[Anonymous]

I took audit the other day.. Testlet one seemed really hard to me. Then the other two were easier. I know people say that it’s a good sign if a testlet gets harder, but there is no way to really gauge difficulty level on Audit. It’s totally subjective and depends on what you happen to remember. A really long/wordy question could be easy. But, a short question could be hard. It’s totally subjective for Audit at least. Comments?

[Study Monk]

Yes I confirmed this either on the NASBA or AICPA website.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

Yes I confirmed this either on the NASBA or AICPA website.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[mla1169]

Yes NASBA says the 2nd testlet is harder if you do well on the first but you're correct that “harder” can be subjective.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Yes NASBA says the 2nd testlet is harder if you do well on the first but you're correct that “harder” can be subjective.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

I think that “harder” just means “if you gave this question to 100 people, fewer would get it right than would get an easier question right”…so like you said, a harder one could be just 10 words long counting 4 MC options, and an easier one could be pages long. I think that the reason that audit is harder to judge is because it's such a “either you get it or you don't” thing. So the question that stumps everyone who fails is a breeze for the person who passes, because it's a concept that you understand…whereas like with FAR, it can be hard because you have to do 100 different computations to get the answer, so it's hard whether you know it or not!

[Anonymous]

I think that “harder” just means “if you gave this question to 100 people, fewer would get it right than would get an easier question right”…so like you said, a harder one could be just 10 words long counting 4 MC options, and an easier one could be pages long. I think that the reason that audit is harder to judge is because it's such a “either you get it or you don't” thing. So the question that stumps everyone who fails is a breeze for the person who passes, because it's a concept that you understand…whereas like with FAR, it can be hard because you have to do 100 different computations to get the answer, so it's hard whether you know it or not!

[mystical guy]

Assuming you studied.

Easy question:

1. Auditor unearths evidence of possible fraud. What should she do?

A. Consider withdrawal from the engagement.

B. Report this to the SEC.

C. Call 911.

D. Consider the possible effect of the fraud on the financial statements.

Hard question:

2. Auditor discovers evidence of possible fraud. What should she do?

A. Consider the effect of the fraud on the financial statements.

B. Determine the possible effects on the audit plan.

C. Report the possible fraud to management level above the ones that are involved after conducting an investigation.

D. Consider withdrawal from the engagement after consulting legal counsel.

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[mystical guy]

Assuming you studied.

Easy question:

1. Auditor unearths evidence of possible fraud. What should she do?

A. Consider withdrawal from the engagement.

B. Report this to the SEC.

C. Call 911.

D. Consider the possible effect of the fraud on the financial statements.

Hard question:

2. Auditor discovers evidence of possible fraud. What should she do?

A. Consider the effect of the fraud on the financial statements.

B. Determine the possible effects on the audit plan.

C. Report the possible fraud to management level above the ones that are involved after conducting an investigation.

D. Consider withdrawal from the engagement after consulting legal counsel.

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[I should be studying]

If you look at the questions released by the AICPA, they break it out between Moderate/Hard. Even with a test like BEC, there would be calculations I would consider easy in the hard section and hard questions in the moderate section. Audit is trickier because there really aren't any calculations so I think it just comes down to how you studied. I've passed tests where I didn't see a change in difficulty (AUD), and failed tests I could have sworn were getting harder (..AUD). I've learned not to try and guess how I did based on the difficulty of the testlets.

REG - 80 (2/28/13)
AUD - 68 (5/24/13), 84 (7/11/13)
BEC - 83 (8/29/13)
FAR - 70 (12/04/13) 80 (2/10/14)

[I should be studying]

If you look at the questions released by the AICPA, they break it out between Moderate/Hard. Even with a test like BEC, there would be calculations I would consider easy in the hard section and hard questions in the moderate section. Audit is trickier because there really aren't any calculations so I think it just comes down to how you studied. I've passed tests where I didn't see a change in difficulty (AUD), and failed tests I could have sworn were getting harder (..AUD). I've learned not to try and guess how I did based on the difficulty of the testlets.

REG - 80 (2/28/13)
AUD - 68 (5/24/13), 84 (7/11/13)
BEC - 83 (8/29/13)
FAR - 70 (12/04/13) 80 (2/10/14)

[Anonymous]

I agree that it's very subjective for AUD. When I took the exam, I felt like all of the MC's were relatively easy, even though I flagged one or two more in the 2nd and 3rd testlets. I agree with comments above that it's pointless to try to gauge your performance on if the testlets are getting harder or not. If I had to guess, I would have sworn I was getting easy testlets during my whole test and ended up passing.

[Anonymous]

I agree that it's very subjective for AUD. When I took the exam, I felt like all of the MC's were relatively easy, even though I flagged one or two more in the 2nd and 3rd testlets. I agree with comments above that it's pointless to try to gauge your performance on if the testlets are getting harder or not. If I had to guess, I would have sworn I was getting easy testlets during my whole test and ended up passing.

[Texas CPA]

For AUD, REG and BEC, I felt testlets 2 & 3 were harder than 1. I thought all 3 FAR testlets were easy.

Reg - Passed 82 Nov 2012 - Becker
Aud - Passed 86 May 2013 - Becker
BEC - Passed 88 Aug 2013 - Becker
FAR - Passed 88 Nov 2013 - Becker

https://www.becker.com/cpa-review

Texas CPA

[Texas CPA]

For AUD, REG and BEC, I felt testlets 2 & 3 were harder than 1. I thought all 3 FAR testlets were easy.

Reg - Passed 82 Nov 2012 - Becker
Aud - Passed 86 May 2013 - Becker
BEC - Passed 88 Aug 2013 - Becker
FAR - Passed 88 Nov 2013 - Becker

https://www.becker.com/cpa-review

Texas CPA

[Anonymous]

My second two AUD testlets seemed a little easier than the first and I passed so don't drive yourself crazy worrying about your score based on your interpretation of hard.

[Author]

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