Edit 1: More ARKQ buying today (~50k shares). Thank you everyone for the positive feedback and discussion!
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) or TL;DR for the non-military types:
LMT is a good target if you want to literally go to the moon, and my PT is $690.26 in two years (more than 2x from current levels). Justification and some possible trade ideas are listed below, just CTRL-F “Trade Ideas”. I hope you guys enjoy this work and would appreciate any discussion or feedback. I hope to catch you in the comments.
Team,
We interrupt today’s regularly scheduled short squeeze coverage to discuss a traditionally boring stock, LMT (Lockheed Martin), with significant upside potential. To be clear, this is NOT a short squeeze target like many reddit posts are keying on. I hope that this piece sparks discussion, but if you are just looking for short squeeze content, all I have to say is BUY, HOLD, and GODSPEED.
The source of inspiration for me writing this piece is threefold; first, retail investors are winning, and I believe that we will continue to win if we continue to identify opportunities in the market. In my view, the stock market has always been a place for the public to shine a light on areas of innovation that real Americans are excited about and proud to be a part of. Online communities have stolen the loudspeaker from hedge fund managers and returned it to decentralized online democracies that quickly and proudly shift their weight behind ideas they believe in. In GME’s case, it was a blatant smear campaign to destroy a struggling business. I think that we should continue this campaign by identifying opportunities in the market and running with them. It may sound overly idealistic, but if reddit can take on the hedge funds, I non-ironically believe that we can quite literally take good companies researching space technology to the moon. I think LMT may be one of several stocks to help get us there.
Second, a video where the Secretary of State of Massachusetts argues that internet boards are full of a bunch of unsophisticated, thoughtless traders really ticked me off. This piece is designed to show that ‘the little guy’ is ready to get into the weeds, understand business plans, and outpace analysts that think companies like Tesla are overvalued by comparing them to Toyota. That is a big reason that I settled on an old, large, slow growth company to do a deep-dive on, and try my best to show some of the abysmal predictive analysis major ‘research firms’ do on even some of the most heavily covered stocks. LMT is making moves, and the suits on wall street are 10 steps behind. At the time of writing this piece, Analyst Estimates range from 330-460 (what an insane range).
Third, and most importantly, I am in the US military, and I think that it is fun to go deep into the financials of the defense sector. I think that it helps me understand the long-term growth plans of the DoD, and I think that I attack these deep-dives with a perspective that a lot of these finance-from-day-one cats do not understand. Even if no one ever looks at this work, I think that taking the time to write pieces like this makes me a better Soldier, and I will continue to do it in my spare time when I am feeling inspired. I wrote a piece on Raytheon Technologies (Ticker: RTX) 6 months ago, and I think it was well-received. I was most convicted about RTX in the defense sector, but I have since shifted to believing LMT is the leader in the defense space. I am long both, though. If this inspires anyone else to do similar research on other companies, or sparks discussion in the community, that is just a bonus. Special shout-out to the folks that read more than just the TL;DR, but if you do just read the TL;DR, I love you too!
Now let us get into it:
Leadership
I generally like to invest in companies that are led by people that seem to have integrity. Jim Taiclet took the reins at LMT in June of last year. While on active duty, he served as a C-141B Starlifter pilot (a retired LMT Aircraft). After getting out he went to work for the American Tower Corporation (Ticker: AMT). His first day at American Tower was September 10, 2001. The following day, AMT lost 13 employees in the World Trade Center attack. He stayed with the company, despite it being decimated by market uncertainty in the wake of 9/11. He was appointed CEO of the very same company in 2004. Over a 16 year tenure as CEO of AMT the company market cap 20x’d. He left his position as CEO of AMT in March of last year, and the stock stagnated since his departure, currently trading at roughly the same market cap as to when he left.
Jim Taiclet was also appointed to be the chairman of the board this week, replacing the previous CEO. Why is it relevant that the CEO came from a massive telecommunications company?
Rightfully, Taiclet’s focus for LMT is bringing military technology into the modern era. He wants LMT to be a first mover in the military 5G space, military application of AI space, the… space space, and the hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) space. These areas are revolutionary for the boomer defense sector. We will discuss this in more detail later when we cover the company’s P/E multiple and why it is absolute nonsense.
It is not a surprise to me that they brought Taiclet on during the pandemic. He led AMT through adversity before, and LMT’s positioning during the pandemic is tremendous relative to the rest of the sector, thanks in large part to some strong strategic moves and good investments by current and past leadership. I think that Taiclet is the right CEO for the job.
In addition to the new CEO, the new Secretary of Defense, Secretary Lloyd Austin, has strong ties to the defense sector. He was formerly a board member for RTX. He is absolutely above reproach, and a true leader of character, but I bring this up not to suggest that he will inappropriately serve in the best interest of defense contractors, but to suggest that he speaks the language of these companies effectively. I do not anticipate that the current administration poses as significant of a risk to the defense sector as many analysts seem to believe. This will be expanded in the headwinds section below.
SPACE
Cathie Wood and the ARK Invest team brought a lot of attention to the space sector when the ARKX, The ARK Space Exploration ETF, Form N-1A was officially filed through the SEC. More recently, ARK Invest published their Big Ideas 2021 Annual Report and dedicated an entire 7-page chapter to Orbital Aerospace, a new disruptive innovation platform that the ARK Team is investigating. This may have helped energize wall street to re-look their portfolios and their investments in space technology, but it was certainly not the first catalyst that pushed the defense industry in the direction of winning the new space race.
In June 2018, then President Trump announced at the annual National Space Council that “it is not enough to merely have an American presence in space, we must have American dominance in space. So important. Therefore, I am hereby directing the Department of Defense (DoD) and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a Space Force as the sixth branch of the Armed Forces". Historically, Department of Defense space assets were under the control of the Air Force. By creating a separate branch of service for the United States Space Force (USSF), the DoD would allocate a Chairman of Space Operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff and clearly define the budget for space operations dedicated directly to the USSF. At present, this budget is funneled from the USAF’s budget. The process was formalized in December of 2019, and the DoD has appropriated ~$15B to the USSF in their first full year of existence according to the FY21 budget.
Among the 77 spacecraft that are controlled by the USSF, 29 of them are Lockheed Martin GPS satellites, 6 of them are Lockheed Martin Space-Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS), and LMT had a hand in creating and/or manufacturing for several of the other USSF efforts. The Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Missile Warning Satellites (also known as Next-Gen OPIR) were contracted out to both Northrup Grumman (Ticker: NOC) and LMT. LMT’s contract is currently set at $4.9B, NOC’s contract is set at $2.37B.
Tangentially related to the discussion of space is the discussion of hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs). HGVs have exoatmospheric and atmospheric implications, but I think that their technology is extremely important to driving margins down for both space exploration and terrestrial point-to-point travel. LMT is leading the charge for military HGV research. They hold contracts with the Navy, Air Force, and Army to develop HGVs and hypersonic precision fires. The priority for HGV technology accelerated significantly when Russia launched their Avangard HGV in December of 2019. Improving the technology for HGVs is a critical next-step in maintaining US hegemony, but also maintaining leadership in both terrestrial and exoatmospheric travel.
LARGE SCALE COMBAT OPERATIONS (LSCO)
The DoD transitioning to Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) as the military’s strategic focus. This is a move away from an emphasis on Counter-Insurgency operations. LSCO requires effective multi-domain operations (MDO), which means effective and integrated strategies regarding land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. To have effective MDO, the DoD is seeking systems that both expand capabilities against peer threats and increase the ability to track enemy units and communicate internally. This requires a modernizing military strategy that relies heavily on air, missile, and sensor modernization. Put simply, the DoD has decided to start preparing for peer or near-peer adversaries (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) rather than insurgencies. For this reason, I believe that increased Chinese and Russian tensions are, unfortunate as it may be, a boon to the defense industry. This is particularly true in the missiles/fires and space industry, as peer-to-peer conflicts are won by leveraging technological advantages.
There are too many projects to cover in detail, but some important military technologies that LMT is focusing on to support LSCO include directed energy weapons (lasers) to address enemy drone technology, machine learning / artificial intelligence (most applications fall under LMT’s classified budget, but it is easy to imagine the applications of AI in a military context), and 5G to increase battlefield connectivity. These projects are all nested within the DoD’s LSCO strategy, and position LMT as the leader in emergent military tech. NOC is the other major contractor making a heavy push in the modernization direction, but winners win, and I think a better CEO, balance sheet, and larger market cap make LMT the clear winner for aiding the DoD in a transition toward LSCO.
SECTOR COMPARISON (BACKLOG)
The discussion of LSCO transitions well into the discussion of defense contractor backlogs. Massive defense contracts are not filled overnight, so examining order backlogs is a relatively reliable way to gauge the interest of the DoD in a defense contractor’s existing or emerging products. For my sector comparison, I am using the top 6 holdings of the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (Ticker: ITA). I hate this ETF, and ETFs like it (DFEN) because of their massively outsized exposure to aerospace, and undersized allocation to companies like LMT. LMT is only 18% smaller than Boeing (Ticker: BA) but is only 30.4% of the exposure of BA (18.46% of the fund is BA, only 5.62% of the fund is LMT). Funds of this category are just BA / RTX hacks. I suggest building your own pie on a site like M1 Finance (although they are implicated in the trade restriction BS… please be advised of that… hoping other brokerages that are above board will offer similar UIs like the pie design… just wanted to be clear there) if you are interested in the defense sector.
The top 6 holdings of ITA are:
Boeing Company (Ticker: BA, MKT CAP $110B) at 18.46%
Raytheon Technologies (Ticker: RTX, MKT CAP $101B) at 17.84%
Lockheed Martin (Ticker: LMT, MKT CAP $90B) at 5.62%
General Dynamics Corporation (Ticker: GD, MKT CAP $42B) 4.78%
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (Ticker: TDY, MKT CAP $13B) at 4.74%
Northrop Grumman Corporation (Ticker: NOC, MKT CAP $48B) at 4.64%
As a brief aside, please look at the breakdowns of ETFs before buying them. The fact that ITA has more exposure to TDY than NOC and L3Harris is wild. Make sector ETFs balanced how you want them to be balanced and it will be more engaging, and you will likely outperform. I digress.
Backlogs for defense companies can easily be pulled from their quarterly reports. Here are the current backlogs in the same order as before, followed by a percentage of their backlog to their current market cap. All numbers are pulled from January earning reports unless otherwise noted with an * because they are still pending.
Boeing Company backlog (Commercial: $282B, Defense: $61B, Foreign Military Sales (FMS, categorized by BA as ‘Global’): 21B, Total Backlog 364B): BA’s backlog to market cap is a ratio of 3.32, which is strong, but most of that backlog comes from the commercial, not the defense side. Airlines have been getting decimated, I am personally not interested in having much of my backlog exposed to commercial pressures when trying to invest in a defense play. Without commercial exposure, their defense only backlog ratio is .748. This is extremely low. I understand that this does not do BA justice, but I am keying in on defense exposure, and I am left thoroughly unsatisfied by that ratio. Also, we have seen several canceled contracts already on the commercial side.
Raytheon Technologies backlog (Defense backlog for all 4 subdivisions: 67.3B): Raytheon only published a defense backlog in this quarter’s report. That is further evidence to me that the commercial aerospace side of the house is getting hammered. They have a relatively week backlog to market cap as well, putting them at a ratio of .664, worse off than the BA defense backlog.
Lockheed Martin backlog (Total Backlog: $147B): This backlog blows our first two defense backlogs out of the water with a current market cap to backlog ratio of 1.63.
General Dynamics Corporation backlog (Total Backlog: $89.5B, $11.6B is primarily business jets, but it is difficult to determine how much of their aerospace business is commercial): Solid 2.13 ratio, still great 1.85 if you do not consider their aerospace business. The curveball here for me is that GD published a consolidated operating profit of $4.1B including commercial aerospace, whereas LMT published a consolidated operating profit of $9.1B. This makes the LMT ratio of profit/market cap slightly in favor of LMT without accounting for the GD commercial aerospace exposure. This research surprised me; I may like GD more than I originally assumed I would. Still prefer LMT.
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated backlog (Found in the earnings transcript, $1.7B): This stock is not quite in the same league as the other major contractors. This is an odd curveball that a lot of the defense ETFs seem to have too much exposure to. They have a weak backlog, but they are a smaller growing company. I am not interested in this at all. It has a backlog ratio of .129.
Northrop Grumman Corporation backlog ($81B): Strong numbers here. I see NOC and LMT as the two front-runners in the defense sector. I like LMT more because I like their exposure to AI, 5G, and HGVs more than NOC, but I think this is a great alternative to LMT if you like the defense sector. Has a ratio of 1.69, slightly edging out LMT on this metric. LMT edges out NOC on margins by ~.9%, though, which has significant implications when considering the depth of the LMT backlog.
The winners here are LMT, GD, and NOC. BA is attractive if you think anyone will have enough money to buy new planes. BA and RTX are both getting hammered by commercial aerospace exposure right now and are much more positioned as recovery plays. That said, LMT and NOC both make money now, and will regardless of the impact of the pandemic. LMT is growing at a slightly faster rate than NOC. Both are profit machines, but I like LMT’s product portfolio and leadership a lot more.
FREE CASH FLOW
Despite the pandemic, LMT had the free cash flow to be able to pay a $2.60 per share dividend. This maintains their ~3% yearly dividend rate. They had a free cash flow of $6.4B. They spent $3.9 of that in share repurchases and dividend payouts. That leaves 40% of that cash to continue to strengthen one of the most stalwart balance sheets outside of big tech on the street. Having this free cash flow allowed them to purchase Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.4B in December. They seem flexible and willing to expand and take advantage of their relative position during the pandemic. This is a stock that has little downside risk and significant upside potential. It is always reassuring to me to know that at the end of the day, a company is using its profit to continue to grow.
HEADWINDS
New Administration – This is more of an unknown than a headwind. The Obama Administration was not light on military spending, and the newly appointed SecDef is unlikely to shy away from modernizing the force. Military defense budgets may get lost in the political shuffle, but nothing right now suggests that defense budgets are on the chopping block.
Macroeconomic pressure – The markets are tumultuous in the wake of GME. Hedgies are shaking in their boots, and scared money weighed on markets the past week. If scared money continues to exert pressure on the broader equity markets, all boomer stocks are likely weighed down by slumping markets.
Non-meme Status – The stocks that are impervious to macroeconomic pressures in the above paragraph are the stonks that we, the people, have decided to support. From GME to IPOE, there is a slew of stonks that are watching and laughing from the green zone as the broader markets slip deeper into the red zone. Unless sentiment about LMT changes, I see no evidence that LMT will remain unaffected by a broader economic downturn (despite showing growth YoY during a pandemic).
TAILWINDS
Aerojet Rocketdyne to the Moon – Cathie Wood opened up a $39mil position in LMT a few weeks ago, and this was near the announcement of ARKX. The big ideas 2021 article focuses heavily on satellite technology, deep learning, and HGVs. I think that the AR acquisition suggests that vertical integration is a priority for LMT. They even fielded a question in their earnings call about whether they were concerned about being perceived as a monopoly. Their answer was spot on—the USFG and DoD have a vested interest in the success of defense companies. Why would they discourage a defense contractor from vertical integration to optimize margins?
International Tensions – SolarWinds has escalated US-Russia tensions. President Biden wants to look tough on China. LSCO is a DoD-wide priority.
5G.Mil – We still do not have a lot of fidelity on what this looks like, but the military would benefit in a lot of ways if we had world-wide access to the rapid transfer of encrypted data. Many units still rely on Vietnam-era technology signal technology with abysmal data rates. There are a lot of implications if the code can be cracked to win a DoD 5G contract.
TRADE IDEAS
Price Target: LMT is currently at a P/E of ~14. Verizon has roughly the same. LMT’s 5-year P/E ratio average is ~17. NOC is currently at a P/E of ~20. TSLA has a P/E Ratio of 1339 (disappointingly not 1337). P/E is a useless metric because no one seems to care about it. My point is that LMT makes a lot of money, and other companies that are valued at much higher multiples do not make any money at all. LMT’s P/E ratio is that of a boomer stock that has no growth potential. LMT’s P/E is exactly in line with the Aerospace and Defense Industry P/E ratio standard. LMT’s new CEO is pushing the industry in a new direction. I will arbitrarily choose a P/E ratio of 30, because it is half of the software industry average, and it is a nice round number. Plus, stock values are speculative and nonsense anyway.
Share price today: $321.82
Share price based on LMT average 5-year P/E: $384.08 (I see this as a short term PT, reversion to the mean)
Share price with a P/E of 30: $690.26
Buy and Hold: Simple. Doesn’t take much thought. Come back in a year or two and be happy with your tendies (and a few dividends to boot).
LEAPS Call Debit Spread (Based on last trade prices): Buy $375 C 20 JAN 23 for $26.5, Sell $450 C 20 JAN 23 for $12. Total Cost $14.5 for a spread width of $75. Max gain 517% per spread. Higher risk strategy.
LEAPS: Buy $500 C 20 JAN 23 for $7.20. Very high-risk strat. If the price target is hit within two years, these would be in the money $183 per contract for a gain of 2500%. This is the casino strat.
SOURCES
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/2020/james-taiclet-from-military-pilot-to-successful-ceo.html
https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/in-response-to-senator-warrens-questions-secretary-of-defense-nominee-general-lloyd-austin-commits-to-recusing-himself-from-raytheon-decisions-for-four-years
https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2019-08-30-Lockheed-Martins-Expertise-in-Hypersonic-Flight-Wins-New-Army-Work
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/hypersonics.html
https://research.ark-invest.com/hubfs/1_Download_Files_ARK-Invest/White_Papers/ARK%E2%80%93Invest_BigIdeas_2021.pdf?hsCtaTracking=4e1a031b-7ed7-4fb2-929c-072267eda5fc%7Cee55057a-bc7b-441e-8b96-452ec1efe34c
https://www.deseret.com/2018/6/19/20647309/twitter-reacts-to-trump-s-call-for-a-space-force
https://comptroller.defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2021/fy2021_Budget_Request_Overview_Book.pdf
https://www.airforcemag.com/lockheed-receives-up-to-4-9-billion-for-next-gen-opir-satellites/
https://spacenews.com/northrop-grumman-gets-2-3-billion-space-force-contract-to-develop-missile-warning-satellites/
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/directed-energy/laser-weapon-systems.html
https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/lockheed-martins-ai-applications-for-the-military/
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2020/07/new-ceo-wants-lockheed-become-5g-playe167072/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/defense-firms-expect-higher-spending-11548783988
https://www.etf.com/ITA#efficiency
https://s2.q4cdn.com/661678649/files/doc_financials/2020/q4/4Q20-Presentation.pdf
https://investors.rtx.com/static-files/dfd94ff7-4cca-4540-bc4b-4e3ba92fc646
https://investors.lockheedmartin.com/static-files/64e5aa03-9023-423a-8908-2aae8c7015ac
https://s22.q4cdn.com/891946778/files/doc_financials/2020/q4/GD_4Q20_Earnings_Highlights-Outlook-Final.pdf
https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/01/27/teledyne-technologies-inc-tdy-q4-2020-earnings-cal/
https://investor.northropgrumman.com/static-files/6e6e117f-f656-4c68-ba7f-3dc53c2dd13a

​
Whamoo Casino Review & Free Bonus
Sign up with Whamoo Casino and test slots in freeplay - No Deposit Required! Additionally, take advantage of 300 Free Spins and up to 600 EUUSD Welcome Bonus. Exclusive promo codes apply. Click on the link below and start playing for free!
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

About Whamoo Casino [Full Review]

Whamoo is a brand new, fun-loving online casino that has recently opened its premises for gamblers from many countries around the world. It does however promise to be more than just an online casino, as Whamoo describes itself as a lifestyle and feeling.
The rush you feel when the reels spin. The sound you make when that spin turns into a huge win. That’s Whamoo. Yet Whamoo is so much more than that. This online casino promises all you would expect from a reputable online casino – but then improved further. A massive game library? Check. Live casino? Check. Full mobile compatibility? Check. An entire VIP bonus programme for loyal customers? Check. Whamoo is a casino which comes with the entire package which players have come to expect of a casino provider.
On paper Whamoo sounds like a great online casino. But being a newcomer on the scene, there are of course always some open questions. How reliable is Whamoo? What can you expect from this brand new casino when it comes to the available games? How cooperative is their online help desk? What kind of welcome bonuses are there for new players who wish to open an online account?
In our extensive Whamoo review, we will try to answer all of the above questions and guide you through this brand new casino. So do read on and let’s explore this exciting new addition to the world of online gambling!
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

A fully licenced online casino

Whamoo is a fully licenced online casino and a safe place for gamblers to put down their wagers. The website of whamoo.com is operated by DialMedia Ltd, a company registered by the Malta Business Registry with number C86642, on the registered address of Depiro Point, Block A2, Triq Mons G. Depiro, Sliema, Malta.
As gambling operator, DialMedia Ltd. fully licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) under licence number MGA/B2C/542/2018 issued on 10/04/2019.
What does this say about the reliability of Whamoo?
The MGA licence is one of the better ones you can find in the online casino world as Malta is the major European nation when it comes to online gambling. It is home not only to most of the world’s top online casinos, but also to many software providers and other businesses providing auxiliary services in the gambling industry.
A Malta Gaming Authority licence is not handed out with ease, as a company needs to fulfil many criteria before being granted one. The national gambling authorities of this Mediterranean island and EU member state check for example if all games which are made available are indeed fair and honest. They also check whether a company has enough cash reserves to pay out lucky winners of casino games and hold regular audits to ensure that there are no irregularities.
If an online casino has a MGA licence, it means that all the important criteria when it comes to safety, honesty and reliability are fulfilled and that it is a safe place to gamble. For us, the online casino licence is always a first thing we check before we even would consider playing somewhere. With this crucial criteria being fulfilled, we can thus move forward in our Whamoo review and look at all the other things this casino has to offer. And to be honest, the whole Whamoo package looks quite promising! Three of the main selling points of the Whamoo online casino are:

• Compile your own welcome bonus package and decide between free spins or a deposit bonus – or a combination of both.
• Hundreds of games from top casino software developers, including an exciting live casino platform.
• Recurring reload bonuses every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Whamoo clearly sounds like a promising casino when looking at the selling points, but do these points hold up when we test out the casino in real? Let’s continue our review of Whamoo with one of the most important aspects of every online casino: its game library. Which casino games can we find back in the Whamoo game collection? How honest and fair are these games? These are all legit questions which must be looked into before you can decide whether or not an online casino is suitable or not.
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

Games from top software developers

When checking the list of Whamoo’s software providers you can only feel relieved as this brand new online casino only has games from the world’s top casino games developers. Especially for a newly opened online casino it is important to show to the public that you are talking serious – and you can only do that by adding the most popular games from the top software providers to your game library.
It’s not only about fun. Sure, these top software developers are known for making some of the most fantastic video slots, stellar table games. They have the most exhilarating and professional live casino tables to which you can connect in just a few clicks. But it’s more than just playing fun, graphics and game design.
By only having games from the top software companies, you are giving your players a clear message that you are only satisfied with the best quality games. Perhaps the most important aspect is game reliability, honesty and fairness. All games from the top software companies are fully tested and accredited by regulatory bodies. These gaming authorities check whether games indeed turn out completely random results and give gamblers a honest shot at winning. This is perhaps even more important than just a fantastically designed game, as in the end what matters most is reliability and honesty inside a casino.

RNG

The games which can be played at Whamoo Casino all have a piece of code called a Random Number Generator (RNG). With a random number generator, the outcome of every game is completely random and independent from previous results. It means that every card being dealt on the table, all dice which are thrown during a game, and every ball spinning around in the roulette wheel is never predetermined. Let’s put it this way: if you throw a single dice with the numbers 1 to 6 on it, you have indeed an exact 1 out of 6 chance that it will land on your predicted number.
A random number generator is absolutely crucial when it comes to delivering fair game results and giving gamblers a honest chance at winning. By having games from the top software providers, Whamoo makes sure that you can trust the fairness of every casino game you play. The good thing is that not only are the game results subject to occasional audits by regulatory authorities, but that these software providers also pro-actively test their own games to ensure they fulfil the highest industry standards. They hire independent testing agencies such as eCOGRA to check their games, both in virtual simulations and real-time results.
Let’s take a look at the software providers whose games have already been added to the Whamoo game library. As these are some of the best known software developers in the world, chances are that you have heard about some of these names before!
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

NETENT GAMES

Also known by its full name of Net Entertainment, NetEnt is one of the largest casino game developers in the world. NetEnt is a Swedish company which was founded in 1996, which makes it one of the oldest companies in the relatively young world of online casino gaming. It is so big, that the company is even listed on the local NASDAQ stock exchange in Stockholm, Sweden!
NetEnt is best known for its vast video slot portfolio, of which many games are also playable at Whamoo. Having NetEnt games in your casino game library is almost a must for every online casino, as besides Whamoo some 300 or so more online casinos have NetEnt games available, which tells you something about the popularity of this company. Just like Whamoo itself, NetEnt has a full gambling licence in the EU member state of Malta, which means that all games are subject to regulatory oversight and can be trusted for their fairness. NetEnt also works closely together with independent testing labs to ensure that their games meet the highest standards.
Some popular NetEnt games which you can play at Whamoo are Jack and the Beanstalk, BerryBurst, Twin Spin, The Vikings, Wings of Riches, Aloha!, Fruit Shop, Jacks or Better, Gonzo’s Quest, Dazzle Me, Wild Bazaar and of course the eternal favourite of Starburst.

PRAGMATIC PLAY GAMES

Pragmatic Play is another major company in the online gaming world. The casino games of Pragmatic Play are always popular with the players, so it is no surprise that Whamoo has chosen to add quite a few Pragmatic Play games to its online collection. Pragmatic Play focuses mostly on online video slots, although they also make some exciting live casino games which are hosted in their own studios.
Being only founded in 2015, Pragmatic Play is a relative newcomer within the game developing industry. Yet in those few years time, the company already managed to reach to top heights with Pragmatic Play being considered to rank among the top game providers. Quality and safety are of immense importance for Pragmatic Play. Therefore, all games are documented and tested by independent auditors and testing labs such as QUINEL, BMM and Gaming Labs.
Popular Pragmatic Play games which can be played at Whamoo are John Hunter and the Aztec Treasure, Great Rhino Megaways, Leprechaun Song, Lucky Dragons, Mustang Gold, The Champions, Vegas Nights, Aztec Gems, Buffalo King, Starz Megaways, Triple Jokers, Magic Crystals, Sugar Rush, Beowulf and many more exciting video slots.
Of course, many baccarat, blackjack and roulette variants are available in Whamoo’s Live Casino which is powered by Pragmatic Play software. You are connected by high resolution video feed to professional dealers and croupiers in one of the Pragmatic Play casino studios where you can experience the thrills of a real life casino behind your computer or mobile phone. It’s almost like you are standing in Vegas!

STAKELOGIC GAMES

Stakelogic is another popular software developer which has added its games to the Whamoo game library. As one of the best-known developers in the software industry, it is always a good sign that Stakelogic games are available to play given that this company has made some exciting video slots.
Using HTML5, Stakelogic games are of course fully mobile compatible, which means you can play them on your smartphone as well. The company has also made some exciting new 3D slots which are not only gorgeous to look at but also wild fun to play. As an off-shoot company from gaming giants Novomatic, Stakelogic certainly is a reputable software developer which can be trusted when it comes to fairness and reliability.
Popular Stakelogic games are Epic Slam, Wild Stallion, Magic Wheel, Super Wild Arcade, Fruit Spinner, Lucky Gems Deluxe, Hot Fruits, Grand Slam Deluxe, Runner Runner, Turbo 4 Player Jackpot, Dragons and Magic, Big 5 Jungle Jackpot, Mariachi and The Big Cash Game.
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

High limit gaming options

Whamoo is an online casino which is not only suitable for gamblers on a tight budget, but also for the true high rollers. You can place bets as low as a few cents, or as high as several thousands of euros or dollars at this online casino. Depending on your game of choice, whether its a jackpot video slot or classic table game, there are countless of options to bet big for maximum excitement and chances of winning top prizes. Further down in this Whamoo review, we will discuss some of the high limit games which are available.
Highrollers should also note that Whamoo comes with its own VIP programme in which you can quickly work yourself to the top category if you bet big. You can get instant access to your own dedicated casino manager and will get invites to high stakes tournaments. There are special weekly cashback bonuses as well for the true high roller gamblers at Whamoo. We will discuss the VIP program more in depth a bit further down this Whamoo review.
For now, let’s take a look at all the high roller games which are available at Whamoo Online Casino!

Endless rows of jackpot video slots

If you are a real lover of video slots you will be glad to hear that Whamoo has several hundreds of online video slots available. Although some of these slots are more suitable for beginning players or those on a tight budget, there are plenty of slots available where you can bet up to 100 euro/dollar per spin. This makes for some exhilarating and thrilling slot game action which will please any high stakes gambler out there!
Of course, Whamoo also has its share of jackpot slots where you have a shot at winning the progressive jackpot which can run well above a million euro or dollar! These premium slots, such as those using the famous Megaways system, offer countless of opportunities to place maximum bets at your video slot of choice.
Check the Whamoo game library whether or not your favourite slot is available as well, or try one of the many exciting new game additions! It is easy to browse through the Whamoo website. You can sort slots by software provider, or use the search function to check for your beloved title.

Join for some high stakes blackjack action

Blackjack has always been one of the most popular games among high rollers and the reasons why are quite clear. You can often bet high amounts of money on a single play and you can as a player slightly influence the outcome of a game as you need to decide whether you want to stand or hit another card.
At Whamoo, there is plenty of high stakes blackjack action. There are both normal blackjack games such as American Blackjack and multihand Blackjack, as well as blackjack tables in the live casino. In the live casino, which is powered by Pragmatic Play software, you can play several blackjack variants. Bets of up to several hundreds of euros or dollars, or even higher for the real VIPs, are possible.
Beat the hand of the dealer and hit that score of 21. Maybe it will be your lucky day playing blackjack at Whamoo Online Casino!

Grab a seat at the roulette table

There is plenty of roulette action at Whamoo as well. You can choose between virtual roulette versions, or opt for a seat at a roulette table in the live casino, where you are connected to a real-time croupier by video feed. Especially in the live casino high bets of up to a thousand dollar or more are possible, making roulette a big favourite among the real high stake gamblers.
Of course, Whamoo Casino has all of the the standard roulette versions of American Roulette, French Roulette and European Roulette. Most of these games are developed by software giants NetEnt.
In the live casino, there is also Roulette Macao Live, where you will be connected to a gaming environment which makes you feel like you are playing in the famous casinos of this Chinese gambling mecca. Live Speed Roulette, Live Roulette Auto and Roulette Azure are popular Pragmatic Play live casino versions of roulette which are available to Whamoo players.
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

Whamoo's unique bonus package

One area in which Whamoo stands out as online casino is its great bonus package. Of course, there is a great welcome bonus for newly registered users. But the fun doesn’t stop there! At Whamoo casino, it is bonus day almost every single day of the week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the casino has recurring bonus offers if you reload you bankroll on one of those days. This makes Whamoo not only an attractive casino at the moment you sign up, but also at all those moments when you come back to play again.
300 free spins or a €200 deposit bonus

The Whamoo welcome bonus

We start of discussing the Whamoo welcome bonus which is called the “Welcombo” bonus by the casino. On a picture the Welcombo might not look too appealing as its packed in a carton takeaway box you might get at a certain fast food restaurant, but trust us on this: its contents are truly fantastic.
The Welcombo box contains a combination of goodies you get with your very first deposit at Whamoo. And what is best of all? You can decide what combo you want to receive! If you sign up at Whamoo for a free online casino account, you can determine your own bonus by adjusting the slide until you have found a combination which matches your idea of a perfect bonus.
This is a great option as it allows people to choose the bonus which best suits them. You can choose between free spins and a deposit bonus – or a combination of both. If you are an avid video slot gamer and do not care much about table games, you may want to slide all the way to the maximum free spins bonus. In that case, you will receive 300 free spins, but your deposit bonus will be 0%. The free spins in the Welcombo package are valid on the popular Amatic Industries slot Book of Fortune.
On the other hand, if you only care about table games and are not really interested in free spins and playing video slots, you want to adjust the slide to the maximum deposit bonus. This is a 100% deposit bonus of up to 200 euro. This means that if you deposit 200 euro of your own money to your newly created online casino account, Whamoo will top this up by another 200 euro from the house! If you select the full 100% deposit bonus, you will however not receive any free spins at all.
Of course, you can also opt for a mix between free spins and a deposit bonus. If you leave the slider in the middle, you will get 150 free spins and a 50% deposit bonus, for example. You can tweak this in any direction you want, for example to a 70% deposit bonus and 90 free spins. The higher your deposit bonus, the less free spins you receive. Want more free spins? Then your deposit bonus will decrease.

Welcombo bonus terms and conditions

Only one bonus is allowed per household and/or per player account. Do note that Whamoo’s bonuses remain valid until seven days after the required deposit has been made. Once this period ends, the bonus is automatically flagged as expired by the system and can no longer be released. The expired bonus funds are then automatically removed from the player’s account.
Of course, there is a wagering requirement which must be met in order to withdraw your bonus money and any winnings which may derive from it. Real money balance is used prior to bonus balance. The bonus balance will only be used when there is no real money available in your account. Only real money funds and released bonus funds can contribute towards the wagering requirement of the bonus. The wagering requirement for the Welcombo deposit bonus and free spins is thirty times (30x) the deposit + bonus.
Do note that players that deposit money using Paysafecard, Skrill or Neteller are not eligible for the Welcombo. To assure fair gaming and prevent fraud, Whamoo has placed a maximum cap on bonus money wagers, which are limited to a maximum per round/bet of €5 or its equivalent in other currencies. You should also be aware that certain games cannot be played using bonus money. There is a full overview of these games on the Whamoo bonus page.
Bets placed in certain games might not contribute fully to the wagering requirements.

• Bets placed on video slots count for 100%
• Bets placed on scratch cards count for 100%
• Bets placed on blackjack count for 10%
• Bets placed on video poker count for 10%
• Bets placed on poker count for 10%
• Bets placed on roulette, baccarat, sic-bo and craps do not count
• Bets placed on live casino games do not count

Recurring bonuses at Whamoo

The bonus fun does not stop at the welcome bonus when you play at Whamoo! You can count on a constant stream of promotional campaigns and bonus offers. The casino has recurring promo offers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you deposit some extra money to your online casino bankroll on one of those days, you are eligible for a bonus. It therefore pays off to wait for these days before you decide to reload your online funds.
On Monday it is Pick ‘n’ Play day to start off the week with some good vibes. On this day, the casino basically tops up your deposited money You can:

• Turn your €20 into €25 with the code 100024;
• turn your €50 into €65 with the code 100025, and/or
• turn your €100 into €135 with the code 100026.

It is even possible to combine these bonuses if you want to deposit a larger sum! Alternatively, you can use the bonus codes of WHPICK5, WHPICK15 and WHPICK35 by putting these into the promo code field on the cashier page every Monday.

Whoa Wednesday

Wednesday is for many a difficult day in the week, it being right in the middle of another long week of work. To spice up things, Whamoo has come with an unusual bonus which it calls “Whoa Wednesday”.
Every Wednesday you get to uncover your secret gift – for free, no strings attached. The casino will add this gift to your next deposit. This can be a bonus, a set of free spins, or even both. You’ll get all the details once you’ve pulled off the cover and logged into your account. You will receive the bonus details and promotional code, which you can use in the promo field at the payment page to receive your hard-earned Wednesday bonus.

Freeday bonus

Friday is the favourite day of the week for many people – and the reason why is quite obvious. It marks the end of another working week and the start of some well-deserved weekend R&R! For many people this involves paying a visit to a land-based or online casino to get their kicks at their favourite game, whether it is a card game, roulette or video slot.
Whamoo knows that many people cannot wait for the days off work to start and therefore has come up with a special Friday bonus to welcome in the weekend! This bonus day is called ‘Freeday’ by Whamoo. The casino basically hands you a bunch of free spins if you are a regular customer. For every weekday from the previous week (Friday through Thursday) that you’ve deposited 30 euro or more, you get 10 free spins. For every weekend day you even get 20 Free Spins! That means up to 90 Free Spins are yours to play with. That’s a great start to a weekend full of partying and fun!

Wagering requirements

Do note that wagering requirements do apply to all daily promo offers. These are more or less the same as we outlined above in the description of the welcome package, but do take a look at the bonus terms and conditions page on the Whamoo website to know precisely what you can expect! As always, it is important to read the small print in order not to face any surprises later on.
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

A fully mobile compatible casino

As a brand new online casino, Whamoo knows that already a majority of gamblers nowadays play on their mobile phones rather than on computers. Because of this, the Whamoo casino is fully compatible with mobile devices and tablets. If you load the Whamoo website on your smartphone, it looks just as good as on your laptop of computer. It’s equally accessible and orderly too! The mobile website is a breeze to browse through and you can easily access all the important pages such as the game library and payment page.
The same counts for the actual games themselves. Whamoo only works with software providers which are known to offer full mobile gaming support. These games are made in code such as HTML5, which means that the games can simply be played in your (mobile) internet browser. There is no download or special app required to play these games. Whether you are playing on your computer, tablet or smartphone, you simply surf to Whamoo.com and select your favourite game from the library. This game will then open in your internet browser – and you can play instantly. It does not matter whether your phone runs on Android or is an iPhone, nor does it matter whether you have Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari or any other internet browser. Whamoo will function just fine!
This is absolutely great as you can now play at Whamoo wherever you are, whenever you want. Want to put down some wagers on the roulette table while you are sitting in public transport on your way to work? That’s easily doable! Just take out your smartphone on the train or bus, and surf to Whamoo.com to play at your favourite roulette table. Are you sitting on your couch at home and want to play a few hands of blackjack before going to sleep? Just take out your laptop, tablet or phone and within seconds you can have some of the most exhilarating blackjack fun on your screen.

The Whamoo Live Casino

Whamoo’s live casino is powered by Pragmatic Play and NetEnt software – which are two of the biggest, most reputable software providers in the world. This is great news for the players, as you can access high quality tables in just a few clicks.
In the live casino, you are connected with a live video feed to a real-time casino table in one of the casino studios of these software providers. You can play games like baccarat, blackjack and roulette like you are standing in a real land-based casino in Vegas or Monaco! Thanks to the high definition video stream, you have a great overview of all the action which unfolds on and around the table.
All table games are led by experienced, professional croupiers and dealers who are not only well-trained, but entertaining as well. By all means, feel free to open your microphone or the chat window to have a talk with them, or even with other players from around the world. This is what makes the live casino such a great invention. Even though you might be sitting at home in front of your laptop or computer, it does almost feel like you are standing in a casino for real!
Especially for high rollers the live casino is a worthwhile addition as table limits are often much higher than in regular games. Of course, if you are on a tight budget there will definitely be live casino tables where low minimum bets are allowed too – no worries there. But it is the experienced, high stakes gambler who probably feels most at home in the live casino.
There are multiple baccarat, blackjack and roulette variants which you can play. For roulette, there is American Roulette, European Roulette, French Roulette, Speed Roulette, Live Roulette Auto and Roulette Macao Live. If you prefer the casino classic of blackjack, you will find plenty of different tables all with slightly different betting limits. Baccarat is perhaps the game with the highest betting limit. Besides the regular version, there are also Speed Baccarat tables. A fourth casino game which can be played live at the Whamoo Live Casino is Sic Bo. Just browse through the list of live casino games, or use the search function to find your favourite table!
>> Get No Deposit Bonus Now <<

Ok, so you’re reading this cause you are slacking off and doing anything to avoid studying. Some of this will probably not apply or some people will disagree(maybe strongly), but this is what I learned/experienced from my experience taking the CPA exam. This is long, so strap in and lets go for a ride.
Background
I am an advisory associate at a Big 4 firm. I had Becker paid for since I signed my return offer after my internship. I have both a bachelors and masters degree in accounting. I started studying in Feb 2019 and just found out I passed my final part, with BEC the only one I had to take while working. I passed all parts on my first try. I love subjective qualitative questions (AUD) and despise quantitative calculation heavy questions (everything else). I had terrible study habits/motivation and typically I am a bad test taker. So anyways lets get started
1. Understand the concepts and underlying logic
a. You have heard this time and time again and just let it brush by you without a 2nd thought. You probably only want to just memorize and regurgitate material. If you want to get the most out of your studying, you should aim to truly understand why things are the way they are and from what point of view you need to look from. For example, why would an audit firm be cautious about taking on a new client (i.e. Enron)? What could make management want to “cheat” on their financials and how does the FASB curb those actions? Etc. I cannot emphasize this enough. Oh wait, hold on. AM I EMPHASIZING THIS ENOUGH??!!!!!!!! Do this and be able to teach the concepts to others. Being able to teach it helps reinforce it.
2. Be curious and listen/read about biz outside of studying
a. You should ask questions to yourself that go beyond the review course. “Why do I share memes on Facebook and avoid social interaction in real life?” “Do I really want to do public accounting?” “I wonder what it’ll be like not having to study for this stupid exam?” oh wait, not those questions. Lol, listen to podcasts like planet money, the Wall street journal, etc. Google questions you have that go beyond the scope of your review course. Try to make connections to your life (individual tax and how that might apply to you). Doing this will, hopefully, make you curious/interested and tie things to what you’re studying. Not making any connections to your personal life financial decisions or what is going around you or being curious can make the study process that much worse.
3. Practice and use excel
a. DO NOT USE A TI 84 when studying. Yes, I know you have an emotional connection to it since it was your ex girlfriend’s back in high school. Get in the habit of using excel. From what I understand, if you are really close, like a 74, the graders will take a special look at your exam and see if you really deserve a 75. Excel would help by allowing you to write notes for problems and show your thought process to the graders. It helps out in sims, when you are using the research tool and find a code that applies but you want to keep searching for a better citation. You can copy and paste that section and passages into excel for reference if you want to come back. You can format how you calculate stuff too, vs that crappy on screen calculator trying to figure out which step of the calculation you’re at. Plus getting in the habit of using the main program you’ll use at work also helps. Should also learn hot keys, show em what dem fingers do. Get your mind out of the gutter.
4. MCQs, MCQs, MCQs
a. Your eyes should be bleeding. After understanding and grasping the concepts, you should aim to get above 60% (75% if you’re competitive) correct on your first try on MCQs for each module. If you don’t, go back into the book and relearn. MCQs are great practice and honestly its probably the best way to prepare in a short amount of time. I aimed to get through the material about 45% of my time and the remaining being for reviewing mostly through doing MCQs. I aimed to do about 200-300 MCQs each day during my review period. Others have said that they did 1000 a day. Its not a contest. Heck, I’ve even seen some of the same MCQs (or very similar) between Becker and the actual exams. Doesn’t hurt to practice.
5. Still in undergrad? Take more finance classes
a. Something I found helpful was doing a dual accounting and finance bachelors degree. I got both perspectives from accounting and finance. Yes, I incurred more student loans, but at least I can talk the talk and understand obscure finance related topics (financial markets and institutions, risk management, forecasting, etc).
6. Need more education credits? Do a masters in accounting(MAcc), not an MBA or a masters in tax, etc
a. Ok, this is controversial and this probably only applies to juniors in college. Look, taking classes that interest you are great. But if you truly want those three letters after your name, you’ll have to put yourself in a position that truly sets you up for success. An MBA: you’ll have exposure to all sorts of classes and topics, but you probably won’t focus too much on auditing or tax and other accounting stuff as much. Plus, there’s a whole debate on if an MBA is even worth it anymore vs a specialized masters (MAcc, Master of supply chain,etc). Let me know if you want me to elaborate, but googling recent news articles/threads can show you. A masters in tax: yes, you’ll probably destroy REG. However, if you don’t like qualitative and subjective questions, AUD will kick you in the ass. FAR will probably be a little difficult since you mostly studied tax. A MAcc: you’ll get an overall selection of accounting courses (audit to cost accounting, etc). Overlapping your classes while studying for a CPA exam section is only gonna help (audit class while studying for AUD; killing 2 birds with one stone). Employers will be a little bit more at ease knowing you aren’t these “no brained MBA students that don’t know anything” -grad school prof. Look at schools that have flexibility and have high pass rates for the CPA exam. I’ve heard great things about BYU, Texas, and Michigan.
7. Never waste a testing window, if you can afford it. Take it at the end too.
a. Now, I’m not too sure how this is gonna play out with the new testing rules upcoming in July. However, I would always try to aim to get through all my material a week before the testing window ended and aimed to take the exam on the last day of the testing window. If I failed, I’d find out the following week and I’d have all that material still fresh in my mind to grind for early next testing window. From what I’ve heard and experienced, you can typically be pleasantly surprised with the result, as long as you know enough basic stuff. Don’t quote me on that, but if you got the cash, might as well do it. If you plan it right, the first year bonus should be able to cover all the exam fees you incurred taking exams multiple times. Jk, plan to pass it the first time, it’ll save you some $$.
8. For the love of God, pass them all before working
a. My heart goes out to all those who haven’t taken a single part when they begin work. I was studying for BEC while working and Jesus, I legit could not find time or have energy to study while working (get home at 9, bed at 11, up at 5am, leave for client at 6am). If I were to redo it again, I would ask during your internship to get access to Becker early and start studying before grad school. I spent about 10+ hours a day during the bright blue skied summer in the library depressed that I had to learn about pension and lease accounting. I’ve heard that some places/firms are great at giving you time to study, but probably don’t pay as much. I’ve heard GCAS (GCASconnect.org) is a great option. Probably hard to break into Big 4 afterwards, but at least you’ll kinda get that work life balance. Get it done ASAP. If you are working FT and haven’t taken any or are currently taking it, its not the end of the world. I know plenty of people who passed all of em in Big 4 within their first 4 years.
9. Impatient and want to know if you passed/failed a little bit early? Eyeball trick
a. I think this applies mostly NASBA states, but yea google it. Your credit/fail status will pop up like half a day before the actual release date (typically).
10. Getting through the material is the hardest part
a. So what if you fail an exam, at least you did the hardest part, getting through and understanding the material. If you fail, you aren’t starting back at square 1. You’ll pretty much be at >=70%, depending on how diligent you were at studying the first time, if you find out if you failed. If you haven’t started work yet, just get through all the material. Learning obscure topics in FAR &BEC while working 60+ hours a week will drive you crazy. As mentioned below, write outlines, so that it’ll be easier and quicker to refresh on the material if you need to come back.
11. Find a friend, a study routine, and test ritual
a. If you’re like me, you have borderline ADHD and cannot concentrate or keep yourself accountable. I had a group in grad school that we all struggled together in the library and kept each other accountable. Cancel your Netflix, take Youtube out of your bookmarks, just make it difficult to find distractions. Your job is to study, not find an excuse to have a study break *points at you*. Finally, find a ritual. Mine was booking a hotel the night before my exam at a hotel across the street from Prometric (Since I was scared to death that my love for sleep would get the best of me). I would go to Red Robin and eat dinner, go to a movie the night before and take Z quil and go to bed early. Before my exam, I would wake up 3-4 hours before my exam to get myself awake, eat a very light breakfast, and take a 5 hour energy right before I walked into the exam room. I would carry gum, a granola bar, redbull, Advil, ear plugs, and a water bottle to the exam. I fidget a lot so I would chew gum, and while Prometric typically gave us headmuffs, I would carry in my ear plugs and squish them (fidgeting habit) while I read prompts or if my test taking neighbor was noisy, put in the earplugs underneath the headmuffs. After my exam, I would treat myself. Go play 9 holes, watch another movie, and go out drinking. Treat yourself, even if you failed it, you deserve some positivity in your life. Depending on how you feel, wait 2 days(recovery) before studying the same section or moving onto the next section.
12. Do not redeem your Becker books until after you are done
a. Want a little extra cash? I wish I had thought of this earlier. But, one of my buddies only used the online textbook and online final review textbook. He never redeemed his becker books. After he finished, he put up a listing on ebay for his becker books. Since the books keep getting updated, he could say that these books were current. He also bundled all the books together on ebay and sold them for like $350, instead of selling one by one which would take longer. Plenty of people have their books go out of date fast and are in need of new fresh paper to massacre with their pencil and highlighter. If you don’t need the hardcopy, pass on it and get a little bit of extra cash after you pass the exams.
13. If Becker ever offers you a lifetime subscription, take it
a. Yes, while they do say that if you don’t pass a section they’ll let you keep using your account, you do have to demonstrate that you didn’t pass (salt in the wound). During grad school, a couple of my friends at another big 4 firm said they got an email about Becker giving them lifetime access until they passed. I reached out to Becker to see if I could opt in for that. It was free. That way it was one less thing on my mind knowing that my software would expire in 18 months unless I showed substantial progress in reviewing through Becker.
14. Becker really done screwed up by removing the desktop app
a. I might be in the minority here, but I highly doubt it. Starting Jan 2020, Becker will no longer support the desktop application for your laptop. I absolutely loved the native downloaded application. You didn’t need to be connected via internet and could pull up excel. I only needed the internet to update the contents. Having access to the internet was a slippery slope to a 7 hour youtube binge. By turning off my wifi and going to a spot in the library with no WIFI access, I ultimately only had the Becker app for entertainment. Sad yes, I know. Becker only now offers the online version and the app version for mobile devices. Sorry for all those who didn’t get to download the desktop app back in June 2019 for the last time.
15. Find a good prometric
a. I have been fortunate and not had problems. However, I have heard nightmare scenarios where a few of my friends had a prometric that couldn’t get their exam loaded and had to have them reschedule. If you’re working and take PTO that would be terrible. I had one friend who tried to take an exam at the end of a testing window before his other exam credit expired the next testing period and lost credit cause prometric had to keep rescheduling him. Put your mind at ease and don’t experience an emotional rollercoaster finding out you have to reschedule. Some Prometrics are control freaks and will lose their s*** if you do something minor like chewing gum or kick off your shoes while you are taking your exam. Just depends on who your proctor is. Ask your friends which locations are good. Heads up though, typically those are the ones that fill up the quickest.
16. You got 4 mins to write down everything
a. Don’t know if this is allowed by Prometric, can someone attest to this? Remember those 4 mins that are admin disclaimers before your actual exam begins? Good, use that free time to your advantage. Write down formulas fresh in your mind or concepts or acronyms that will help you or that you truly struggle with. I wish I had done this when I took it, but write down all the major amounts (i.e. 3k), concepts, rules, and formulas on that little crappy laminated sheet Prometric gives you during that 4 mins before your exam starts. Some people will say this is not necessary or bad for you, but if I were you, I’d live in comfort having that sheet of material.
17. Becker keeps repeating certain things over and over
a. If you haven’t gotten the hint yet, you should.*Don’t be like me when a girl laughs at your 2/10 dad joke and tell her she is a great friend* Topics that mysteriously keep popping up again and again, are typically the ones that will most likely show up on your exam. *cough*Basis*cough*gov &NFP*cough*Internal control*cough*IT*
18. The exam is “fair”, MCQs only adaptive
a. Yes, only the MCQ testlets are adaptive. If you find that a sim is easy, don’t worry your little mind about it. SIM difficulty is random, even though you’ll stare at your screen for 30 min wondering where it all went wrong. Look, the examiners only want you to know enough to keep the public safe (so basically AUD matters). Those really difficult sections you have in your review course typically won’t be big areas in the exam, unless you’ve got bad luck. If that’s the case, then I’m sorry dude. When I took FAR, I kept reviewing the sections that I could not grasp that well, in reality it consisted of most of the questions I was really strong in already. However, I hadn’t kept up in those areas and I thought I failed. It’s a fair exam, not too hard but not easy, the studying/review part is in my opinion the worst part of the whole process.
19. Watch out for absolutes
a. Use standard test taking strategies. If you see the words: only, all, none, never, always, etc. in answers, your eyes should pop and you should start reevaluating your life choices. That’s how I got through AUD, just looking for absolutes. If you see one, that’s typically one less answer choice you have to worry about. There is always the exception to the rule. That being said, you should also get in the habit of watching out for the question prompt saying except, none, only, etc. I can’t tell you how many questions I missed cause I was not careful reading the prompt correctly. Get in the habit of knowing what the question is truly asking.
20. For BEC WC, repeat the prompt
a. How does the AICPA keep up with grading the BEC exam with all those essays you gotta write? They (probably) don’t. It’s most likely a computer that uses a similar grammaspelling function to that of MSFT word and/or Grammarly with a few extra conditions like searching for key words. As long as you can write with decent grammar, you are set my friend. Just make sure you almost repeat exactly what the prompt says, so that the system sees you are on track. Even if you have no clue what the hell the answer is, repeat the prompt. You’ll get points for writing something and being on track. Just a little sneaky tip for ya.
21. Is the Elijah Watt Scholarship worth it?
a. Short answer: no, in my opinion. “Yes, we will definitely pay you $20,000 if you get 95.5 avg across all the exams and passing on your first try!”-accounting firm. From what I have heard, pretty much all the firms will try their best to back out of this promise and say, “ooof, ummm, how about no and we instead give you $5,500. Cool right?! Hey did you by chance get around to that one project we assigned you yesterday?” I think PWC has been the only one to honor the higher bonus, but even then, I haven’t heard too great of things from them lately from my friends who did get the Elijah Watt award. Your goal is to pass. A CPA is still a CPA no matter if you scored 99 on all the sections or if you got 75 on all sections. A really smart friend of mine once told me, “You’re a complete idiot if you get anything above a 75, a 75 says that you studied just the right amount, Idk why xyz has spent 5 months studying for BEC doing 10+ hours a day.” Probably study enough to aim for an 85, rather pass than have to retake.
22. This platform (another71, reddit,etc) will help keep your sanity
a. Yes, while some people here can be very brash and tell you to work harder and not really give you comfort. There are plenty of people here to give encouragement and support. Lots of people here are in the same boat as you and are trying to pass. After every exam I would rant about how little I studied and how I knew I had for sure failed and how others felt about their exams. Remember, for every rant you put, give two comments of support/advice to someone who is struggling. Also, while youtube reactions to CPA exams is nice, don’t dive too deep and waste precious study time. Breeze through them and see what is recommended and how to prepare, nothing more. Shoutout to those who actually make youtube videos on their journeys, yall helped me out.
23. Take FAR first, BEC=What the hell was that?
a. FAR is a B****. It’s a mile wide but an inch deep. When I studied for AUD, I honestly had fun studying for it. REG was not as fun, but was able to connect it to my life. FAR…. FAR is a beast. It is so freakin long that I was honest to God exhausted after it. If I had to redo things, I would take it first. It’s just the amount of material, the exam I found was quite fair. You’ll also realize that FAR is systemic and touches every other section. Taxes for Reg (M1&M3 schedules), ratios for Audit, and hedges for BEC. Trust me, it’ll be easier to transition vs hearing Olinto and Gearty say “remember in FAR..” when you actually hadn’t event studied for it yet. Ok, now lil ol’ BEC. At first glance its this little cute section that’s like “I’m just glad to be here” In reality, its this random hodgepodge of misc material that couldn’t make up separate exams. While the other sections build on each other, the BEC material is so different it is hard to transition your mindset. I woulda also tried to take this towards the beginning. Be comfortable with calculation and quantitative heavy problems. Its amazing how financy and quantitative it really is. I like qualitative subjective logic based questions, so AUD basically.
24. Use Becker Final Review and take mock exams. Make an outline as you go through
a. Final Review in my opinion is underrated. I’m one to be looking for pure efficiency and find out where my weakest areas are. At least you can still download the desktop version of final review and don’t need internet to access it. Another issue I had was I never did the progress tests. I would get through all the material and take a mock. Find out I got like a 30-50 on it and be depressed since I hadn’t kept up in the earlier parts of the material. Make sure to always constantly refresh on older parts of the material, it’ll save you so much time and effort. One thing I started in REG was making an outline. Did I ever come back and read my work? No, but the process of actually writing down concepts and material subconsciously internalizes in your brain. I did this in case I had to retake a section so I could breeze through and find the areas I was weak in. Thankfully, that never happened. Make sure to write examples that you can understand and to put jokes/big4accountant memes in it to prevent your eyes glazing over.
25. Why on earth are you still reading this slacker? Get to work
a. In all honesty, the CPA exam in my opinion isn’t that bad. It’s just getting through the material. Only you have the power to stop wildfires, wait, I mean pass the CPA exam. Life will throw crazy things at you. You might be in a relationship and need to sit your significant other down and have them understand the time commitment this really is. You just need to put yourself in a situation that will set you up for success. Stay late at work/library, put in earplugs/headmuffs (the ones you use for mowing lawns), sit in isolation away from any windows (the casino effect), drink coffee, take Adderall, exercise, move across the country, quit public accounting, start a multi tiered marketing business, marry a model, live your best life. IDK im not your mother, just do it.