74 in Audit - Page 2

@mchinegunfunk I finally got my score…almost had a heart attack refreshing the page. As you can see, my score. 65, to 63, 74, then onto 84!

What I did to boost my score from 63 to 74 (11 points). I read the becker book. Each and every single page, front to back, and wrote out all highlighted points. What caused me to not pass? I think it was mostly because I had the report types mixed up. I mean, it's kind of easy to mix them if you don't actually do audit you know.

So the next thing I did to boost my score another 10 points to 84. I took post its and wrote out ALL report types, and what it consists of, and I stuck them on my wall. Every day I woke up, I made sure I know exactly what each report consists of ( meaning, where does each paragraph go, and what opinions are accepted,etc).

Anyway, you can say I over did it. My first 3 failed tests … the area on “understanding the engagement” and “Evaluation & Reporting” were all Weaker. 3 Times!!! And today I see that those 2 sections are in the Stronger category.

Anyway, what I would really recommend is.. Focus on the wiley questions, and make each question 4-5 learning experience. Just because 1 answer is right, doesn't mean you can ignore the other 3, and not question why they are wrong.

I guess, my most important tip for you is… Read through each question with a “questioning mind” , and figure out why each answer is right or wrong. That should help a LOT!

I'm in a similar position. Failed twice with a 72 and 74 and retaking on April 1st. The first time i thought for sure I passed, and the second time I got screwed with the SIMs 🙁

Great tips from everyone so far!

@mchinegunfunk Thanks! I feel your pain… it takes a toll. Just imagine once you're done, you have this FOR LIFE!!!

@yassy you've already passed! 72,74… those should be passing scores.

Also, forgot to add one more tip to everybody taking Audit…. READ THE DAMN QUESTION!!!! Lol.. seriously… One word will change the whole question.. Audit is extremely tricky.

Thanks @jlondon I of course agree they should be passing scores! Haha

And you are so right, every point counts so you have to be careful not lose them on tricky wording.

I feel your pain! I just got a 74 back as well! I was more angry than anything. But I cam up with a study schedule and moved on pretty quickly. For once, no tears over failing audit. Although, I logged on to the new Wiley test bank and started a practice session for the first time on Saturday morning, and I got irritated over the fact that I had to choose questions in increments of 10, and then my computer froze, and I just lost it. Didn't know how heartbroken I was over my 74 until that morning…

Anyway, I kept reading Becker and Ninja every day for about an hour while I was waiting for my score (took the exam 2/1), because I only have one more shot before I lose my BEC credit. I wanted to keep audit fresh on my mind just in case. On every section I have taken, I have largely blown off the topics I excel at in the week leading up to the exam and put all my energy into the topics I suck at. On REG, BEC, and FAR, this resulted in my weak topics becoming “stronger” on the exam and my strong topics being “comparable” or “stronger.” For audit, it resulted in my weak topics being “stronger” and my strong topics being “weaker.” Seriously, I had no comparables this go-around. Only stronger and weaker. In retrospect, the reason that worked for REG, BEC, and FAR is because my strong topics were all things that I deal with on a regular basis at work, so I was still practicing them even though I wasn't actively studying them. Audit, on the other hand, I got no “practice” at while I was studying.

So, this is my game plan going forward:

Sunday – flash cards, MCQ's – 20 over all eight topics, 90 over weakest topic (250 total)

Monday – flash cards, MCQ's – 20 over all eight topics (160 total)

Tuesday – flash cards, MCQ's – 90 over weakest topic (90 total)

Wednesday – flash cards, MCQ's – 20 over all eight topics (160 total)

Thursday – flash cards, MCQ's – 90 over weakest topic (90 total)

Friday – flash cards, MCQ's – 20 over all eight topics (160 total)

Saturday – watch all audit Ninja videos, MCQ's – 20 over all eight topics (160 total)

While I am doing the MCQ's, if I miss a problem, I put questions that deal with the topic covered in that question on a flash card. Writing it down helps me remember, and doing the flash cards the next day and for all future days helps enforce it. Also, I am listening to my Ninja audio CONSTANTLY while I am driving, working, etc. In my final week, I will use my time on Friday to work 10 SIMS (no MCQ's) and my morning on Saturday re-writing all the notes I've taken based on missed problems (no Ninja videos). I have been strong on SIMS and weak on MCQ's every time I've taken audit, and I am working overtime during tax season, so I had to sacrifice part of study schedule if I wanted to increase MCQ's worked. So, I skipped reading. I am an auditory and tactile learner, anyway, so I think this will work well for me. Between work and studying, I am working over 80 hours per week. I may have to amend my schedule when we start working more hours this month.

Thankfully, I work at a small firm, so the hours are very manageable. (The biggest firm in my city is less than 50 people, so all the options are small.) Also, my boss doesn't like clients to think it's okay to walk in on 4/1 or later and expect returns to be out by 4/15, so all returns going out on 4/15 are either done or in the review process, which I am not a part of. So, my boss gave me permission to sit on 4/14. I didn't want to wait much longer, out of paranoia about when NASBA would receive my exam. I really want my score on the 5/5 release instead of the 5/23 release.

I have a tendency to accidentally memorize answers to the MCQ's without understanding the concepts, and it won't take more than about a week and a half to work all the questions Wiley has to offer. So, I am thinking about purchasing a second test bank. Does anyone have any suggestions?