[shawn in VA]

Hi Everyone,

This topic was started a while back ago by another poster but kinda “died”

I had my exam today (2/01) for audit and just wanted to see what others experience was during Q1 2017 ?

I took it for for the second time today after a 64 FAIL back in DEC 2016. I used Roger only back in DEC, but this time just did NINJA notes and Wiley Test Bank.

My experience today was mixed. The 1st testlet was super EASY. 2nd testlet was moderate with a few difficult questions. Flagged like 4. 3rd testlet was similar to 2nd testlet. Not sure if i got a Medium Hard Hard , or Medium Hard Medium.

The SIMS on the other hand was a mixed experience. The research was easy but took like 12 mins to answer. I got 2 DRS…1 was insanely hard, and 1 was manageable/moderate. The other ones were moderate but still had some guesses.

In a nutshell feel good about the MCQs but the SIMS not so sure. I felt similar on my 1st AUD exam where I got a 64 but this time I feel better about MCQ but not sure about SIMS. It it me or do are the SIMS just always difficult overall. I never get an easy SIM except research.

Can one pass if you get comparable in MCQ and Weaker in SIMS ?

just wanted to see what other people thought. I guess we all find out FEB 24?

[Wannafree]

@Vee I have a feeling you will pass this time with more then 80.

[AScott89]

I took AUD this past Saturday morning. I've taken AUD twice before a few years ago and got a 72 and a 68.

I studied a lot more this time around and felt pretty good about the MC testlets. Honestly out of the 90 I guessed on maybe 6 so overall, I feel great about that part.

The SIMs I had to really think about. I was able to use the AL on one of them and the research one wasn't so bad. The others I'm not sure on. Of course I felt the same way after FAR and got a 79 so I'm hoping that's a good sign. February 28th cannot come fast enough. I really wanna move on to REG.

BEC-65
AUD-72(8 '14); 68(11 '14)
FAR-
REG-

[Goingallin]

I actually started a similar thread early Jan but it was deleted by Jeff. It was somehow mistaken for a study group and was consolidated. Glad you started this thread again. I think this thread would be helpful for those who are currently studying and do not want to read through multiple thread to get an idea of how the most recent exam is like.

I'll be sharing my score and experience as soon I get my score. I'm so nervous right now and can't seem to study. My mind is all over the place.

[Anonymous]

Just returned from the exam. Guys, the AUD is not so awful. Do not know if I passed or not, of course, but there was nothing extraordinary. But you have to be familiar with most topics (not necessarily too deep). And understanding accounting is a MUST.

[CPA788]

I saw a similar thread a few weeks ago, most everyone was mentioning how terrible it was. This thread's experience isn't as bad. I took AUD 1/27 and I felt pretty confident going in. MCQs got harder as I went on and I didn't kill it on those but I don't think they were my usual demise. I feel like based on the general experience I may have lucked on out SIMS as mine felt like just general application of the material. I've seen the far out SIMS across all other sections and I felt like mine were fair. I hate the phrase people say “if you think you passed you failed” because 1) that won't apply to me here, I feel positive and 2) I've actually never experienced that. I have actually predicted my score ~2 points each time, and I'm going on 8 or 10 attempts here. I always know when I fail. Anyone else?

Hate having to wait til 2/23. Will report back in case anyone is curious. Or maybe see ya'll in the I Passed AUD thread – I friggin HOPE!

BEC - 74, 77
FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
REG - 69
AUD - Q4 '16

CA Candidate

[Cruzer]

@CPA788 I think I also lucked out with the SIMS I got because I felt they were very manageable and I felt more confident walking out of the exam this time compared to my first two attempts at AUD. There is just such an empty feeling until you open that score up and see it with your own eyes.

[CPA788]

@cruzer – don't I know it. The people in the score release thread that take a sleeping pill before score release have the right idea. While I can feel positive, I am almost in panic-tears every time I check a score. Here's to a 75 for all of us.

BEC - 74, 77
FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
REG - 69
AUD - Q4 '16

CA Candidate

[Goingallin]

I passed with 87. Spent 150 hours of study. Did Becker's homework questions and SIM twice and some three times. Went over the lectures as well. I was overly paranoid about this exam bc of the low pass rate. To be quite honest, you only need to put in 80 to 100 hours if time is an issue. I overdid it bc I was paranoid after having read all the horror stories on here. Better to be safe than sorry I guess.

[Floreat]

I sat for AUD yesterday, 2/6/2017. The first testlet was straight forward. It seemed the difficulty spiked from testlet two-three. The phrasing of the questions and answers were definitely designed to lead one astray. And, there were two questions that were just absolutely ridiculous! I did not encounter the topics in my review materials AT ALL. I don't even remember what they were, they were so outrageous.

I finished the MCQ ahead of schedule and took the opportunity to answer nature's call before SIMS.

Started SIMs ahead of schedule. There were seven problems, one of which was research. It took me a good long while to find the answer to that one. The document review was hopeless. It was all about reviewing working papers replete with ticks and ties and determining the appropriate items for an internal communication. It was misery. Four out of the seven seemed like they were asked beyond the context of planet earth.

I finished with time to spare. I revisited the challenging ones, but came to the conclusion that my initial answer was a guess and that changing the answer would be just another guess, so I let it go, and pressed the button to submit. The fact that I was super hungry, I'm sure, didn't help. (Note to self: two miniature oranges and a banana is not sufficient fuel for a four hour exam.) I'm now chagrined that I didn't use the authoritative literature! I forget about that tool.

I feel optimistic about my performance and prescribe to CPA788's philosophy of staying positive – although FAR challenged that allegiance. I will become a licensed CPA. The number of times I have to take a section or how long it takes is inconsequential. That is true for all of us.

My very best wishes to all who are reading this forum. We can do it.

FAR: 80 (10/28/2016)
AUD: DSD (Dragon Slayer Deployed) (2/6/2017)
REG: DSIT (Dragon Slayer in Training) (5/2017)
BEC: DSIW (Dragon Slayer in Waiting) (7/2017)

[wc4044]

Taking Audit 2/17 and if I pass I'll finally be done. Feeling alright about this one so far-definitely ready to finish this beast.

[Cruzer]

@floreat I am sure you passed. Your experience sounded similar to mine when I re-took AUD on 1/13 and found out yesterday I scored an 81. I must have crushed the SIMS because my average was only 72% in NINJA MCQ.

Can you share your FAR study techniques and how you crushed it with an 80?

[Floreat]

Hi Cruzer – thanks for the positivity regarding AUD. And congratulations on passing!

I think I passed FAR because I made it my top priority. Everything else in my life played second fiddle to FAR. I used Gleim Premium and worked FAR like it was a job for 3.5 months. I studied on average six hours a day almost everyday. There were a couple of weekends where I only studied a couple of hours. But mostly I would study, study, study, eat, study, study, eat, take a shower, study, stare into space and then study more. I got on Youtube for help with DEPS, DTA/DTL and LIFO with layers. I did practice MCQ's over and over and over and over again. I took my flash cards to bed with me and dreamed of multiple choice questions all night. I even did research on how the brain approaches studying and employed some techniques to trick myself (eg; studying in different rooms, always ending a session with a topic I knew to boost my confidence, walking away from study materials every hour or so to “reset” my brain and yes – reviewing material right before I fell asleep to jump start my subconscious.) Equally important as the work was staying positive. And trust me, that was not always easy to do.

All of the above was probably overkill, but I think it was the best approach considering it's been so long since I've been in school and that I had no practical experience with many of the topics like inventory, DEPS, deferred taxes or OCI. (Most of my work has been in the NFP sector.)

My advice for FAR is to make it your priority. Do as many MCQ's as you can. And always study cumulatively – meaning if you're on study unit 8, throw in random MCQ's from prior study units. Since SIMs are a challenge for most of us, I also recommend doing as many practice SIMS as you can. Build it into your plan that you do a practice SIM every other day or so. Also, if possible give yourself more than the standard 1:45 to complete them all on test day. Sometimes the first three testlets won't allow for that, but if you can swing it, do so. Flash cards can be really helpful. I suggest using them for all the ratios and formulas and review them daily until you've committed them to memory.

Basically study until your brain shuts down, then go do something unrelated for 20-30 minutes, come back and study more. Repeat every day, several times a day if necessary and you will get to a place of “comfort” with the topics. After each chapter, I asked myself, “If the entire exam was only on this chapter, would I pass?” If the answer was no, I knew there was more work to do. The only exception was employee benefits because of pension accounting. I'm still at a loss with most of that that business. If I remember correctly, there were two conceptual pension questions on my test, so I guess I got lucky. Also, I memorized the ratios and didn't get one single question on them. Go figure.

You will pass, Cruzer!

FAR: 80 (10/28/2016)
AUD: DSD (Dragon Slayer Deployed) (2/6/2017)
REG: DSIT (Dragon Slayer in Training) (5/2017)
BEC: DSIW (Dragon Slayer in Waiting) (7/2017)

[Forem004]

I left the exam last month feeling great which scared me to death! I was right for feeling great because I found out yesterday…84!!! Finished!

[shawn in VA]

Floreat – congrats on the pass of FAR. I hear it is difficult.

Not to sound mean but if my math is right you put in 600 hours approx. into ONE part of the exam ? Roger Phillips CPA and the AICPA recommend 500 hours for the ENTIRE CPA exam —4 parts.

I would hope one would pass if dedicating that kind of time.

[Floreat]

Thanks, Shawn. Everyone is different in terms of how much time they need to feel comfortable with the material. The time I put in was what I needed to pass. I hope your test goes well for you.

That's awesome Forem004! It's great to to hear stories where people feel they did well and find out they were right. Congratulations to you!

FAR: 80 (10/28/2016)
AUD: DSD (Dragon Slayer Deployed) (2/6/2017)
REG: DSIT (Dragon Slayer in Training) (5/2017)
BEC: DSIW (Dragon Slayer in Waiting) (7/2017)

[Author]

Replies