[Anonymous]

What up Ninjas,

I passed BEC in March. Took FAR at the end of May and last week found out I scored a 73 (hooray) I think passing BEC gave me too much confidence. I have my NTS for AUD and REG right now. The NTS expires 12/30/2017. So I have AUD scheduled for 9/7 and REG for 11/30.

This year has been brutal. In a good and bad way.?. I received a significant promotion in July. (it made me doubt actually needing my CPA, but that passed quickly) I also, have dealt with the death of someone close to the family, I have 2 kids (3 and 5) and a wife ;), the 5 year old recently had lice, the 3 year old has had a stomach bug all week, my grandmother (91 years old) was so sick the family was called in last week (good new she is doing better) and today my wife was hit from behind at a stop light. I know life, right. It just makes it difficult to find time to study. I did try to make myself study for AUD, but the wait on the Q2 score release was just anti-motivational. I have gotten through 2.5 modules of Becker and have a path to completing them all before 9/7, its just a real condensed time frame. I have listened to the Ninja AUD about 20 times, I feel I know the concepts well. I really like listening to them and I they really emphasis the lessons in Becker.

So question. Should I bite the bullet take AUD on 9/7 or move it to 10/1. Real question, is 10/2 – 11/30 enough time to nail REG? I’ll deal with FAR in Jan 2018.

I hope you enjoyed me playing my tiny little violent for you all.

[shawn in VA]

Chil,
Keep in mind if you take AUD in October you wont get results til right before Christmas. I am in a similar position but my AUD is a retake b/c I failed with a 69 a few months back. I only have 3 weeks to study in total for AUD retake and just going with SEPT 10 so I get my results 10ish days later. Its almost a hail mary at this point but I feel ok since I got a 69 before I am not totally screwed as if I got a 50 something.

OCT and NOV to study REG is plenty ASSUMING you can put in 100-150 hours in those 2 months. I put 9 days (about 30 hours) into REG and got a 75 but understand I been doing taxes for several years

[Radez]

I'll second what Shawn is saying. Because of the extended delays on score releases, I think it's far better to attempt in Q3 and fail, with the ability to respond in Q4 than it is to test in October and then have the ambiguity over your head for three months thereafter. I found the uncertainty to be highly distracting which is why I took the decision to test both remaining exams in Q3.

However you decide, good luck with it.

[jtvande]

I would say if you can afford both then do both. I am lucky because my firm reimburses me for my testing fees. I am planning on taking it 9/7. I will keep studying until we get our grades back on the 19th. If I fail I'm going to take it at the beg of October again.

[Jay]

Chili,

I completely understand how you feel about the 73 (see my signature below). My opinion- DEFINITELY take it during the Q3 testing window. Don't let the Q3 testing window pass. It might not seem like it now, but those testing windows are very precious once your first passing score starts ticking down. You have to take advantage of every single one that you can. I like to take my exams back to back. For instance:

Q1: A-F, Q2: F-A, Q3: A-F, Q4: F-A (F = far, A = audit). That way you have the information from your last take fresh in your head. Focus on 2 at a time, thats what I say. I'll check back on this topic later today to see if you posted back.

[benjo768]

I'd say go for it. Worst that can happen is you fail and need to pay to retake it again in Q4. If you feel like you've got the concepts down, you can probably work logically through most of the test questions on Audit, at least from what I remember. Just go slow and remember to RTFQ, that was my biggest problem.

Best of luck and props to you for still finding the motivation to do this even with everything you've got going on, way to go!!

[Missy]

I'd take it on 9/7. I realize the extra few weeks to study would be NICE but as you are probably realizing life will continue to throw curveballs at you between now and Oct 2, some of which could be as intense if not more intense than the last few months for you. Happens to those of us with families all the time, we assume next month will be “easier” and it turns out to be anything but.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Author]

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