[jeff]

NINJA Study Notes, Flashcards, and Audio: https://www.another71.com/products-page/

Wiley Software: https://www.another71.com/wiley-cpa-software/

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[Mahina]

My testing center is down due to server error. No idea what I am going to be able to do. Please be back up tomorrow so I can take the exam.

BEC - 85
FAR - 85
REG - 82
AUD - 68, 88

[Mr.haha]

i used becker as a primary study aid and supplemented that with jeffs ninja notes.

here is my review of my exam experience which occured less than a day ago:

testlet 1: straight forward questions and answers and finished in 25 minutes

testlet 2: straight forward questions and answers but a TAD harder. i finished this testlet in 30 minutes.

testlet 3: same as testlet 1.

also keep in mind that i carefully read all of my questions and thought about my answers. i also reviewed a few questions as well.

overall the mcq's were close to the becker material with a few(3-5) questions that were “out there”

this left me with about 2 hours and 30 minutes for the sims.

first sim was research

the next couple sims were pretty straightforward

but the next 4 were quite difficult and were out of left field.

overall i feel pretty good about the exam but with those 4 tough sims i really have no idea.

i finished this exam with 90 minutes remaining and i took my time.

hope this helps for those who are taking it in the next couple days.

BEC - 80 11/1/10
AUD - 74 on 11/30/11. retake 87 1/18/12
FAR - 79 8/8/11
REG - 80- 5/9/11

[Anonymous]

I took AUD for the first time yesterday. I literally was so confused while taking it because when i started the simulations I had 2 hours and 45 minutes left on my exam.

I thought the multiple choice were too easy and I was literally flying through them. I kept telling myself to read the questions slowly and i even re-read all of them twice and checked my work for a third time. Many of the questions I got i recognized from CPAExcel and Wiley test bank.

I am not a good standardized test taker but I am hoping I did well. I took BEC twice already and although my overall score increased, I have yet to pass. I used Yaeger for my first sit for BEC and then CPAExcel for my second. Yeager was very helpful in that I am more of a visual learner and need to be explained and showed how to do things. I cannot just simply read from a book or read along with a book. CPAExcel was not much of a help the second time around with BEC. I felt like they did make some topics a little easier to understand however the random information that is all thrown together made it difficult for me to understand it all as one big piece. I left after my first sit of BEC feeling discouraged and i prepared for a 40. The second sit for BEC i felt really confident when I left but my overall score didn't reflect much of any improvement. I have did not take managerial accounting, macroeconomics or finance class in college so most of the information was new to me.

I am hoping that AUD went better because I walked out feeling really good. I watched all the videos and did all the M/C for CPAExcel and did some from the Wiley Test Bank. In addition, I basically rewrote the entire CPAExcel AUD book in my own words as i read/listened to the videos. I really think that this strategy of studying helped me a lot. The book had repeated a lot of information throughout all the chapters and once I completed the book, I was able to go back into my notes and delete all the repetition and combine everything to flow into what i believed to be the ‘Full Auditing' method from step to step in detail. I really spent a lot of time doing all this but I think it paid off! I had an hour left when I finished the exam and that worried me but my SIMs were so easy! I was very very lucky with the selection given too me. However, I am not getting my hopes up because I do not want to be disappointed again.

[hopeful_cpa]

@yvonne

thank you very much for the support and reassurance, but i'm almost positive i bombed the sims so bad that there is no way that i can pass… honestly only divine intervention is what will get me a 75.

@mr.haha

yea, i didnt feel the mcq's were that difficult either… they were all pretty much straightforward questions except for possibly 5-6 that i had to choose between 2 answers… and this is what worries me lol. you are lucky you had sims you felt were straight forward, i know i did the research one well, and then there were the 6 sims from venus. it was the worst experience of my life.

@chrystie

i dont want to sound mean or cynical at all, but i dont know if these exams are designed for anybody to walk out of there thinking they did well… every time i have felt that way i didnt pass. i hope you do more than anything because we all need that support from others but more so from ourselves knowing that we are able to do this, one step at a time. to be honest you are the first person i have heard of that said the sims were easy!! after i got through my sims i was walking bo-legged.

all i know is that i'm planning to retake this thing in january… that doesnt bother me at all, well yea it does considering i put in over 150 hours of studying in a 3 week time frame, but what bothers me more is that i have no idea on how to prepare for what they want!! thats the most frustrating aspect of this. on REG i know what i messed up on right when i walked out of the testing center and i know exactly what to do to fix my errors… on AUD i have no clue where to find the material and how to learn it. =(

BEC: Done
REG: Done
AUD: Done
FAR: Done

I'M DONE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

I just got back from the exam. I had almost 2 and a half hours for the SIMs, so the MCQs weren't so bad. The SIMs however were brutal. I am pretty sure I did well on 2, the other 4 including the research question are Iffy, and there was 1 that I had about 45′ for and had not a clue how to answer. I just pray GOD that it is a experimental question.

I hope and pray I pass. Have the same feeling like I had after completing the other 3 sections…not sure, and pray a lot.

BEC 85

FAR 80

REG 81

[tryinghardCPA]

@hopeful_cpa

I so agree with you all, MCQs were okay, but sims was brutal. I used Wiley Test Bank and I am

very familiar with all the MCQs and SIMS, and yet did not make it with a diappointing 74!!

My weak points was as expected SIMS under procedure and evidence. Now, I do not

know how to even prepare for SIMS, what material to use for all those out of thise world

questions. The way it is written is a bit awkward, not straightforward at all….I WISH YOU

ALL THE BEST OF LUCK!! IF YOU GUYS ABLE TO FIND OUT THE BEST REVIEW MATERIALS THAT

WE ALL CAN USE TO PREPARE FOR THE SIMS, PLEASE KINDLY SHARE

[hopeful_cpa]

YES!!! please kindly share the materials or insight on how to handle those sims.

BEC: Done
REG: Done
AUD: Done
FAR: Done

I'M DONE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[myssrobyn]

@tryinghardcpa

OMG i'd pass out if I ever got a 74. That's so frustrating. I took audit last Monday, and I had a similar experience as many of you. I thought the MCQ were not that hard and that the chapters that they suggested us place emphasis on, was not emphasized. Luckily i focused on some of the others because I studied based on what my strong points were and where I needed help. I thought the simulations were just ok. A few of them i thought were tricky but I worked through them. I am hoping for at least a 75 because I have passed the other 3 and my BEC will expire on November 30th. So if i don't pass audit, I will need to retake regulation and audit over for 2012 by Feb 29 and that will be hard with busy season approaching…*sigh*, so I'm praying long and hard because taking these exams can be stressful!

[tryinghardCPA]

@myssrobyn

best of luck to you! AUD is also my last section and my FAR will expire on 4/1/2012 so I only have 2 chances to make it. I've resched my AUD on 1/9/2012…I am so ready to re-take the MCQs portion coz up until now everything is still fresh…but only this part. I am still trying to figure out how to beat the SIMS though….

[Anonymous]

Just took AUD. I used Becker to prepare and I felt like it did a good job. Some questions on the test were very close to questions I've seen in homework. So, there were almost no surprises there. However, there were a few questions, where I had to guess the answer.

Overall, the first testlet was easy, second was much harder and the third one felt like a mix, but was on the easier side. So, I am worried how I did on the second one. Some of the simulations were really confusing, so I have no idea how I did on those. But all questions related to AUD, I didn't see anything out of Financial.

Given, I failed on both practice tests prior to taking this exam, I am not confident I passed the real one. Although, practice exam questions seemed much harder than actual questions on the exam. I have hope I passed, but would have to wait. Don't like the waiting part 🙂

[Anonymous]

@CPAinmaking: I did not feel so good on the SIMs today, except 2 out of 7 which 1 is FAR and the other is AUD report I know well. Yesterday I took 2 simulated exam and score 98% and 97% (though I'm sure because I remember some of the questions). I only pray for a 75 on the real exam. I'm also using Becker, and I have to say, for REG and AUD, I don't have too much luck with Becker. Good luck on the rest in the CPA making process 🙂

[Anonymous]

I've got 2 questions I've run across in my final review before my test in the morning. I'm looking at page 8 of the Yaeger handout that is comparing nonpublic audits, reivews and compilations.

1. It says an engagement letter is required. In my notes on Wiley MCQ, I have written “When establishing an understanding with an audit client, that understanding should be documented through a written communication with the client (engagement letter not required)”. When studying, I was under the impression engagement letters were pretty standard but not specifically required. But this handout says they are required for all 3 reports.

2. Under report date, it says the audit report date was the report release date. I was also thought this was the date significant evidence was gathers (completion of field work). It has the date for review as completion of procedures, which I assume is correct but I'm not certain.

Anyone able to shed some light on these two topics?

Thanks for any help, testing tomorrow bright and early.

[hopeful_cpa]

@crownroyal

1- WRITING is required, not engagement letter.

2- I believe the date of the report is the date all sufficient evidence has been obtained. I don't think you will come across anything like that between the two, but I remember it as being the last date of fieldwork.

good luck tomorrow.. let us know how the sim's were… we all got slaughtered… so now the game is to see who got slaughtered the least i guess haha.

BEC: Done
REG: Done
AUD: Done
FAR: Done

I'M DONE!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Haha will do, hopefully I come out alive.

Thanks for your help, though I continue to get conflicting reports the more I search…

[Anonymous]

@hopeful_cpa

I have to disagree with you on ‘how you feel' people should feel walking out of the exam. I have heard from many of my friends and read on blogs of those who have also said that that certain exams were felt easy when they walked out and received a high passing score.

I believe being optimistic about leaving the exam is just as important as being optimstic going into the exam. I think if i walked out of every exam feeling defeat that i'd give up. There are also other blogs on here that have recently mentioned having 2 research SIMS and the others being rather easy to understand and work through due to the research tab. So I do have to say I am not the only one who saw them as being some-what easier. I think i was fully prepared for this test and definitely knew the information going into it. But i wish you the best of luck on your next attempt with Reg & Aud.

[Author]

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