[PinkButterfly]

Hi!

I’m scheduled to take Audit on August 31. I’ve been studying for a week so far. I took the Audit review courses through Becker.

Will 2 months (July and August) be enough time to prepare for the exam if I plan to study 20 hours during the week? I work full time but I plan on studying after work and on the weekends. I am also planning to use 2 weeks of my vacation days to study for the exam (a week off in July and another week off in August).

Will this suffice or should I plan on rescheduling for the next testing window?

This will be my first time taking the exam. I’m panicking already.

Thanks!

[khachik2003]

why are you panicking? 160 hours is more than enough time

[PinkButterfly]

I've spent an hour today reading messages on this forum. 🙂 I noticed there are several subgroups of people writing on this forum.

1) There's the I didn't study enough group..

2) I studied enough but didn't pass group..

3) I am buying extra material to study group..

4) I passed on my first try group..

I'd like to be part of the last group. So what are these people doing?

[SoonToBeCPAChick]

I did the same thing as you, I worked full time and took two months to study for AUD. And I think I took 2 days versus 2 weeks off of work to study, so I think you are in good shape.

FAR 10/1/2010 =====> 90
BEC 10/28/2010 ====> 81
REG 2/2/2011 ======> 82
AUD 5/28/2011 =====> 92 ===========>DONE!!!!

[Anonymous]

Two months are more than enough time to clear AUD from my experience. Last year after sitting Reg the end of July, I took AUD the end of August with a month's prep.

All the best.

[Anonymous]

Two months should be enuf but again it does depend on your background any work exp etc.

[GASB 34]

WAY more than enough time, don't sweat it 🙂 AUD is definitely the easiest section – instead of brute memorization, it rewards real thinking

[Anonymous]

@PinkButterfly. You will be more than fine – I actually think 160 hours is too much time. I agree with the comments from GASB 34. If you spent 3 – 4 days on each of the five Becker chapters (10 hours per chapter) you would be fine. The content in Audit flows together and is not strict memorization. If you are an auditor – you will be able to get away with a lot less study time. Good luck.

[NoScores2Display4thisSection]

@GASB34, would you still say AUD is the easiest section despite the 2011 changes? I think you may be right.

Actually with the 2011 changes, I think it would go:

Hardest -> Easiest

1. FAR

2. REG (could be #1 as pass rate was low Q1 2011)

3. BEC

4. AUD

done

[rknight21]

like everyone said 2 months is good amount of time… i took two months to prepare(while taking 9 credits for my masters and working fulltime) and passed on my first try without exp. With that said i studied my aassssssssssss off. Good luck and be mindful of the wording of AUD questions… verrrryyyy tricky at times

[rknight21]

@no scores the ranking of the exam difficulty is subjective… i see ppl post abt passing FAr, BEC, & REG on their first try with takuing the exam within weeks of each other and at the same time cannot pass AUD to save their life…

[kb24]

@pinkbutterfly

I think 2 months is enough time, but my opinion differs somewhat from the other comments. Yes, you have to really understand the AUD material, but there is also stuff you need to memorize e.g. the standard unqualified opinion, the differences for the other opinions, and the audit standards. Also, you need to practice tons of MCQ. I'd highly recommend using a test bank to help you become familiar with the wording tricks you might see. For what it's worth, I have no experience in auditing and took my last audit class in 2005. While I only studied for 2 weeks, I averaged about 12 hours a day with one day off.

FAR 4/1/11 - 89
AUD 4/15/11 - 85
REG 4/29/11 - 80
BEC 5/13/11 - 85

[NDCPA123]

160 hours is more than enough time. Just make sure that you know the material inside and out and understand the nuances of the questions you're being asked. Audit is a bit different from the others in that a lot of times they're asking for the best answer, not just a correct answer.

I agree with KB24 — Do a TON of MCQ. As many as you possibly can. Don't just memorize, understand. You can memorize when you do BEC/REG/FAR, but Audit is a different animal if you aren't used to doing it in the field.

I got a C in Audit in college and detest it with a passion, but was well prepared with just over 100 hours of study time (I made a time spreadsheet in excel). That time includes lecture time with Tim/Peter.

AUD - 80
REG - 77
FAR - 78
BEC - 84

[PassMeShootMeJustMakeItQuick]

If you put in 20 good, quality hours per week, that should be plenty and you shouldn't even need to take off those whole weeks.

Just got my score back from taking AUD in May and passed with an 85. I put in 60-70 good hours, tops (that includes the 16 hours or so of just watching lecture). I didn't do well on Becker homework (1st time through) and the one practice exam I took was not passing material. I figured maybe a 65 or so if I didn't pass and at max an 82 if I did pass. I thought my exam was not too difficult, but I wasn't sure if it was because I had questions I knew or was just doing bad and never getting the hard testlets (I still question whether they are truly adaptive). However, the simulations seemed relatively easy, with one exception.

Even though I do strictly governmental/non-profit auditing, the style of this exam is the hardest for me because of not having numbers, for the most part. There is a little memorization of things like mentioned above.

As a comparison, I had old 2010 materials for BEC in February. I didn't review anything on corporate governance until the day of the exam for 30-45 minutes (and I was comparable, not even weaker in the MC), didn't know exactly how the IT stuff had changed (just that it did) and had nothing on any type of new international related questions. I studied maybe 40 hours for it and passed it with an 85 as well. So, it would seem AUD is harder by that, but as I said, AUD is just not my best style of test to take. But the person who thinks it is the easiest may have it be the perfect style of test for them. Other than the amount of material in each of these sections, I think that is that is the biggest factor in the difficulty of the particular section.

BEC - 85
AUD - 85
REG - 76
FAR - 82

[PinkButterfly]

Thank you all for the advice! I really appreciate it and feel less anxious now!

What are your thoughts about studying for the audit exam with someone or with a study group? Has anyone had a good experience with this type of study method?

Thx again!!

[PassMeShootMeJustMakeItQuick]

This is just my preference, but I was never the type that liked study groups in college unless it was strictly for doing homework. I felt groups wasted too much time and with the time that was wasted in discussion, you could put in that much extra time (or less) on your own and learn it just the same. I think it is the same way with this. Go through the lectures and homework all on your own and do it thoroughly and redo the ones you miss. Then if you still have problem areas that are not things that can be simply memorized, maybe then would be a good time to get with someone and have them help you to understand it.

I haven't talked to many people who have taken the test, but I have a feeling there are very few who group study. I could be wrong though.

BEC - 85
AUD - 85
REG - 76
FAR - 82

[Author]

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