Audit Common Sense - Page 2

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  • #181628

    Why does everything in audit seem like common sense?… I don’t know if thats a bad thing. Is it really that easy?

    FAR - 07/29/2013 76
    BEC - 08/30/2013 83
    AUD - 11/11/2013 71 Retake - 05/10/2014 91
    REG - 04/30/2014 37 Retake - 08/25/2014 87

    New Jersey

Viewing 15 replies - 16 through 30 (of 40 total)
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  • #469155
    nbad311
    Member

    I agree that it has a ton of common sense in it. It can be tricky because it seems like all the language/terminology in the audit exam it what is foreign…meddling through double negatives verbiage makes me rage. A simple “this is risky/bad” “this is ok/good” would have sufficied in many audit sections! None of this if materiality decreases than this increases, blah blah blah.

    That being said, I personally know two people, BOTH auditors, BOTH acknowledged as being basically super nerds (I say that in a friendly way – very smart people), who passed all exams on their first tries except for audit, which they both failed once before passing. haha. So no. It's NOT really that easy.

    REG - 65, 70, 80!
    BEC - 35, 62, 79!
    AUD - 73, 75!
    FAR - 65, 73, 70, 75! DONE.

    #469157
    nishvik
    Participant

    Audit material is not difficult by itself,its like a flow of information and you want to understand it all.To an extent i do understand it and try to relate it with examples in real life though I have no work ex but i google and get some idea.

    When it comes to MCQ it takes you down.I can easily eliminate 2 options at first look,then left with 2 which are really close and my gut feeling/first instinct tells me to choose an answer but my mind says no it might be wrong and i select the option which my mind says, sometimes my mind is right but I hv seen most times my first instinct is right.

    I have missed audit twice and I remember changing some of my answers in MCQ/SIM in which i am confused 😕 May be i should not do it ..

    I want to ask all you people who have tackled AUD a question, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH QUESTIONS THAT ARE WORDY like about a paragraph, I seem to get lost after solving may be 10-15 of them .I cant make what the question is really asking??

    Thanks & Good Luck

    FAR- 79 -->Becker self study, Final review & Flashcards
    REG -72-->Becker ,76-->Becker plus Wiley test bank
    AUD- 73 Becker,72-->Becker+Wiley,69-->Added ninja notes,89 --> Added Gleim review
    BEC- 84 Becker plus Wiley Test bank

    I am Done !!!!

    #469214
    nishvik
    Participant

    Audit material is not difficult by itself,its like a flow of information and you want to understand it all.To an extent i do understand it and try to relate it with examples in real life though I have no work ex but i google and get some idea.

    When it comes to MCQ it takes you down.I can easily eliminate 2 options at first look,then left with 2 which are really close and my gut feeling/first instinct tells me to choose an answer but my mind says no it might be wrong and i select the option which my mind says, sometimes my mind is right but I hv seen most times my first instinct is right.

    I have missed audit twice and I remember changing some of my answers in MCQ/SIM in which i am confused 😕 May be i should not do it ..

    I want to ask all you people who have tackled AUD a question, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH QUESTIONS THAT ARE WORDY like about a paragraph, I seem to get lost after solving may be 10-15 of them .I cant make what the question is really asking??

    Thanks & Good Luck

    FAR- 79 -->Becker self study, Final review & Flashcards
    REG -72-->Becker ,76-->Becker plus Wiley test bank
    AUD- 73 Becker,72-->Becker+Wiley,69-->Added ninja notes,89 --> Added Gleim review
    BEC- 84 Becker plus Wiley Test bank

    I am Done !!!!

    #469159
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    This thread title made me laugh in a good way! In my humble and tax-orientated opinion there isn't a shred of common sense in audit!!! 🙂

    The concept of materiality bugs the hell out of me. In tax land, we have no such thought process. If a balance isn't right…it's wrong, period! The fact that in audit land it's perfectly acceptable to use a figure that is misstated aka WRONG drives me up the wall!!!! When my bank rec ties to the penny, it makes me smile! When I can reconcile a 4562 back to the balance sheet of an 1120 or 1065, I sleep well at night. This “close enough” crap in audit land makes me squirm! 😉

    God bless the internal revenue code!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
    -Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
    -The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
    -You better work, b***h!
    -Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

    #469216
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    This thread title made me laugh in a good way! In my humble and tax-orientated opinion there isn't a shred of common sense in audit!!! 🙂

    The concept of materiality bugs the hell out of me. In tax land, we have no such thought process. If a balance isn't right…it's wrong, period! The fact that in audit land it's perfectly acceptable to use a figure that is misstated aka WRONG drives me up the wall!!!! When my bank rec ties to the penny, it makes me smile! When I can reconcile a 4562 back to the balance sheet of an 1120 or 1065, I sleep well at night. This “close enough” crap in audit land makes me squirm! 😉

    God bless the internal revenue code!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
    -Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
    -The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
    -You better work, b***h!
    -Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

    #469218
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    “Common sense” isn't the phrase I personally would apply here, but for audit I think it either “clicks” for you or it doesn't. If it does click, that makes it easiER, but don't be lulled into thinking it's easY.

    #469161
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    “Common sense” isn't the phrase I personally would apply here, but for audit I think it either “clicks” for you or it doesn't. If it does click, that makes it easiER, but don't be lulled into thinking it's easY.

    #469220
    NYCaccountant
    Participant

    @ DJN. You were right about REG! Contracts are driving me insane! lol I'm somehow managing to average an 85 through the first 200 pages of the material, but I feel like i'm guessing on these questions. Not completely sure, but somehow pass. Going home to study contracts some more. Thanks for the heads up.

    FAR - 93
    REG - 87
    BEC - 84!!!!
    AUD - 99!!!!!! CPA exam complete.

    #469163
    NYCaccountant
    Participant

    @ DJN. You were right about REG! Contracts are driving me insane! lol I'm somehow managing to average an 85 through the first 200 pages of the material, but I feel like i'm guessing on these questions. Not completely sure, but somehow pass. Going home to study contracts some more. Thanks for the heads up.

    FAR - 93
    REG - 87
    BEC - 84!!!!
    AUD - 99!!!!!! CPA exam complete.

    #469221
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I was going to say something along the lines of what DJN said. If it “clicks for you, then it does seem almost common-sense in a way…but if it doesn't click, then it doesn't. Rather than common-sense, I would say that audit is more logic based. It's not about facts or rules, it's about understanding a certain thought process or set of logic. Getting a grasp on that is hard, because all the scenarios, laws, etc., in the book can't really teach a thought process. A thought process is either there or it's not, and you have to just “absorb” it to get the concepts.

    Not sure if that makes any sense… Basically, I can see why you're saying it's common sense, because that thought process/logic/etc has “click”ed for you. It did for me, too. But, if it doesn't click, it's anything but common sense…as Mints' post illustrated quite well. 🙂

    #469165
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I was going to say something along the lines of what DJN said. If it “clicks for you, then it does seem almost common-sense in a way…but if it doesn't click, then it doesn't. Rather than common-sense, I would say that audit is more logic based. It's not about facts or rules, it's about understanding a certain thought process or set of logic. Getting a grasp on that is hard, because all the scenarios, laws, etc., in the book can't really teach a thought process. A thought process is either there or it's not, and you have to just “absorb” it to get the concepts.

    Not sure if that makes any sense… Basically, I can see why you're saying it's common sense, because that thought process/logic/etc has “click”ed for you. It did for me, too. But, if it doesn't click, it's anything but common sense…as Mints' post illustrated quite well. 🙂

    #469223
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    @LillaCPA & DJNCPA Congrats to both of you for being DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both of you hit the nail on the head with your posts!

    I have an auditor pal who passed Audit on the first shot but took REG 4 times to pass. I went one and done on REG but took 4 tries to pass audit. Here is our standing mutual agreement: I promise not make fun of her for failing to comprehend corporate AMT or DNI for a trust as long as she promises to not make fun of me for struggling with the concept of materiality (ahem, incorrect balances, ahem) or risk assessment strategies! Ha! 🙂

    Everyone has their ace section and their section from hell!

    @OP I hope that you destroy Audit and close out your journey! Just watch your back…audit is a tricky one! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
    -Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
    -The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
    -You better work, b***h!
    -Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

    #469167
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    @LillaCPA & DJNCPA Congrats to both of you for being DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both of you hit the nail on the head with your posts!

    I have an auditor pal who passed Audit on the first shot but took REG 4 times to pass. I went one and done on REG but took 4 tries to pass audit. Here is our standing mutual agreement: I promise not make fun of her for failing to comprehend corporate AMT or DNI for a trust as long as she promises to not make fun of me for struggling with the concept of materiality (ahem, incorrect balances, ahem) or risk assessment strategies! Ha! 🙂

    Everyone has their ace section and their section from hell!

    @OP I hope that you destroy Audit and close out your journey! Just watch your back…audit is a tricky one! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
    -Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
    -The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
    -You better work, b***h!
    -Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

    #469225
    gt5717b
    Participant

    Understanding the material is not always the same as understanding how to answer questions on the test. Although, it does go a very long way in bridging that gap.

    REG - 89
    FAR - 84
    AUD - 73, 86
    BEC - 89

    GA Licensed CPA

    #469169
    gt5717b
    Participant

    Understanding the material is not always the same as understanding how to answer questions on the test. Although, it does go a very long way in bridging that gap.

    REG - 89
    FAR - 84
    AUD - 73, 86
    BEC - 89

    GA Licensed CPA

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