[whitesoxfancpa]

I will start studying for REG in about a week. I am using Becker. I see on their website that there is nine pages of tax updates. Most of it is different numbers from year to year, such as phaseouts, the IRS mileage rate, etc.

How do you study for REG with all of these changes? Do you go through your review book and cross out like 200 numbers and correct them? What about the practice questions, are those out of date as well? If so many tax numbers change each year for inflation or another reason, are any REG books ever to date, and do the examiners ask questions where these changes have to be applied?

Or do the examiners NOT get that picky/technical, and any changes aren’t going to be tested in that kind of detail?

Please give me some advice on this! I have this nightmare thought in my head that all the lectures and practice questions are going to be wrong!

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[Anonymous]

This will be of limited help – per the Becker site the software for MC questions are sometimes updated. If you go the Becker site you can update your software. I did this for another section.

Warning: From a comment on the site – I am not sure all changes are updated.

[Anonymous]

PS

Can you post what you end up doing? The rest of us would like to know. Thanks!

[potatogun]

This will be relevant to me soon enough as well…

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[Anonymous]

As long as you already have the 2010 Becker software/books, I wouldn't worry too much about the updates on the website. i didn't pay that much attention to them and still scored a 90 on the actual exam. What I do for all of the exams is as follows:

1. Before I start studying, I load all the Becker questions/lectures from the appropriate CD onto Passmaster

2. Then I go to the Becker updates page and download the software update for that section

3. Then, before I read through each chapter, I go to each chapter's update (if there is one) and only make the changes (by marking it in the book) that they put up for the text itself. I usually skip the changes for the m.c. questions and I also skip the supplemental changes info.

So basically, I start each section with the updates on the software and as I go through reading the chapters, I write the changes for the chapter I'm on in the actual book.

In terms of memorizing phaseouts, I didn't pay attention to people who said not to memorize them…and so I spent time on that which was a big waste!! They generally don't test on specific phaseouts unless it's so important that you'd probably know it anyways. If they do have questions regardings phaseouts, the question usually includes a hypothetical phaseout that they provide for you.

***Please note that I studied using the 2010 software/book so most of the important changes from 2009 were already included in what I received. Don't take my advice if you have an earlier edition of Becker!!

[potatogun]

Thanks for the info. How long ago did you take REG? I am taking it end of August, but I am sure what you mentioned still applies.

Hope your FAR test went well!

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[Anonymous]

Oops, gotta update my info…haven't actually taken FAR yet. I'm smack in middle of studying for it right now. I had been planning on taking it the middle of July but I'll actually be taking it the first week of August. potatogun- I see you did quite well on FAR. Any tips?

I took REG the end of April. (I'm going to see if all of my testing dates will fit in my signature so that anyone reading my posts will have a time-frame to reference!) I ended up getting my score the day before my AUD exam the end of May. I actually went into the exam feeling unprepared, as I only had about a day and a half for review. One suggestion to everyone- make sure for all exams to leave at least 2 days of review!! I ended up skipping a chapter in REG to review because I had done so well on it the first time around on the m.c. questions…well, it turned out that since i didn't review it, i didn't remember it so well and I got about 6-7 questions all centered on the same principle! I came home and checked those questions and realized I got them all wrong. And sure enough, on my score report (my state gives one whether or not you pass/fail), that section was the only one I scored “weaker” on–all of the other topics, I scored “stronger” by at least 10 points!

[potatogun]

Thanks for the update. Looks like you did perfectly well on REG regardless of that.

For FAR I would just say repetition is key. I used Becker so all the memory tools were helpful. Know your pensions; know your consolidations; know your non-monetary exchanges; and government too.

Government is where I did the worse (though still comparable). FAR was my first test and I didn't necessarily feel “comfortable” but I did feel like I was familiar (or aware) of all the topics when I flipped through the book again. I suppose with three tests under your belt you should have a better idea of when you think you've retained enough of the information.

The trouble with FAR is just the amount of material that is tested in bits and pieces, not necessarily in a concentration! Anyways good luck. I'm sure you will be fine if you have the time to put into studying.

FAR 92 - AUD 91 - REG 94 - BEC 86

[whitesoxfancpa]

Thanks, Bakagal. That's kind of what I was thinking would be the response; that the phaseouts, etc. would either be given in the question or would not be tested. I figured it would be cruel and unusual punishment for the examiners to expect people to know all the numbers that changed a couple percent for 2010.

AUD 96 FAR 95 REG 94 BEC 88

[Author]

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