[Anonymous]

I have heard that practice sims are nothing like the real thing, so I am just curious, is it worth spending time on practice sims?

[Anonymous]

What are your weak areas?

[super.senpai]

my first attempt at AUD…i just skimmed through the audit exercises becker provided. for preparation of my second attempt, I completed all of beckers and all, but the research questions,for Ninja. It helps in the sense that you become familiar with the different format of presenting the question or problem and a different approach towards answering the particular question or problem. Granted you have the Authoritative lit. However, i think the general consensus is that AL, at most, can provide for 3 of the 7 sims. I don't really like to offer my opinion in regards to the exam sections cause my scores are “whack” but I think if you have time to grind it out, do it.

BEC: 72,72, 77
AUD: 47, 63

[MrCPA511]

I suppose if someone were to tell you that the MCQs were nothing like the actual exam questions, would you still do it? I would think so. The sims provide another way of testing your knowledge on a given topic in a different way so I would recommend you take advantage of anything you can get. Best of luck to you on your final week!

FAR - 86 7/2014
AUD - 95 10/2014
REG - 87 1/22/15
BEC - 84 7/2015

[LIZZ]

I always save SIMS for the end and it a big mistake. I got a 74 on my last Audit attempt.

My advice about the SIMS:

1. Take no more than 10 mins answering the SIM – guess and move on

2. Learn from the answer – Spend most of you time understanding the correct answer and just as much time understanding the wrong answers

3. Find your weak spots – a lot of time because MCQ's are Multiple Choice you can eliminate 2 answers and maybe guess the right answer. So you may think you know a topic but really u know enough to guess the right answer. SIMS strip that little bit of comfort away.

GOOD LUCK

FAR - 05/2015
AUD - 75,11/2014
REG - 07/2015
BEC - 09/2015

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

@CFOnotCPA

Based on the average trending scores, my weakest areas around 50% or less are Auditing and Attestation: Understanding the Ent…, Auditing and Attestation: Performing Audit Proc…, and Professional Responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

I have found that SIMS show me where I am weak. With SIMS you are required to apply what you have learned as opposed to simply answering a question. The more time I spent understanding my weaknesses as they related to SIMS the better I got at the MCQ's.

Also, it's 40 percent of the exam. Even if it actually is different it's still a good practice because nothing will ever be that different when it comes to standardized testing.

[Pattar54]

Does anyone know where the best place to find sample reports in the AL is located? Or is just really mixed throughout?

BEC: 77
REG: 54, 76
FAR: 54, 84
AUD: 64, 70, 90!
I'm done!!

[Anonymous]

I find it interesting people don't find practice SIMS representative of the actual exam SIMS. Other than the research question I found my practice SIMS spot on with the exam. I couldn't fathom NOT practicing them, 40% is a significant portion of your score. I agree it helps identify weak areas but also helps solidify material, understand where topics are laid out in the AL, and get used to SIM format. I was surprised my first time with SIMS how many stupid mistakes I made (leaving lines blank, not reading the question thoroughly, listing credits as negative when the question said list as positive….) basically really small things that would take away valuable points on the real exam.

[Kimboroni]

Definitely worth practicing! On both AUD and REG, I struggled quite a bit with the MCQs and feel that doing really well on the sims is what pulled me through with a pass.

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]

It's probably unwise, however I haven't practiced a single SIM yet. I think they're just a way to further emphasize a particular area by presenting in other than a 2-3 sentence + ABCD format. Definitely would help but very timely when you could be cranking MCQs and becoming accustomed with certain fact pattern problems.

Anyways, my 2 cents.

[mla1169]

It's important to leave yourself enough time for the SIMS and to know how to use the AL since you can use the AL for every sim and not just the research question.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Author]

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