[Weallmustbecrazy]

I just found out I failed AUD for the 4th freakin time… I am completely devestated and don’t know what to do. I literally have not had a problem with any other exam. I passed each exam on my first try and to make matters worse, I am an auditor (6 months in). I approached the exam the same way I approached the others (Becker with all lectures, questions, SIMS, and notes). I am scoring in the low 70s everytime but I can’t seem to get that 75. I am at a complete loss on what to do. This is killing my confidence and I honestly feel like giving up. PLEASE help me! I would love advice on what to do, any tips, and different combinations of study material you might have used. I have bawled my eyes out all weekend and got over my ” I don’t even care anymore about being a CPA” attitude and now I am ready to do anything I can (legally) to pass this terrible terrible exam….

FAR:82
BEC:75
REG:77
AUD:89

[floacct]

Switch ur study materials and start from scratch. Aud requires the least amount of study time so switching it up won't be so bad.

[Kimboroni]

I assume you've already gone over score reports and determined your weak areas, etc. So I will just suggest a couple of other things.

I wonder if somewhere in the back of your mind, you are sabotaging yourself by thinking you should be able to easily pass this since you an auditor, and so you're not really applying yourself 100% to the material. The subconscious can be powerful. So make sure you wipe the slate clean and pretend that you are looking at it as a non-auditor when you study.

Maybe you are rushing through the questions too quickly and missing key words like not, except, issuer vs. nonissuer, audit vs. review, etc. It's always important to read carefully on these exams, but I think AUD is the most susceptible to misreading and therefore choosing the wrong answer.

This would be a great time to add some Ninja to your materials. I'm partial to Jeff's audio myself, but a new test bank wouldn't be a bad idea either.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

What I found worked best for AUD was taking my time to read each question as carefully as possible. I also used Becker and the ninja notes and did tons and tons of mcq, carefully paying attention to each word in the question. I don't think you need to get another review course, the highlighted portions in Becker plus tons of MCQ seemed to be enough.

[JamesBJames]

I have an auditor friend who was in a very similar situation. Passed everything else first try as far as I know but failed AUD three times before passing. It's doable.

After four failed attempts, you probably know your own weaknesses better than anyone else. What areas do you not understand as well as you'd like to?

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[abranaugh]

I failed AUD twice (65 and 70) and finally just passed with an 88. I passed the other three on the first try.

What I did differently this time that really helped me where:

-added NINJA MCQ, Audio and Notes

-Skipped the videos and focused on MCQ's and SIMs and writing down explainations for why I got an answer wrong.

-Changed my study location. I was studying before in my home office, but found I was distracted very easily so I went to the library instead.

-For MCQ's I would justify why the answer was correct/wrong before selecting an answer. This helped me slow down and look at all the answers. I found myself sometimes reading the question and selecting an answer , but as we know with Audit, one wrong can change the whole meaning.

-Paced myself on the actual exam. I am naturally a fast test taker and was able to complete the first three with about half the time as given, with this one, I made sure to read the question and answer multiple times and go back over them once I finished the testlet. I had 45 minutes left when I finished the exam.

[Anonymous]

Having failed AUD several times myself. I agree with @etcetera just take your time reading the question and do as much MCQ as possible using various sources. Wiley TB is also very helpful if you don't have that yet. Jeff has a good discount promo on them.

[Weallmustbecrazy]

@abranaugh can you tell me how you implemented becker (im assuming that is the video you are referring to) and Ninja. I had purchased Ninja audio and notes but i don't know where they fit in to a study plan if I am also using Becker

FAR:82
BEC:75
REG:77
AUD:89

[Weallmustbecrazy]

@esco what is the difference between Wiley TB and Ninja mutliple choice

FAR:82
BEC:75
REG:77
AUD:89

[abranaugh]

@Weallmustbecrazy, during my first go around I watched the Becker videos but I found them boring and my mind drifted a lot so I only paid attention to probably 1/3 of the video, so instead of using the videos, I would just do the MCQ's and SIMS. I also bought their flashcards and about a week before the exam, I would read those everyday.

At work I would listen to the Ninja audio in the morning (did this probably about 20-30 times) and during my lunch I would rewrite the Ninja Notes.

I also kept track of the number of questions I did for each section in Becker and how many of those I got wrong. This helped me identify that I was weak in certain areas and then I could go back and reread the book or look at the flashcards.

If I didn't know an answer to an MCQ question, I would sometimes look it up in the Becker book as well.

Hope this has helped!

[Author]

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