[shawn in VA]

Hi Everyone,

I took AUD yesterday (11/14) after a 69 and 74 in my first 2 tries. I have zero zero audit experience (work in Tax at CPA firm) and 10 years out of school.

All I can say is WOW!!!! At least half the MCQ’s were so “wordy” along with the answer choices (to boot they were not so easy either) . I got very few straightforward questions I can answer within 30 secs.

Then onto the SIMS. on the plus side I got 2 SIMS identical to Q3, and got 2 research questions (not identical to Q3). The remaining 4 were a living nightmare. 2 DRS’s and another 2 with a bunch of documents.

Time was definitely in an issue for some reason (Not in my last 2 tries). I had 2 hours for the SIMS. 1 hour and 15 mins left after my break which I basically figured I am screwed with 6 SIMS to do in 75 min. Testlet 3 was brutal. For the very last SIM bascially ran out of time and typed in random numbers and educated guesses for drop downs.

Just left the exam in disbelief . Put in 100 hours for this retake at least. So much flipping around in the SIMS between documents. I even did the SIMS on the AICPA website. I used Roger and cpareviewforfree.com as my review materials

I felt pretty good about my Q3 where I got a 74 when I left the exam but got a 74. This time I feel like **** and wouldn’t be surprised if I got less than last time.

Hoping for a generous “curve” or a prayer really at this point. Scores don’t even come out until 5 weeks

[shawn in VA]

IF anyone has advice for how to conquer AUD that would be appreciated ? I used Roger and cpareviewforfree.com. I have not taken FAR yet (the only one I have not taken). I also have Wiley CPA excel and the test bank which I did not use this time around.

I just got so intimidated by the AUD sims and the numerous documents to go through I was like “where the hell do I start from”? The MCQs usually I do well in but this time who knows.

[shawn in VA]

IS there a good review program that helps you practice the DRS type simulations ? I did about HALF of the SIMS in Ninja and they were nothing like what I saw on the exam yesterday. I know Roger had a handful which unfortunately did not have the time to complete

[SallyCPA]

Interesting….do you feel like the sims were something you could prepare for or no? I am wondering if becker sims are even worth looking at before my exam.

[shawn in VA]

Sally-

On my second try where I got a 74 I really got “lucky” and got some really fair MCQs and not so bad SIMS.

I asked myself yesterday is this some type of evil trick or even the AUD exam I taking.
I did about 30 SIMS in total before the exam , but they were easy/medium/manageable. The SIMS on the exam were a cruel joke. I don't even know how I could have prepared for them. It is like some project you would do at work but spend WAY more than 15-20 minutes on (i.e.the most you should spend on 1 SIM. I know Roger had few DRS which I did not have time to do, assuming I fail that is what I will do.

I just wish I had passed in q3 where I got a 74. I would not have to deal with all this nonsense last few weeks.

[tygolfer]

I have said this quite a few times before, but I think the best way to prepare for this SIMS is to know the material, and to be fairly comfortable with the AL.

I did all of the SIMS in my review course (MDS CPA Review) and all in Ninja and I would agree that they aren't the same as the exam, but they do help learn how things are going to be presented. Also, you said you didn't do any of the SIMS in Roger and and only half in Ninja….not to sound harsh, but if you want to get better at SIMS you need to practice….all that you can get your hands on.

[shawn in VA]

I did NOT do even 1 practice SIM for my prep of REG and got by with 75.

I did 4 practice SIMS for my prep of BEC and got 81. All 4 that I did were from the AICPA website.

I guess AUD requires one to practice the SIMS thoroughly.

[SallyCPA]

Were the sims really that much more difficult than your previous attempts?

Some people are coming out saying it wasn't too bad..

[Anonymous]

@shawn in VA-for what it's worth, I thought practicing SIMS for AUD was the only time where it helped. Was useless in REG and I did a ton of them. We will see if it was helpful in FAR on Friday….

[sacpa]

Hope you get 75+. If it's any help, I find that Gleim sims are really good. It helps you to learn the concepts. They have 80 different types of sims including DRS. With that said, I also struggle with sims, especially the ones with lot of documents. You tend to lose track moving between different tabs & forget even the question or the specifics in the question.

Though you may not get the same sims as in the review course or AICPA sample test, doing lot of sims trains & prepares you for the exam. Good thing, you got 2 same sims as in Q3.

Taking FAR before AUD helps. But people have taken & passed AUD before FAR. It's really a toss up of getting what you are most comfortable with in the exam & which one is pre test one. Let's say the challenging one was a pretest one, then chances of passing are better. Also, the challenging one might have been challenging for lot of people & there's still a chance. You never know, until you get your score. As hard as it can be, move on. There's nothing you can do about it at this point.

Good Luck!

FAR - < than 75, 10/2013, 2/2015
BEC - < than 75, 10/2013
AUD - < than 75, 8/2015, 1/2016

~ Winners fail until they succeed. Losers quit when they fail. - Robert Kiyosaki
~ I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me.
~ Something will grow from all you are going through. And it will be YOU.
~ Right now you may not be where you intend to be, but it's where you need to be in order to get where you want to go.

[shawn in VA]

Sally-
The SIMS were more challenging than my last attempt. They also were more time consuming. So many documents to go through…wow!!

Sacpa-

Thank you for your kind words. I will look into Gleim. I hear its over 200$ so I have to think that through. Did you pass AUD with Gleim? How many hours did you put in and do you do audits for a living?

[sacpa]

@shawn: Currently, I am preparing for AUD with Gleim. I have used Gleim for my previous AUD attempt but did not pass. I do not blame Gleim for my failure. My preparation was not enough. I got 3 FAR sims in my AUD which also threw me off. Gleim is under rated. People complain saying that it over prepares you but I think that's better than to be under prepared, especially with the new exam. Try Gleim's trial version to see whether you like it.
I think Gleim test bank is offered at a discount now. Not sure how much, though.

Unfortunately, I don't keep track of hours I put in. I am in Tax & have no work experience in Audit. I have not even taken a course in Audit. The first time AUD sounded like Latin. This time around it is making more sense. Not sure how. Probably because I am paying more attention to details & have taken FAR.

FAR - < than 75, 10/2013, 2/2015
BEC - < than 75, 10/2013
AUD - < than 75, 8/2015, 1/2016

~ Winners fail until they succeed. Losers quit when they fail. - Robert Kiyosaki
~ I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me.
~ Something will grow from all you are going through. And it will be YOU.
~ Right now you may not be where you intend to be, but it's where you need to be in order to get where you want to go.

[slowreader]

I just took it on 11/16 for the 2nd time. My simulations were straight from hell. To make things worse, there was one SIM that was close to doable, but when I got home I realized I missed one little step on math calculation making the whole answer wrong. So ridiculous and frustrating after putting in many hours. Haven't slept properly since or before exam date. I did Becker MCQ end-to-end 3 times, and practiced all simulations at least twice. Basically my only chance for points on simulation is maybe the one research question, and just maybe. What pisses me off even more is the grading is fully computerized. If there was a human double checking work, there maybe a slight chance for point here and there on simulations. I feel like they just set me up here to fail. The MCQ was no less harder.

[shawn in VA]

slowreader-

WOW! I think we had the same experience. I am the one that posted this thread. Took the exam on 11/14. I did ask myself during the exam, “is the really the AUD exam, and I taking the right test?” The MCQ were wordy (questions and answers). I would say less than 20 I answered in 30 secs or less and 100% I got right. About 30 questions I got down to 2 answers. The rest MCQs— educated guesses.

SIMS were from hell and beyond. I did get 2 reaserch questions which easy, and 2 SIMS I got from Q3 identical but even though I saw them before they took time and were medium- hard. The Rest of the 4 SIMS were just a complete kick to the gut. I barely finished the exam.

I got a 74 last time, and I would not be surprise if I get less this time which would really suck. I hope there is a generous “curve” or a christmas miracle

[slowreader]

The sad part is only one research counts. Roger has stated clearly if you get two research, then one is pretested, and there is no partial credit on research either. Just one number off and whole sim is wrong. I'm dead sure if both counted my score would've been near my anticipation lines first attempt. I just don't even know where they pull these sims anymore. My friend took the exam two years back and he said his sims were much similar to Beckers. I'll be damned if I actually got one sim even semi close to what Becker has on review course or even roger for that matter.

[Author]

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