[Accounting123]

I am trying to schedule for the REG exam. I would love to get it done as soon as possible. Preferably 4-5 weeks. Do you think that this is doable?

Can you please provide me with information about how long it took you to study and what materials you used.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I did the REG exam to fulfill requirements of IQEX (Irish Chartered accountant so only had to do one exam).
Hi,
I did the REG exam to fulfill requirements of IQEX (Irish Chartered accountant so only had to do one exam).
I studied for 4.5 weeks whilst working full time and took one day off at the weekend (3-4 hours a day and 8 hours on the weekend day that I studied). I did the exam last month and passed with an 81 so it can be done.
I think each individual is different but my circumstances makes me believe that most people should be able to pass in that time frame if they commit to it
i) I am Irish and have no back ground in US taxes or company law / ethics so it was all new material to me. I did not have the benefit of covering some of the material in college.
ii) I hadn’t done an exam since 2003 so had to get back into the study mode again
iii) I did my training contract in audit so no practical work experience in taxation

I used Wiley for my course review and then 3 days before the exam I got the Ninja package and did all of the MCQ questions.

I found Wiley useful for a few reasons. Lectures for business law and ethics are broken down into small sections and the material is reviewed quickly. This allowed me to do lectures in all kinds of places on my phone (planes, toilet etc so you can steal study time). However I do believe that I would not have passed if I had not done the NINJA MCQS. Given that the MCQs are 50% of the exam I think you need to score strongly in that section.
– If you do opt for Wiley I recommend that you put in your exam date 3 /4 days before your actual exam so that you have time to go through stuff again and work through NINA MCQs as you go through the material (you can set up custom MCQs and pick the relevant section that you want to cover).
– The non tax material is easier to get through so if possible you should try and complete that study faster than the exam calendar suggestion and allow more time for tax as I slipped a couple of days on that.
– I found the Wiley tax material to be a little more boring to go through and the lectures slow. If the lecturer could talk faster that would have been helpful

My biggest exposure area going into the exam was that I hadn’t done any SIMs of note outside of the end of section pieces in Wiley so I felt under prepared in that and I was hit and miss on the research question. In the Wiley questions I would get some correct and some wrong even though I was in the right section of the literature so you need to know how to correctly document the correct sections.
I also took a chance on a few sections not coming up e.g. not really studying MACRs tables, AMT beyond watching the lecture. I would not recommend that.

Good luck!!

[BlessedCPA]

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[Anonymous]

I did reg this quarter and studied for 5 weeks, so yes I definitely think it's doable depending on your circumstances. I will caveat by saying that I studied full time, around 40-50 hours per week. I also just recently finished my Master's degree, so some of the tax material was fresh, but I am by no means a tax person– going into audit. I ended up scoring a 98.

I used Becker for my study materials. I had a couple of sims that really caught me off guard because they weren't really covered in Becker in detail, which made me feel AWFUL leaving the testing center. I'm assuming one of those was pre-test. Overall, I felt Becker prepared me pretty well!

It took me about 2 weeks to get through the material the first time, then I spent about 2 weeks reviewing. My last week I did mock exams and a ton of multiple choice questions.

[Accounting123]

@badasset

Wow you did amazing. CONGRATS! I am trying to do pretty much the same thing that you did and I am using Becker too. I just have a couple of questions. How did you go through the material in Becker? I am trying to get through all of the videos first, and then go back and do the multiple choice and actually study the material, but I do not know if that is the most effective way.

How did you do on the actual exam versus the mock exam? and also, was there anyway to prepare for the SIMS that caught you off guard? I am also going through Becker but there are so many specifics in regards to phase-outs above AGI and a lot of other numbers. Do you happen to have any advice in regards to all of the very specific information?

Sorry for all of the questions and I appreciate all of your help.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much! Definitely glad to have it under my belt.

I was super methodical in my approach for REG after a lot of trial-and-error with FAR haha. Essentially, I did everything within Becker. I would listen to the lecture/take notes in the book. Then, I would go back through and take notes by hand in a spiral. Then I would do the skills practice. After skills, I made notecards for each module and then immediately went into MCQ and did them until I hit 100% on each module. Rinse & repeat for each module, then complete the sims for each chapter and wrap up with a progress test at the end of each. This is the part that took about 2-2.5 weeks.

For my review, I went back through each module and reread, typed notes, and redid MCQ and Skills for each. Then I also redid the sims and began doing a 200-question progress test per day 2-weeks out. I did the first mock 7 days before my test, and the second mock 3 days before. I also did the AICPA sample test, which was somewhat helpful. I did so many MCQ the week before, but I hit a point where I had just memorized them so I really began drilling my notes for every spare detail.

For those 2 sims I got, truly no great advice. They probably won't show up on your test. I try to trust that Becker really does their homework with what is tested. It worked out for me point-wise although it definitely shook my confidence. Seriously, one HAD to have been pre-test.

I got an 86 and a 90 on my mock exams for REG. Like you, I was stressed about the phase-outs and credit calculations and whatnot. I completely didn't bother learning about 95% of the phase-outs. I did learn the credit calculations, but I really don't think I got a single MCQ requiring me to know either… that could vary with tests though.

Hope that helps!! Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Anonymous]

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[lizardh7]

@badasset thank you so much! I just have reg left and take it in a few weeks. I am quit nervous as I have an audit background, and got a C in my tax class in college…plus i failed REG back in May with a 69. I have becker as well. I appreciate your study methods you shared!!

[Accounting123]

@badasset that was very helpful thank you!!!! I may have more questions as I continue studying, and attempting to pass this next exam. But everything you said really was so helpful!!!!

[Anonymous]

@Accounting123 @lizardh7 you guys got this! 🙂

[Author]

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