BEC-5 Additional Info

Someone sent me an instant message yesterday while I was out.  I then lost the window and hence the messenger name as well as the email address I was suppose to respond to.  I remember the question though, so I'll answer it here.

The mnemonics for BEC-5 relates to the direct labor and direct materials variances.  The mnemonics are  PURE, SAD, and DADS.  PURE are the different variances you'll need to calculate and DADS shows you how to get them.  SAD is what order to subtract.

P = Price variance
U = Usage variance
R = Rate variance
E = Efficiency variance

Standard less Actual = Difference (SAD)


For the SAD mnemonic a positive difference is good and a negative difference is bad (ie standard price is greater than actual means you saved money, hence a positive number is a good variance).

DA = Difference times Actual
DS = Difference times Standard


You line up the PURE and DADS/DADS nmemonics together as such:

P=DA
U=DS
R=DA
E=DS

For each one you are going to do the SAD mnemonic for the item you are working on and multiply it by either the Actual or Standard (DA vs DS to figure out which).

Price Variance:  [Standard Price less Actual Price = Difference]   Take that Difference and multiply it by the Actual Usage   (P=D x A)

Usage Variance = [Standard Usage less Actual Usage = Difference]  Take that Difference and multiply it by the Standard Price  (U = D x S)

The P & U are the material variances

Rate Variance = [Standard Rate less Actual Rate = Difference]  Take that Difference and multiply it by the Actual Efficiency  (R = D x A)

Efficiency Variance = [Standard Efficiency less Actual Efficiency = Difference]  Take that Difference and multiply it by the Standard Rate

The R & E are the labor variances.

When you line the above up you get:

P = DA
U = DS
R = DA
E = DS

This is a little complicated and confusing.  Once you work through it a couple of times though it makes the direct labor and direct labor variances very easy.  If you have my two page cheat sheet for BEC (http://www.dalesines.com/cpa-exam/BEC.pdf)  on the bottom left is where I have this part written out.

In the Becker books the above comes from the page just past where they cover the direct variances.  I do not have my books with me, but I believe the above stuff are all in passkeys, so that should help make it easier to find.

How are Scores Released?

I've been asked how/when scores are released.  I'll attempt to explain it.

Each quarter is a testing window.  Each window you are able to take the test during Month 1 and Month 2.  Scores are released twice per window.  If you take the exam in Month 1 through the 1st week of Month 2 you have a good chance at being in the Wave 1 score release.  Wave 1 score release usually happens between the 16th-25th of Month 2.  Everything after the 1st week of Month 2 (and everything not released in Wave 1) gets released towards the end of Month 3 (again, typically the 16th-25th).  This is not an exact science, but it is what I've seen and what others I've heard of have experienced.

Even if you take the exam in the time frame that would be in Wave 1 it is possible to be in Wave 2.  If you get any of the non-graded pre-test simulations I understand you are automatically moved to Wave 2.  There is no way to know if you get these pre-test simulations though.

On the actual score releases each wave:  There is a two-step release process.  The AICPA releases the scores to NASBA & the State Boards.  The next day usually NASBA releases the scores to the students.  A few states do not use NASBA to release scores to the students.  For those states the State Board releases them.  Those states do it however they want.  In my case, Texas does not use NASBA but rather releases scores on their own website.  This usually happens a day or two after the NASBA release.  Other states come out as fast as NASBA while others only send scores by mail.  Basically, pray you are in a NASBA state or a state that has their stuff together.  Each section of the exam is released separately.  The goal is typically for them to release a section per day for 4 days.  That doesn't always happen, but it is the general idea.  The end result is the AICPA starts the release process and everyone is glued to their computers for 4-7 days checking to see if their scores have been updated on a website.

Jeff over at another71.com has put together a good video explaining the above and has more information.  Check it out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhniViOfPr4

FAR-7 Class

28 days remaining
Mood - Decent but Tired
Study Time – 4.0 hours (349.0 total - FAR: 67.0 - BEC: 74.5 - REG: 118.0 - AUD: 89.5)
Scores:  AUD-94, REG-97, BEC-93,

I'm sorry for the slow responses to emails and comments the last couple of days.  I usually have access to my email and such during the day but I haven't this week.  I feel naked when I don't have access to my email now days.  Email sure can pile up on you if you aren't watching it.

Tonight's class went better than my initial reading.  Some of the cash flows stuff is still a bit odd, but I recall it being that way even back in college.  I've had too many experiences now to say I expect to do well on the questions tomorrow.  Instead I'll just leave it with "we'll see how I do on them tomorrow."  

It is hard to believe, but I am down to only two more classes to go.  I've got a week of classes and then a couple of weeks of self-study/review and I could be done with this.  I might be able to go back to my nice, quiet, boring life soon.

I realized today I haven't done my Review Post on the Becker BEC course.  I'll try and get that done tomorrow, although I don't plan on it being as full as my AUD or REG (skipping the basic stuff that I put in both of the others).  

I answered several comments that have been left over the past couple of days.  If you left a comment, I responded in the comments under yours.  I also answered a couple of nice emails from various folks.  I got a bit long-winded on some of the answers, but the questions relating to "how much do I need to study" has many parts to it.  I don't know if I got the question answered, but hopefully I got it far enough.

FAR-5 Class and the Vigil for BEC Scores

35 days remaining (aka 29 days)
Mood - Good
Study Time – 4.0 hours (328.0 total - FAR: 46.0 - BEC: 74.5 - REG: 118.0 - AUD: 89.5)
Scores:  AUD-94, REG-97, BEC-??

FAR-5 lecture was tonight.  It went better than my reading on my own went for it.  I bet the questions challenge me tomorrow though.  I am not expecting to do as well as I did on the FAR-4 questions, but should do better than I did on last week's class' questions.  The lecture tonight was long and they skipped most of the examples in the material they covered in the last half hour.  

I have not made the time to go and do a progress test yet for FAR.  I can only imagine how much of FAR-1 I've forgotten.  FAR-2 & FAR-3 I was already scoring bad on and will have to re-watch those lectures probably, so they don't worry me as much.  I may just have to get through all the lectures and then do a more in-depth review than I've had to do for the other sections.

BEC scores were released to NASBA and the state boards late this afternoon.  Hopefully Texas will process them tomorrow and I'll have a score bright and early Friday morning.  Of course that won't stop me from obsessively checking 3 times tomorrow even though I know they only update the one time around 3am in Texas.

Good luck to all those going crazy waiting for score releases over the next several days through next week.  May your sleep be restful and your scores 75 or higher!

I was actually a bit surprised.  I hadn't gotten an email or question in comments in a week.  I typically answer any questions left in the comments in the comments section (ie yesterday's comment question).  I can usually give better answers in email (link on right navigation area of blog) depending on the question.

Full Time Job & Studying

I was asked in a comment from last night's post about my study schedule and a full time job.  The comment box was a little tiny for what I wanted to say, so here comes the response to that inquiry.

First off, studying for this exam on the schedule I am while working full time sucks.  It requires a ton of self-discipline.  At the onset of this torturous journey I knew it would be painful.  In college I worked full time and took a full course load (5-6 classes 15-18 hours for undergrad 4 classes @ 12 hours for graduate work) each semester.  I pretty much hated life back then as well.  However, I knew if I could do that for 6 years before that I should be able to tolerate it for 6 months now.  

While the CPA exam studying has be very similar to college it is much more intense.  Every part of my studying for the CPA exam has been like my hardest college classes.  Most of my college classes were pretty simple.  They were time consuming, but not overly difficult.  Only in my hardest classes did I have to have any intensity to my studying.  I was tired enough that I would fall asleep from time to time in some of my college classes.  I could listen to music or do other things while studying typically.  With the CPA exam I pretty much have to have complete silence in order to focus enough to get through my studying.  My wife watching something on her computer with headphones being extremely quiet in the same room is enough to destroy my concentration.  Some days our dog wants to play more than sleep (not often thankfully).  When she gets like that it breaks my concentration and I have to stop and play with her until I wear her out and she goes back to sleep.  The level of focus this exam has required is intense.

As to my actual schedule:  I hate mornings.  I have always hated mornings.  I roll out of bed with just enough time to clean up, dress, pee of the dog, and run out the door to work.  Thankfully I work in a relaxed atmosphere and 8:20 is the same as 8:00.  I usually get out of the office by 5:15-5:30.  Pre-exam I would usually work until 6-6:30.  I am home around 6:00.  It takes me 30 minutes or so to change, take care of the dog, read email, go through the mail, etc.  I am usually in the care studying by 6:30-6:45.  I don't usually get up aside from to let the dog in/out once and maybe to take a bathroom break and refill my water cup.  In the course of 3-4 hours I really do not have more than 5 minutes of non-study time.  I do not study on Fridays during the weeks of class.  My wife is going through college (finishing community college level in a few more classes) and we both come Friday and pretty much collapse from exhaustion.  We make the attempt to watch a movie typically, but we both fall asleep during it every week.  I do study on Fridays after classes are over and I'm into my final reviews.  Saturday & Sunday mornings I try and get up around 8-8:30 and be studying by 9-9:30.  I try to do no more than 5 hours on Saturday & Sunday (only one weekend has blown that limit).  This typically leaves me 6-8 hours on Saturday and 4-6 hours on Sunday to do other things like take care of the house, grocery shop, and have personal time.  I'd love to say I get to spend time with my wife, but she typically studies both the AM and PM hours on the weekends (she has classes most every night so she doesn't get study time in during the week).  

Those weekend hours to myself are the hours that I live each week for.  Others say they study 10-12 hours on each weekend day.  Good luck to those people and I think they are insane.  My mind goes to mush after 5-6 hours.  Typically any studying I've done beyond that is not very productive (exception of last Friday's 11 hour marathon which was actually productive).  I would also go crazy with absolutely no time to myself.  It is not enough time to myself, but it is enough to keep me going another week. 

I have also taken a couple of days off in addition to test days.  I took one extra day off in January during REG that I got a quick 5 hours of study in and then had the rest of the day to myself (an extra Saturday schedule basically).  I also did the same thing last Friday for BEC, but that turned into the nightmare study day.  I am most definitely in burn-out mode at this point.  This is why you can see my study time during the weekday nights drop to 3-3.5 from the 4-4.5 they were during AUD.  I've tried to make up some of that time on the weekends, but even my weekend study time per day has come down.  This stares me in the face each day in my hour totals.  AUD had the same number of classes as BEC yet I'm almost 20 hours less than I did for AUD.  I felt good for AUD and I feel like crap on BEC.  I think those 20 hours are a good chunk of my problem.  

For those that are looking at doing this exam while working.  Know that it is a life changer.  This exam is the whole of my life right now.  I think about how I'm going to study that night during the day and dream about the exam many nights.  This exam is an obsession at this point.  I hate having to get up feeling exhausted knowing that I have a full day of work and a night of study.  On class days knowing that I'm only halfway done with my day at 3pm is depressing.  Those negatives are actually what drives me to study like I do though.  I would rather go through this pain and suffering once.  If I don't study and fail an exam that is another 3-5 weeks that I will have to live like this again.  I am about 2/3rds of the way through this process by content (almost 3/4ths by test sections).  I just have to stay focused for another 2 months and I can have my life back.

Some Witty Title Here

165 days remaining
Mood – Annoyed
Study Time – 4.0 hours (46.0 total)
Sections Taken/Passed:  none/none

I read through the materials for the final AUD class (AUD-5) this morning.  It is pretty long, so it took a while.  I am still fighting with my computer, so I didn't do all the AUD-3 and AUD-4 questions like I had hoped to.  Actually, the amount of time it took to read AUD-5 would have stopped me from doing both anyhow (sounds like an excuse to me though).  Anyhow, I took the weighted practice test covering AUD 1-3.  This populates a 59 question test with a timer.  I was on number 52 when my computer froze (I screamed).  I know I had all the answers with the possible exceptions of one correct.  I restarted and started the test again (different set of questions this time).  I got 59 out of 59 for 100% on those.  I've got the MC questions down really well at this point.  Hopefully I'll find some time tomorrow to get through most of the AUD-4 questions before class.

I'm getting a bit excited and nervous now that the first exam is actually coming up.  I've got the MC questions down really well so far and I have no doubt with a couple of times through the AUD-4 and AUD-5 questions I'll be in good shape for those.  I'm pretty comfortable with the simulations so far as well EXCEPT FOR the written part.  I've got to come up with some way of "studying" for that part.  I'm not sure how yet, but I've got a week to figure it out.

On the computer front, I think I've finally made some progress on identifying the source of the problem.  For those that are of a computer mind, I've basically eliminated software, cooling, hard drive, and power supply from the list of possible issues.  I ran a memory test for 4.5-5 hours today after I studies and it came back clean.  However, I removed one of my two sticks of memory and I haven't had any issues since.  This either means the memory is bad or the slot on the motherboard is bad.  The memory is an easy fix, although I can actually survive without it for now anyhow.  The motherboard is a bigger issue, but if it is just the one memory slot that is bad I can work fine with the other 3.

I'm still not sure how I'll make it through my January to April stretch.  The last three weeks have been a killer.  If this were January I'd barely be halfway through the classes.

And on a final blog-ish note, I got another comment.  The fact that anyone besides me is reading this is pretty spiffy.  The comment asked if Texas required you to take all 4 sections in 90 days.  The thought of that is just ucky.  Thankfully, we have 18 months, which is somewhat standard.  I believe several/many states actually give 24 months.  Personally, if I have gotten it done in the 18 month window I doubt the extra 6 months would really make a big difference to me.  By that point I'll already be in the crazy house.