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CPA Candidate, Who Hasn’t Taken a Single Exam, Is Already Freaking Out

Side note: I’ve never seen anyone use double periods in a sentence like this..So it goes without saying that the following has been edited and please, don’t do that on BEC. Here’s a tip: if you are looking for more written communication practice, try it on lazy, F-bomb-obsessed bloggers or even in emails to your mom. That’s all the AICPA is looking for; you don’t even have to be correct, just on topic. They make up 15% of your BEC score so get in the habit of pretending like random communications are being graded by a machine. It’s an undervalued commodity in your professional lubmission from the mailbag was close to correct (a beginning, a middle and an end, somewhat on topic) but needed a little work to be aesthetically pleasing to the CPA exam robots. Working on our emails would be a good supplement to whatever CPA review materials you bought, and I don’t say that to be mean.

Adrienne,

I am just about to begin the grueling process of the CPA exam..

I have been debating whether to take BEC or FAR first before starting work in July. Because I have more time to study now than I will for future tests I want to take the hardest one first. For me I feel like this will be BEC because this seems like it has the most new material and I did pretty well in Intermediate accounting. However it sounds like no matter how much studying some people do, they just can’t get prepared for BEC because it has recently changed. Should I just play it safe and use all this time I have to get prepared for FAR or should I take a shot at BEC?

Also, my firm only supplies me with Gleim self study books. Have people done alright on BEC with just these? How should I supplement these?

Sincerely,

Already freaking out

First, stop freaking out. You haven’t even started yet. Start and then let me know if you are still freaking out. You might like it. Get words like “grueling” out of your head now but you’re more than welcome to pull it out later if your experience proves to be exactly that. Until then, try to stay neutral on how much of pain the next 6 months – 2+ years of your life will be.

Second, we’ve discussed CPA review plenty, you can check the CPAnet forums for comments from actual review students who are taking whatever you bought or are looking at buying and any combination thereof. My experience has been that BEC is pretty hit or miss and that no review course covers it in as thorough detail as FAR, AUD or REG. That doesn’t mean they don’t do that section well, it just means I tend to hear the most complaints across the board regarding various review courses’ inability to truly cover BEC.

Don’t blame that on the new exam; that complaint goes back several years. It isn’t fair to compare the last version of computerized testing (CBT 2004 – 2010) to this one (CBT-e) as they are different exams, it’s too early to judge whether review courses and candidates promptly catch up to the new material, along with the AICPA. They have been clear about this being an improving work in progress for 2011, therefore it would be equally unfair to make a call at this time. Don’t say everything is “because of the change” as if you’re a Boy Scout with a flashlight under your face trying to scare everyone around the campfire. Was it this bad when the exam went from paper and pencil to blips on a screen and digital fingerprints?

Third, don’t get high on study drugs while studying for BEC or you might really be freaking out.

I always tell candidates to start with the section that will be hardest for you as that’s when your 18 month timeframe begins so your plan sounds good. If you bomb a section a few times, the clock isn’t ticking. Of course, this also leads to procrastination if you continuously bomb, which is an entirely different problem. Not to make you freak out.

Is a 73 on BEC Worth a Rescore?

Though this week is a little different, you are still welcome to email me directly with CPA exam questions so they don’t get lost in the editorial mix. Especially good questions like this one:

Adrienne,

Never thought I’d get to this point, but I’m a heavy senior who has yet to pass the CPA exam. Granted, I also haven’t TAKEN all the parts of the exam, but that’s not why I’m writing.

I took BEC in the 3rd testing window of 2011, and failed by 2 points. Two lousy points. To make it even worse, I didn’t receive my score notice until October 5, so it was difficult to just take it again quickly before I forget all those things I so diligently learned.

But it said that my writing section was strong. Is there any hope in having a positive result if I contest the exam? Is it possible to get two more points out of a strong writing section? It’s $150 to contest, or just $225 to retake…. but retaking of course involves re-studying which makes me want to crawl in a hole and die. Dramatic? Yes. Accurate? Insanely so.

Anyways, any help you and/or the readers of Going Concern can provide me would be greatly appreciated!

First, “Heavy Senior,” no judgments. While it’s generally in your best interest to knock this puppy out as early as you can, we realize life happens. The important part is you’re doing it now.

Second, forget a rescore. I mean completely forget such a thing even exists because even though you can technically request one, it is NEVER going to turn out in your favor. In the four years I worked in CPA review, I never once heard of a successful rescore, and as far as I know, it’s been even longer since one actually turned out in the candidate’s favor. Think about it… if the AICPA had to admit its precious highly-guarded psychometric scoring system was (gasp!) flawed, how many candidates would cry foul?! Isn’t going to happen.

My third point, however, is the one that should keep you out of that hole you want to crawl into and die. Here’s the good news: you got a 73 on BEC! Do you realize how many candidates need at least 4 attempts on BEC to get anywhere near that? Just a little bit more studying and you’ll nail it. I realize this is not much to get excited over but it’s something, and let’s be real about it, you don’t have much to go on here.

My last little item here is that you don’t get bonus points for writing a really, REALLY good essay. God, it pains me to say that – feeling like the champion of the English language for lost little accountants everywhere – but doing really good on the writing portion is not going to get you a higher score than someone who performed satisfactorily on the essays. I’m beyond proud of you for smashing through stereotypes that say accountants don’t rite good but unfortunately for the purposes of the CPA exam, it isn’t going to help you to perform extraordinarily well in this area. So don’t. By all means, continue to write well-versed, correctly-formatted emails as you are an asset to the profession but for the exam? Forget it. Bare minimum, my friend.

You haven’t forgotten everything you learned, it’s in there somewhere. A quick refresh and a thorough once-over of your review materials plus lots of practice questions will get you there. When it comes to BEC (as I’m sure you know), there is no such thing as studying too much. Try not to do the same questions over and over but instead focus on covering as much material as possible. Having taken BEC already, I don’t need to remind you why this is important.

Good luck!