As I moved closer to the end of my final term, I was becoming a little worried because I had heard that UFC1 and EZC1 were the most difficult courses for many business undergrad students. It took me about 3 weeks to complete UFC1 and about 2 weeks to complete EZC1. I found EZC1 to be quite straightforward..I just read the book, studied the formulas and took the exam. However I did find that for UFC1 there was so much content and it was hard to wrap my head around all the formulas but I have created this guide for those who are interested:
The textbook is really dry, but everything for the exam can be found in the textbook, so be sure to be very thorough to read each chapter. The best method for me was to read each chapter once, and while reading I would watched the recorded webinar that went along with that chapter. This helps me to apply the concepts and reinforce the formulas. I wrote each formula on a flashcard, and the only study problems that I did for each chapter were the Learn Smart quiz, and then 1 corresponding quiz. I did not do all the other additional problems, and I found it was not necessary. Looking back now I think just the textbook quiz will suffice, as the Learn Smart quizzes go into a little too much detail. I did watch some Tony Bell videos so I could reinforce some topics that I struggled with. I liked going over these quizlet questions as well: https://quizlet.com/48788729/ufc1-managerial-accounting-flash-cards/
When you take your PA think positive and right when you being jot down as many formulas as you can remember (this saved me!). I would recommend really utilizing the time given to you and re check the answer you put for each question, I noticed some silly errors I made while doing this. I think if you score a solid 10 points above the cut score on the PA you should be good to go on the OA. They were extremely similar, and I did find in my case the OA was slightly more straightforward than the PA. Before taking the OA I redid the textbook quizzes for the chapters with the most questions: Chapters 1, 5 7, 8, and 10! I think extra attention should be paid to Chapters 1 and 5 because a bulk of the questions come from those 2 chapters alone.
Here is a breakdown of each chapter:
Chapter 1: Chapter 1 cover competency’s 1 & 2 and account for 13 questions on the exam, a majority of which come from Chapter 1. Things you should be sure you know:
-Know the IMA’s statement of Ethical Professional Practice
– Difference between financial & managerial accounting.
-Fixed vs Variable. Indirect vs. Direct
-Product vs. Period cost and which statements they appear on.
-Make sure you are confident in calculating COGM, COGS, & total manufacturing costs.
Chapter 2: Corresponds to competency 3 and covers 5 questions.
Know how to calculate you over/under applied OH and how to record it in a journal entry.
-Know the characteristics of Job Order Systems and that it is used for custom and heterogeneous products.
-Know the items on a job cost sheet.
Chapter 3: Covers Competency 3 and only has 5 corresponding questions on the exam.
-Know that process systems are repetitive operations and used for homogeneous products.
-Most important to know the Equivalent Units of Productions, and how to calculate the cost per equivalent unit.
-Know how to calculate equivalent units for direct materials, direct labor, and OH. Some questions asked to do it separately.
-Didn’t find it necessary to focus on journal entries too much, and only remember 1 or 2 questions on the exam on journal entries.
Chapter 4: Corresponds to competency number 4 and covers 5 questions on the exam.
-The plant wide & departmental overhead allocation is important.
-Know the general principle of ABC
-Advantages + Disadvantages of ABC
Chapter 5: Corresponds to Competency 4 & 5 and has 13 questions on the exam. Pay extra attention to this chapter.
-Know how to identify areas on a graph: profit, loss, break-even, & fixed.
-Know how to use the high-low method.
-Calculate CM and CM ratio.
-Break Even.
-Operating Leverage.
Chapter 7: Corresponds to competency 6 and has 6 questions on the exam.
-Components of a master budget
-Know which budget all others tend to base off of.
Chapter 8: Corresponds to competency 7 and 10 and has 7 questions on the exam.
-Calculate the flexible budget amounts based on actual results.
-Know how to calculate DM cost Variance, for both price & quantity
-Know how to calculate DL cost variance (Rate & efficiency)
-Know how to calculate Variable OH variances.
Chapter 9: Corresponds to competency 10 and has only 3 questions on the exam.
-Know Return on Investment + Residual Income
Chapter 10: Corresponds to competency 8 and has 6 questions on the exam.
-Be able to determine if a segment should be eliminated.
-Make a decision on whether to keep or replace equipment.
Chapter 11: Corresponds to competency 9 and has 5 questions on the exam.
-Know how to calculate NPV, Profitability Index, and know if you should accept or reject an investment based on hurdle rate.
Chapter 12: I didn’t find this chapter necessary and didn’t need it for the exam, I went ahead & read it anyways.
Chapter 13: Corresponds to competency 11 and has 4 questions on the exam.
-Calculate dollar/percent change from one year to the next.
-Remember the following formulas: Current Ratio, Acid Quick Ratio, Inventory Turnover, times interest earned, & profit margin.
With that being said, I passed UFC1 on the 1st time with about 15 points above cut. All that is left in my program is my capstone & I will be an official WGU grad!
Hacking Your WGU Degree 