll give it my best. I don't feel very prepared- I'm getting anywhere from 60-90% on my practice quizzes- that's a very broad spectrum. Ugh! We'll see how it goes. I'm hoping the light at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train. I just want to be done!

[pshustler]

I agree Cathie. REG has been the most difficult for me as Ive only had a few tax classes and business law about 5 years ago. I didnt have much AUD either but AUD was more concept than calculation.

I'm cramming one more week and then going in for REG. Im already nervous. Hearing these horror stories on the SIMS has me concerned. My experience is very limited to construction accounting and no tax work.

BEC - 86
AUD - 94
REG - 88
FAR - 89

[Author]

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