[Kristen]

I’m getting ready for AUD with Becker after passing BEC and REG, but before slogging through the entirety of FAR. I did about a third of Becker FAR over 6 months (I was working through it with a fine-tooth comb) and decided that even if I took a year to get through FAR, and hopefully pass, I would be too mentally and emotionally exhausted to put that and kind of effort into the last three parts… and so I decided to take the other three first, and I am doing pretty well. I hope to have momentum, experience, and extraordinary “this is the last one” motivation for taking CPA exams rolling into FAR.

I am tax geek and about to enter into tax season, so I want to crank out AUD right away and then I’ll have better than a year to finish up FAR. I’m also a second career accountant and my own background in actually pushing around debits and credits feels not nearly as sharp as other areas of accounting. I have even less background with real-world auditing, but it seems that AUD is mainly a procedural thing which is sort of a strength for me. I am also good at parsing and taking MCQ type questions.

My understanding, and I think I read in the Becker notes that they generally advise this as well, is that most candidates take FAR before AUD, as there are background things coming off of FAR that are useful to have for AUD? My question, without asking anyone to break non-disclosure agreements or anything like that, is: if I am doing the reverse, are there any relevant chapters, in Becker or elsewhere, that I should review in FAR to make sure that I am properly ready for AUD? Are there overlaps on the blueprint that people are aware of or that I should examine a bit more closely for myself?

I’m about 1/3 through Becker AUD and I am going to put my head down and have it done by mid-Jan, I hope… although it always seems that my timelines slip on this sort of thing.

-k

BEC 85 (Sept 20)
REG 78 (Dec 20)
AUD 81 (Jan 21)
FAR (Summer 2021)

Kristen
"Enrolled to practice before the IRS"

[Sam]

I like your thinking in regards to your timeline. I'd just stick to Becker's AUD course. Each individual course has what you need to pass that exam so I think that's where your time is best spent. There is some overlap which is nice, but you shouldn't be relying on or seeking that out in any way, when all the relevant material is in the AUD course. Good luck!

BEC - 90 (7/19, 8 weeks)
FAR - 78 (10/19, 10 weeks)
AUD - 75 (12/19, 8 weeks)
REG - 90 (7/20, ~12 weeks, split up)

Ethics - 97 (~6 hours to go through the material & take the quiz)
Licensed in Virginia (10/20, ~1.5 weeks to process after submitting everything)

[donnyyyyy]

Kristen I’m in the same boat! My first exam is due to expire 6/30/21 so I’ve decided to do AUD before FAR in hopes that AUD will be complete by mid/end of January. I’m a little over halfway through the Becker material and am giving myself enough time before the exam to review so I can hopefully pass it first try. I was also conflicted about saving FAR for last but honestly if I had done the opposite and (heaven forbid) needed a retake for FAR while still needing to complete AUD by end of June, my anxiety would be through the roof. Would be way more motivating to be 3/4 done and have momentum going into FAR. Wishing you the best of luck!!

AUD - 75
BEC - 75
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - 79

🥲

[Professor Farnsworth]

Hi Kristen,

You probably not going to like my answer, but as someone who took FAR first and doing AUD now I feel like 30% of the questions have something to do with FAR or require a good understanding of FAR. I was lucky enough to pass FAR on my first try with Roger, which I think has THE BEST lectures (and review course in general) in the market. I suggest doing FAR as soon as possible as it will give you a strong base for AUD, I don't know how other review courses do it but Roger teaches FAR really well and make the material intuitive and easy to follow.
Also FAR takes a lot of time to study for and if you do it last you might feel rushed to take the exam before your credits expire which could lead to unfavorable results on the exam.
Regardless of what you choose,
Good luck!

[Author]

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