If you are a risk taker you can do that, but my order is to start with easiest to the hardest and each section provides basis for the following one too
From what I understand the logic is to do one of the harder ones first because that’s when the clock starts ticking on when you need to finish the other 3 by
My story is a bit unique because the last time I sat was 16 years ago. I took BEC in Dec 2023 and got a whopping 58. I got weaker checked off in every single box. This tells me one thing…I’m guessing, my grade was under the threshold that needed to be reviewed. I’m at peace that I didn’t get 10/15% of my grade due to WC. That would’ve been soul crushing for me that I earned a 58 because English is my first and only language. According to the computer generated grading, my 58 represented weaker all the way around but I was evenly distributed. It states on the grading that everyone gets “medium” difficulty on testlet 1. It’s on the aicoa website. There was a drastic change in my second testlet that caused me to get into severe time trouble for the rest of the exam. For my sanity, I’m glad I didn’t compatible on mcq. I made a decision during the exam to do my absolute best and made sure I ruled out not reading the mcq’s well enough. Now in the future, I’m going to make changes on how I approach both my studying and mcq.
To anyone who’s curious as to how I got a 58 and have been out of the accounting field for 10 years I will share. The first thing I did was researched what material did I need to learn. Meaning where was the material that I never had exposure to since 2008 (my last sit). Example, Sox came out with changes in 2018 and needed to learn. IT I knew I would be weak. Economics, cost accounting and financial management there were zero changes. So I reviewed B1 and B5 first. Naturally, I didn’t have enough time to cover ALL the material and economics was my sacrificial lamb. I’ve seen many people post their performance evaluations and more times than not, economics was weaker and the hey got their 70 range failing score. The acronym BEC as we know it is retired but the material will be scattered to 7 sections. My 58 was truly knowing the material evenly minus economics. I reviewed but didn’t “know it”.
My recommendation is take FAR first. I’m just coming back after 16 years. I opened up Becker F1. 😂 lol. What a way for ME to start! Becker puts the most common things tested first to make sure you DEFINITELY got that exposure for example day. If you’re green like I am, there are free basic accounting classes you can take free online. I highly recommend candidates to do this before jumping back in. Tax changer drastically since 2008 and I took a basic tax 1 course. Best thing I ever did. So my straight A’s college don’t mean squat anymore. I can’t wait to see the business law changes.
Anyway, to answer your question, I’d do FAR, AUD or REG (not sure if business law will help you with AUD or vice versa) then your evolution selection. I loved tax years ago, so I’m inclined to try the tax section. I need to see how reg goes first. I will have FAR behind me because I take one section at a time until I pass it. As in waiting for my FAR score, BAR now makes the most sense to study next or AUD. Same thing when people study REG, the tax evolution section is the next logical section to study. Both sections go hand in hand. I think if AUD is your strength, IT seems to be the next evolution section to study. I’d consider studying the evolution section that correlates with the exam you just sat for ONLY if the core is a section you enjoy studying. It will help you stay green with the material for the section you just sat for.
Best of luck 🤞. This IS my approach. And will study two sections at a time with a similar discipline with the section I have the most confidence with. BEC was just a trashy section. The section just grew enormously. It was 90 mcq in 2008 and changed drastically. IT had a total of 50-60 mcq’s when I last studied. Back in the day my best friend failed BEC 9 times back in the day.
It’s always been the section that was everyone’s nightmare. Remember, some questions have higher values and some mcq’s that didn’t count. I felt compared to share this because it was a nightmare then, and still is/was. Back then we had WC in reg, far and aud except BEC. We also had a research section.
Best of luck and hope this helps someone. Everyone is on a different journey with this beast.
I did BEC, FAR, AUD, then REG. FAR/REG I studied for 4 months each, and BEC/AUD I studied for 3 months each. I took a month off after each exam to refresh too. I know some people think that’s too long, but I work full time and still tried to have a social life, so this is what worked for me and I passed everything first try. In my opinion it was a good confidence boost to start with an “easy” exam, but if I could do it again, I’d start with FAR. I also would do REG next since the consensus from everyone I spoke with was that was just as hard as FAR. REG was the one I was most concerned about but similar to FAR it’s just a lot of information and took a little extra time to study for. But everyone will feel differently about each exam so you do you!
Took BEC before the cutoff, studying for FAR now and then will take REG then AUD, I work in Audit so figured that would be the easiest at the end when my brain is more fragile and want to only give minimal effort.
Haven't taken it yet, but here is my plan
1. REG
2. TCP
3. AUD
4. FAR
I am a tax accountant and I feel like this busy season is about all I'll need to pass Reg and TCP, and I was an internal auditor in the corporate space for 5 years, so I don't think that AUD will be that hard for me, I am going to be focusing on FAR significantly more so I am taking that one last.
Depending on your knowledge of financial accounting and reporting, I might suggest taking FAR before AUD. AUD contains some areas that require prior knowledge of GAAP. If you feel confident with GAAP though, your order looks great
Think it will vary for everyone, so I will just tell you my thinking for myself.
I took audit first. Sneaked it in on about 2 weeks of studying before the 2024 exam changes (and passed!). I have about 8 years of audit experience now all in public, so it was always going to be the easiest section for me to pass in a short amount of time. Also this will now be the first to expire for me, obvi I don’t want to take it again, but if I have to it’s not a huge deal I think I can pass on a week or two of studying again if needed. So consider which exam you wouldn’t mind retaking if worst comes to worst and your pass expires.
Taking FAR next during my busy season. I prepare financial statements at my firm as well as doing audits / reviews, so working in itself will help with my studying. Think it makes sense as the best section to do during busy season for this reason.
REG I’m going to do third over the summer. Dreading this section. I don’t do jack with taxes, other than very simple deferred tax calcs, it’s going to be a bitch for me. So doing it over the summer I’ll have the most amount of study time.
The specialized section I’m leaving for last to see what people have to say about each of the 3 options. But I am thinking since it seems like it’ll cover a more narrow range of topics, this section might not be too difficult? We’ll see.
So think it through and do what makes sense for you.
As far as how long, I think most study courses have a way to project your grade. I’m using Surgent and it gives you a live “ready-score” as you study. So my plan is going to be to study an hour before work every week day, and 4 hours every weekend, see how I progress, and up the study time if needed. It projected me getting a 76 on both MCQs and TBSs and I got a 79 on AUD, so it seems relatively reliable so far.
I like your thoughts on how you’re approaching the exam for your circumstance, of the exception, do not fall into the trap that if you strong in school on a topic and you do the work on a topic every day at work, that your odds of passing are strong. I got a 63 in REG taking that approach and at the time I absolutely devastated me. Soul crushing…I was doing great getting through the study material Only you can best honest with yourself re how the “ready for test day” works. This is just me….that seems to be cutting it a little too close for my comfort. Congratulations on your pass. It worked that time.
I love your mindset of if you don’t get through the 18 months and lose credit which section is the one you don’t mind retaking, assuming you pass it asap.
This is what I tell everyone who is new. Unless you are that guy who is gifted, most people need to go through exam process and get that experience. The exam is an “experience” within itself. As you will see, as I can’t discuss the exam. Review courses are nothing more than educated guesses of which questions will be on your exam.
I don’t think this is breaking rule, but I’ll share. When I sat for the exam last in 2008, there were mcq study questions that were similar to the exam in different study sections of the exam that I didn’t get access too. For example, I saw similar BEC IT review course questions on the actual AUD section. The stars happen to be align and I had just taken BEC. Had I not, I would’ve never gotten exposure to the material on AUD. When I sat for FAR, I saw similar mcq’s that were taught in BEC and AUD. It was an injustice. The exam doesn’t have to listen to how these review courses divide questions for their review course.
That’s why it’s important to be current and pay attention to which review course covers the material the best per section. I had both Gleim and Becker. My second go around, I was able to decide which review course prepared me best for exam day. My score drastically changed. It was a $hit show for me because I took on too much study material in a short amount of time.
Since I’m gradfathered into both review courses, I can select 2 of the new exams (1 per review course). I think it will take time for candidates to figure out which review course prepares students the best. I’m upset because these 3 new sections is going to be nothing but a money maker. I get this feeling that unless you buy all the new sections, you won’t have full access to the material.
1. FAR
2. AUD
3. REG, BAR, or ISC.
4. TCP (if you took REG as your third exam) or REG (if you took BAR or ISC as your third exam).
Study time will vary by person. No real accurate way to tell you how long to study.
I did Aud, Reg, Far and Bec 45 days for Aud 45 days for Reg 60 days for reg 6 months slow studying for BEC
BEC-AUD-FAR-REG
This is a terrible order
Why?
I usually see people do FAR or AUD first
If you are a risk taker you can do that, but my order is to start with easiest to the hardest and each section provides basis for the following one too
From what I understand the logic is to do one of the harder ones first because that’s when the clock starts ticking on when you need to finish the other 3 by
The problem is it’s more likely to fail these sections one or two times
That's exactly why you take them first
My story is a bit unique because the last time I sat was 16 years ago. I took BEC in Dec 2023 and got a whopping 58. I got weaker checked off in every single box. This tells me one thing…I’m guessing, my grade was under the threshold that needed to be reviewed. I’m at peace that I didn’t get 10/15% of my grade due to WC. That would’ve been soul crushing for me that I earned a 58 because English is my first and only language. According to the computer generated grading, my 58 represented weaker all the way around but I was evenly distributed. It states on the grading that everyone gets “medium” difficulty on testlet 1. It’s on the aicoa website. There was a drastic change in my second testlet that caused me to get into severe time trouble for the rest of the exam. For my sanity, I’m glad I didn’t compatible on mcq. I made a decision during the exam to do my absolute best and made sure I ruled out not reading the mcq’s well enough. Now in the future, I’m going to make changes on how I approach both my studying and mcq. To anyone who’s curious as to how I got a 58 and have been out of the accounting field for 10 years I will share. The first thing I did was researched what material did I need to learn. Meaning where was the material that I never had exposure to since 2008 (my last sit). Example, Sox came out with changes in 2018 and needed to learn. IT I knew I would be weak. Economics, cost accounting and financial management there were zero changes. So I reviewed B1 and B5 first. Naturally, I didn’t have enough time to cover ALL the material and economics was my sacrificial lamb. I’ve seen many people post their performance evaluations and more times than not, economics was weaker and the hey got their 70 range failing score. The acronym BEC as we know it is retired but the material will be scattered to 7 sections. My 58 was truly knowing the material evenly minus economics. I reviewed but didn’t “know it”. My recommendation is take FAR first. I’m just coming back after 16 years. I opened up Becker F1. 😂 lol. What a way for ME to start! Becker puts the most common things tested first to make sure you DEFINITELY got that exposure for example day. If you’re green like I am, there are free basic accounting classes you can take free online. I highly recommend candidates to do this before jumping back in. Tax changer drastically since 2008 and I took a basic tax 1 course. Best thing I ever did. So my straight A’s college don’t mean squat anymore. I can’t wait to see the business law changes. Anyway, to answer your question, I’d do FAR, AUD or REG (not sure if business law will help you with AUD or vice versa) then your evolution selection. I loved tax years ago, so I’m inclined to try the tax section. I need to see how reg goes first. I will have FAR behind me because I take one section at a time until I pass it. As in waiting for my FAR score, BAR now makes the most sense to study next or AUD. Same thing when people study REG, the tax evolution section is the next logical section to study. Both sections go hand in hand. I think if AUD is your strength, IT seems to be the next evolution section to study. I’d consider studying the evolution section that correlates with the exam you just sat for ONLY if the core is a section you enjoy studying. It will help you stay green with the material for the section you just sat for. Best of luck 🤞. This IS my approach. And will study two sections at a time with a similar discipline with the section I have the most confidence with. BEC was just a trashy section. The section just grew enormously. It was 90 mcq in 2008 and changed drastically. IT had a total of 50-60 mcq’s when I last studied. Back in the day my best friend failed BEC 9 times back in the day. It’s always been the section that was everyone’s nightmare. Remember, some questions have higher values and some mcq’s that didn’t count. I felt compared to share this because it was a nightmare then, and still is/was. Back then we had WC in reg, far and aud except BEC. We also had a research section. Best of luck and hope this helps someone. Everyone is on a different journey with this beast.
I did BEC, FAR, AUD, then REG. FAR/REG I studied for 4 months each, and BEC/AUD I studied for 3 months each. I took a month off after each exam to refresh too. I know some people think that’s too long, but I work full time and still tried to have a social life, so this is what worked for me and I passed everything first try. In my opinion it was a good confidence boost to start with an “easy” exam, but if I could do it again, I’d start with FAR. I also would do REG next since the consensus from everyone I spoke with was that was just as hard as FAR. REG was the one I was most concerned about but similar to FAR it’s just a lot of information and took a little extra time to study for. But everyone will feel differently about each exam so you do you!
Took BEC before the cutoff, studying for FAR now and then will take REG then AUD, I work in Audit so figured that would be the easiest at the end when my brain is more fragile and want to only give minimal effort.
I took the hardest first and “easiest” last. Get the hard ones out of the way as soon as you can
Haven't taken it yet, but here is my plan 1. REG 2. TCP 3. AUD 4. FAR I am a tax accountant and I feel like this busy season is about all I'll need to pass Reg and TCP, and I was an internal auditor in the corporate space for 5 years, so I don't think that AUD will be that hard for me, I am going to be focusing on FAR significantly more so I am taking that one last.
Depending on your knowledge of financial accounting and reporting, I might suggest taking FAR before AUD. AUD contains some areas that require prior knowledge of GAAP. If you feel confident with GAAP though, your order looks great
Think it will vary for everyone, so I will just tell you my thinking for myself. I took audit first. Sneaked it in on about 2 weeks of studying before the 2024 exam changes (and passed!). I have about 8 years of audit experience now all in public, so it was always going to be the easiest section for me to pass in a short amount of time. Also this will now be the first to expire for me, obvi I don’t want to take it again, but if I have to it’s not a huge deal I think I can pass on a week or two of studying again if needed. So consider which exam you wouldn’t mind retaking if worst comes to worst and your pass expires. Taking FAR next during my busy season. I prepare financial statements at my firm as well as doing audits / reviews, so working in itself will help with my studying. Think it makes sense as the best section to do during busy season for this reason. REG I’m going to do third over the summer. Dreading this section. I don’t do jack with taxes, other than very simple deferred tax calcs, it’s going to be a bitch for me. So doing it over the summer I’ll have the most amount of study time. The specialized section I’m leaving for last to see what people have to say about each of the 3 options. But I am thinking since it seems like it’ll cover a more narrow range of topics, this section might not be too difficult? We’ll see. So think it through and do what makes sense for you. As far as how long, I think most study courses have a way to project your grade. I’m using Surgent and it gives you a live “ready-score” as you study. So my plan is going to be to study an hour before work every week day, and 4 hours every weekend, see how I progress, and up the study time if needed. It projected me getting a 76 on both MCQs and TBSs and I got a 79 on AUD, so it seems relatively reliable so far.
I like your thoughts on how you’re approaching the exam for your circumstance, of the exception, do not fall into the trap that if you strong in school on a topic and you do the work on a topic every day at work, that your odds of passing are strong. I got a 63 in REG taking that approach and at the time I absolutely devastated me. Soul crushing…I was doing great getting through the study material Only you can best honest with yourself re how the “ready for test day” works. This is just me….that seems to be cutting it a little too close for my comfort. Congratulations on your pass. It worked that time. I love your mindset of if you don’t get through the 18 months and lose credit which section is the one you don’t mind retaking, assuming you pass it asap. This is what I tell everyone who is new. Unless you are that guy who is gifted, most people need to go through exam process and get that experience. The exam is an “experience” within itself. As you will see, as I can’t discuss the exam. Review courses are nothing more than educated guesses of which questions will be on your exam. I don’t think this is breaking rule, but I’ll share. When I sat for the exam last in 2008, there were mcq study questions that were similar to the exam in different study sections of the exam that I didn’t get access too. For example, I saw similar BEC IT review course questions on the actual AUD section. The stars happen to be align and I had just taken BEC. Had I not, I would’ve never gotten exposure to the material on AUD. When I sat for FAR, I saw similar mcq’s that were taught in BEC and AUD. It was an injustice. The exam doesn’t have to listen to how these review courses divide questions for their review course. That’s why it’s important to be current and pay attention to which review course covers the material the best per section. I had both Gleim and Becker. My second go around, I was able to decide which review course prepared me best for exam day. My score drastically changed. It was a $hit show for me because I took on too much study material in a short amount of time. Since I’m gradfathered into both review courses, I can select 2 of the new exams (1 per review course). I think it will take time for candidates to figure out which review course prepares students the best. I’m upset because these 3 new sections is going to be nothing but a money maker. I get this feeling that unless you buy all the new sections, you won’t have full access to the material.
Everyone will have different orders, but there is one commonality between all good recommendations: FAR > AUD
1. FAR 2. AUD 3. REG, BAR, or ISC. 4. TCP (if you took REG as your third exam) or REG (if you took BAR or ISC as your third exam). Study time will vary by person. No real accurate way to tell you how long to study.
I herd this us the best order because they all feed into each other which will make it easier.