[Kls238]

Does anyone have any advice to try and learn AUD quickly? I went through the lectures and now I’m taking my own notes and doing flashcards before I start doing the MCQs. I’ve been studying for a week and barely anything is sticking. I can do FC over and over and it never sticks. I want to have some grasp on the material, so I’m not just memorizing the MCQs. I just failed FAR (70), so I’m feeling defeated and unmotivated about how slow I’m learning this material. Does anyone have any advice?

Passed all sections.

[barelystayingsane]

Everyone's learning style is different, but for me personally, going through the whole material in only a week and expecting yourself to already be a superstar is asking too much. Your focus shouldn't be how can I learn AUD “quickly,” but how can I learn AUD “well.” Slow it down a notch and make sure you're really understanding the material before moving on to the next subject. Frankly, I think expecting yourself to understand everything after only a week of racing through it is setting too high of a bar for yourself. These exams are not a walk in the park.

Edit: To put it in perspective, I'm giving myself six weeks to learn AUD, which is probably more than needed. I would say four weeks (if you have nothing else on your plate but studying) may be good. The goal is to make sure you know the material at the end of those four weeks, not at the end of Week 1.

[barelystayingsane]

Everyone's learning style is different, but for me personally, going through the whole material in only a week and expecting yourself to already be a superstar is asking too much. Your focus shouldn't be how can I learn AUD “quickly,” but how can I learn AUD “well.” Slow it down a notch and make sure you're really understanding the material before moving on to the next subject. Frankly, I think expecting yourself to understand everything after only a week of racing through it is setting too high of a bar for yourself. These exams are not a walk in the park.

Edit: To put it in perspective, I'm giving myself six weeks to learn AUD, which is probably more than needed. I would say four weeks (if you have nothing else on your plate but studying) may be good. The goal is to make sure you know the material at the end of those four weeks, not at the end of Week 1.

[Kls238]

I didn't expect to be an expert in the entire material after this week. I didn't mean it like that. I just went through the lectures to get a feel of the lectures and take notes. After watching the lecture, I planned to go chapter by chapter and be comfortable with the material, so I can take the exam on October 25th. I'm just not grasping anything from chapter 1. It's very slow and not sticking. I was looking for advice to help learn it faster as it stick faster, if that makes sense.

Passed all sections.

[Kls238]

I didn't expect to be an expert in the entire material after this week. I didn't mean it like that. I just went through the lectures to get a feel of the lectures and take notes. After watching the lecture, I planned to go chapter by chapter and be comfortable with the material, so I can take the exam on October 25th. I'm just not grasping anything from chapter 1. It's very slow and not sticking. I was looking for advice to help learn it faster as it stick faster, if that makes sense.

Passed all sections.

[samdiegoCPA]

It takes me weeeeeks before anything sticks and I start to get it and things fall into place in my brain… maybe you're the same as me. Just keep doing it and stop worrying about when it will stick because it will with repetition!

AUD: 84
REG: 84
BEC: 79
FAR: 83

[samdiegoCPA]

It takes me weeeeeks before anything sticks and I start to get it and things fall into place in my brain… maybe you're the same as me. Just keep doing it and stop worrying about when it will stick because it will with repetition!

AUD: 84
REG: 84
BEC: 79
FAR: 83

[taxgeek83]

@Kls238 – are you using Wiley Test Bank? My review week, week and a half with the test bank before I took AUD was when it all started clicking for me. Probably a little late in the game for most people, but for whatever reason (learning style maybe?) that's how it turned out in my case. I also Googled AICPA recently release questions and got a few question sets from Becker and Bisk (I'm using Yaeger, so I only have Wiley books and test bank). Also, the Wiley Test Bank has a great online feature that lets you choose questions you have not seen/have seen fewer than x times. It really helped keep me from seeing the same questions over and over again. Good luck!!

[taxgeek83]

@Kls238 – are you using Wiley Test Bank? My review week, week and a half with the test bank before I took AUD was when it all started clicking for me. Probably a little late in the game for most people, but for whatever reason (learning style maybe?) that's how it turned out in my case. I also Googled AICPA recently release questions and got a few question sets from Becker and Bisk (I'm using Yaeger, so I only have Wiley books and test bank). Also, the Wiley Test Bank has a great online feature that lets you choose questions you have not seen/have seen fewer than x times. It really helped keep me from seeing the same questions over and over again. Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

I actually started studying for AUD 8/12 and sat and passed it on 8/31. I did 3 chapters a week and did detailed notes and tried to grasp the main topics and not the small subtle wording details. I probably only worked 2 sim problems in total and re-read the book about 3 days before I sat. I just read and read my notes since it's more concept based and any MCs I got wrong I wrote in a notebook.

[Anonymous]

I actually started studying for AUD 8/12 and sat and passed it on 8/31. I did 3 chapters a week and did detailed notes and tried to grasp the main topics and not the small subtle wording details. I probably only worked 2 sim problems in total and re-read the book about 3 days before I sat. I just read and read my notes since it's more concept based and any MCs I got wrong I wrote in a notebook.

[barelystayingsane]

What samdiegoCPA said… for whatever reason, AUD has taken longer to click with me. It's taken 3-4 weeks and three times through the materials for it to finally click.

[barelystayingsane]

What samdiegoCPA said… for whatever reason, AUD has taken longer to click with me. It's taken 3-4 weeks and three times through the materials for it to finally click.

[thehip41]

For me, writing things down helps immensely.

For auditing, my plan of attack is to read the whole book. Then start on MC right away. But I do these slowly. I answer Q1, then if I get it right, I read the reasoning of why it's right. If I understand it pretty well, I move on. Then I click on each wrong answer and read WHY it's wrong. If I catch something that doesn't make sense, or I wasn't aware of, I write that in my legal pad. I do MC by chapters so I have a section of a legal pad that is all chapter 3 – Risk Assessment notes and facts.

Then I take my notes and type them into a word file. I have one word file for each of the 20 chapters in Gleim.

So reading the book gives me a base, answering a question gives me exposure. Then I writing out notes for things I didn't know or don't know well enough as I'm doing MC helps me learn more. Then a few days later I type my notes out. This reinforces it.

I plan on reading through these notes on Word files when I get spare time.

FAR - 83
AUD - 73 92
BEC - 83
REG - 88

Licensed CPA in the state of Michigan

[thehip41]

For me, writing things down helps immensely.

For auditing, my plan of attack is to read the whole book. Then start on MC right away. But I do these slowly. I answer Q1, then if I get it right, I read the reasoning of why it's right. If I understand it pretty well, I move on. Then I click on each wrong answer and read WHY it's wrong. If I catch something that doesn't make sense, or I wasn't aware of, I write that in my legal pad. I do MC by chapters so I have a section of a legal pad that is all chapter 3 – Risk Assessment notes and facts.

Then I take my notes and type them into a word file. I have one word file for each of the 20 chapters in Gleim.

So reading the book gives me a base, answering a question gives me exposure. Then I writing out notes for things I didn't know or don't know well enough as I'm doing MC helps me learn more. Then a few days later I type my notes out. This reinforces it.

I plan on reading through these notes on Word files when I get spare time.

FAR - 83
AUD - 73 92
BEC - 83
REG - 88

Licensed CPA in the state of Michigan

[Texas CPA]

Quickly? Depends on what you mean by quickly. It took me 7 weeks. The last 3 weeks is concentrated on re-working homework, progress tests and the practice exams. I take the results of the practice exams and focus on the weak areas.

Reg - Passed 82 Nov 2012 - Becker
Aud - Passed 86 May 2013 - Becker
BEC - Passed 88 Aug 2013 - Becker
FAR - Passed 88 Nov 2013 - Becker

https://www.becker.com/cpa-review

Texas CPA

[Author]

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