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Hi everyone,

I need some advice on changing my CPA study strategy. I am studying using Becker which I received for free from my Big 4. I took audit and found out that I failed with a 61 last night. I am slated to take FAR on 9/6 and I don’t think I will pass.

I think that I am not clicking with the Becker Method. I do not have a strong background in accounting (it’s my second career) and I have taken my courses in a piecemeal fashion over the past few years to obtain the coursework necessary to get a job. I know that there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge of fundamental accounting concepts.

My impression of Becker is such that it seems to be an excellent “review” tool for those that have a stronger background in accounting. Maybe it is better suited for students who just completed an undergrad or masters degree program in accounting. I find that when I am attempting a topic I have never seen before in Becker, I gain very little from the material provided. For instance, I never took Government Acct. I find Becker’s treatment of this topic to be horrific. I don’t find the lectures useful as it seems it is just Tim/Peter telling me to highlight certain items and underline other items. I also find Tim and Peter from Becker to be insufferable in general.

Since my foundation in the material is weak, I regularly score in the 40-50% in homework. Sure the explanations are helpful, but I feel that the explanations help me understand that specific question but don’t help generally.

My overall strategy has been to follow Becker’s process. I do the lecture, review the material and then do the questions.

I need some help determining a better way to study since my scores indicate that this is not working for me.

I also found Roger CPA on youtube and felt that he “teaches” material as opposed to “reviewing” the highlights. Are there any Roger users out there who can attest to his course being more about teaching the principles of the topics?

Are there any programs that teach the principles well? I am open to using a different program as Becker was free and I don’t find it to be well suited to my style.

I truly appreciate any help as I continue this process.

Thank You!

[CPYay]

I use Roger. But I also have a degree in Accounting and work as an Accountant. With that said…

Roger is very engaging. He does go very quickly, which required me to pause and rewind a lot to grasp some concepts. I supplement his videos and books with Ninja notes and MCQ.

Before diving into more materials… you need to ask yourself a few questions:

How am I using Becker? Am I following their recommended schedule? Is the schedule an issue?
What is my learning style? Do I prefer auditory? Visual? Hands-on?
How much time can I dedicate per day?

Also, make sure you aren't just jumping into MCQs before you've read text or watched videos. You need to have a foundation before you attempt the questions. I jumped into questions too early and was suffering. I went back and rewrote notes for a week and saw my scores increase 10-15%.

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