[Wannafree]

Hi Gurus
I have read conflicting opinion about which subject is considered toughest.Someone says FAR someone says REG but going by statistics AUD has lowest score and so many people are stuck at 71-74 .Why AUD is not labeled as toughest ?
I am asking this question to make plan for my AUD exam which I somehow felt easy.

[bigcore20]

REG is most definitely easier, generally speaking. The MCQ in audit is the hardest out of all of the exams, because usually there are 2-4 decent answer choices, but you are forced to choose the “best” answer. REG doesn't really have this issue, it's more a “you know it or you don't” type of thing.

Having said that, people have their strengths and weaknesses. There are people who got 90+ on audit but can't pass REG. They're very different exams and subjects. Also, AUD is all conceptual, which trips people up who tend to be better with numbers.

[NeedsA75]

I think most people find either REG or FAR to be the hardest out of the 4 exams. Everyone is different though..

[hasy]

I beg to differ. People have different strengths. AUD was a LOT easier to me than REG. Not that it was an EASY exam, but in comparison to REG. I finished the AUD exam, thinking I had to have passed because I thought the SIMs were simple. My takeaway from these exams is don't think about how hard or easy the questions were from AUD, you lose too much hair that way. Just wait for your score, it's coming in a few days. Right? Like the 12/22 score release?

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved - Helen Keller

-

BEC 80 (10/23/15)
FAR 72 (4/2/15); 83 (7/11/16)
REG 52 (4/28/15)
AUD (9/9/16)

Roger + NINJA MCQ + WTB

[ipadminihalf]

I think audit is less difficult from the perspective that each chapter builds upon the previous, and there is less material than REG. Also it seemed like a bunch of memorization, because there was no calculation on the exam.

I have heard a lot of people say that AUD mcq has 2-4 decent answer choices, however, when I took the exam, I didn't have this issue. Perhaps the AUD concepts worked well with my brain.

REG - 2/19/16 - 77!
BEC - 4/16/16 - 79!!
AUD - 6/04/16 - 84!!!
FAR - 8/31/16

[ZombieMouse]

If you're good with broad concepts, then AUD will be easier. If you're good at memorizing and applying rules, then REG will be easier.

[mitchvols]

Audit is so tricky. I can make numbers work, so I thought REG was easier. In order of least difficult to most difficult, I'd go BEC, REG, AUD, FAR – even though my scores are not at all indicative of that.

[NeedsA75]

Not that it means anything, but whenever you see 99's they are usually for AUD. Just an observation I've had

[.]

AUD was the easiest one by far. The questions can be annoying since there is no calculation but once you get AUD logic/reasoning, it's not so bad.

I finished that exam with so much time to spare. I think I had over 2 hours for the simulations. Totally different from FAR where I left one simulation blank.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Jdn9201]

I don't think you can necessarily say that AUD is hardest because the average scores are the lowest..so many different factors. AUD was the hardest one for me to study, because I excel at computations and had very little audit experience. I could totally see how people could bomb it while thinking they did well because it's sneaky hard – reading one or two words wrong in a question can completely change the answer. What helped me for AUD was keeping the big picture of the audit cycle in my head throughout. I work in tax, so I'd take REG 100 times over AUD but I could see if you didn't have much experience in tax, how you would want to avoid it. For myself, I'd rank the exams (easiest to hardest) BEC/REG/FAR/AUD but ask 10 people and you'll get 10 different answers.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[James]

Is there a general way of looking over audit information that might help? The simulations cost me a passing grade but I think there's a fundamental failure in my understanding of audit. I had relatively straight forward simulations, and I felt that my knowledge base wasn't ambushed or anything, so I almost don't understand what went wrong. It's like I thought I knew it but I had just fooled myself.

Is there a ‘logic' to understanding how to apply basic audit principles? Specifically applying the tests for assertions. Stuff like completeness for inventory, accuracy, cutoff…that stuff is definitely my weakest point and I feel 100% turned around on those questions. I simply cannot get my head wrapped around it because the entire point of testing those assertions is that they can be tested in an infinite number of ways.

[Namstut]

@Nath, you will not find a straight answer to your question here. 🙂

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and it all depends how you are “wired”. For me AUD was the easiest one. REG seems to be giving me a lot of grieve.

AUD 7/6/16 Passed
BEC 9/3/16
FAR TBD
REG TBD

[waffle_house]

AUD questions can be subjective and REG there is no gray area.

[Wannafree]

Thanks you all Gurus.Got the input.My problem is that when I read Audit I feel it super easy ,when solve Becker's HW 95% but in exam stumble on easy questions.I definitely stumble while walking inside SIMs Minefield if it is too subjective.I checked the previous years questions and I was right 99% in difficult questions but did 80% in Moderate questions.Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[N4]

I personally thought aud was the easiest and i work in tax (i help audit a company once a year tho). I would say the most to least difficult :

FAR> REG or BEC (yet to take bec so idk yet)> AUD

FAR (5/31) PASS (Best birthday gift ever!)

[neaux]

I'd have to give the slight edge to AUD for easiness. AUD exam questions are harder but when you account for depth of material, REG becomes the harder exam. Same for FAR, which has the easiest questions by far, but having to know a ton of material makes the exam harder, overall.

[Author]

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