BEC Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield BEC facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which of the following best describes a capital lease (finance lease)? → A lease that transfers substantially all risks and rewards of ownership to the lessee
2. Which type of budget is adjusted to reflect the actual level of activity achieved during a period? → Flexible budget
3. An expansionary fiscal policy involves: → Increasing government spending or cutting taxes to stimulate the economy
4. A natural monopoly exists because of _________. → Economic and technical conditions permit only one efficient supplier.
5. The overhead spending variance measures the difference between: → Actual overhead and flexible budget overhead
6. A key performance indicator (KPI) should be: → Specific, measurable, and directly tied to strategic objectives
7. According to COSO's ERM framework, which of the following is an essential element of the governance and culture of an entity? → Commitment to core values
8. Which of the following is an example of a variable cost? → Direct materials
9. Which of the these types of computers is most probably to be used for end-user computing? → Personal computers.
10. Which costing method assigns manufacturing overhead using a single plant-wide rate? → Traditional costing
11. A zero-coupon bond differs from a regular bond because it: → Pays no periodic interest and is issued at a discount to face value
12. The concept of 'least privilege' in IT security means users should: → Have access only to the resources needed to perform their job functions
13. Which of the following measures a company's ability to meet interest payments from operating earnings? → Interest coverage ratio (times interest earned)
14. A master budget in operations typically includes: → All functional area budgets integrated into a comprehensive financial plan
15. Economic Value Added (EVA) is calculated as: → Net operating profit after tax minus a charge for the cost of capital employed
16. Which type of unemployment occurs when workers are between jobs or searching for better positions? → Frictional unemployment
17. Net Present Value (NPV) of a project is calculated as: → Present value of future cash inflows minus the initial investment
18. What kind of technology is required to turn a paper document into a digital file? → Optical character recognition.
19. A data warehouse is primarily used for: → Storing large volumes of historical data for analytical reporting and decision-making
20. A two-factor authentication (2FA) system enhances security by requiring: → Something the user knows plus something the user has or is
21. Financial leverage refers to the use of: → Debt financing to amplify returns on equity
22. Which phase of the business cycle immediately follows a peak? → Contraction (recession)
23. A company's current ratio is 1.8 and its quick ratio is 0.9. This difference most likely indicates: → The company holds a significant amount of inventory
24. Contribution margin is best defined as: → Sales revenue minus variable costs
25. A company's Internal Rate of Return (IRR) decision rule states: accept a project if: → IRR exceeds the required rate of return (hurdle rate)
26. A trade deficit occurs when a country's: → Imports exceed its exports
27. Cloud computing's 'Software as a Service' (SaaS) model means: → Applications are hosted by a provider and accessed by users over the internet
28. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) primarily focuses on: → Maximizing throughput by identifying and managing bottleneck resources
29. Under variable costing, which of the following is treated as a period cost rather than a product cost? → Fixed manufacturing overhead
30. The standard cost for direct materials is $5.00 per unit and the actual cost was $5.50 per unit. This results in a: → Unfavorable price variance