[Lindrobe]

I sat for FAR on 12/3 and spent about 200 hours studying during September, October, and November. I didn’t know what to expect for my first exam so I had decided that I would rather study too much than have to retake. I am scheduled to take AUD on February 17th. I use Fast Forward Academy and plan to supplement with Wiley MCQ. I started studying for AUD on 12/18. So far, I have read through the FFA book once, took notes, and done all the MCQ. I am scoring pretty highly on the MCQ (alot higher than I scored on my first time through on the FAR questions). I have slated about 190 hours of study time by my test date. I am thinking that this may be a little too much time though. There is so much less information covered in AUD when compared to FAR. I know that this has been talked about in other threads but I find such a wide range of answers. Would you mind sharing how much time you spent studying for AUD?

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[tough_kitty]

I stopped keeping track for AUD exam because it was my last one, but I would say around 60-70 hours, including Roger lectures, reading textbook, taking notes, practicing MCQs with Wiley Test Bank x 3-4 each topic! Good luck!

My study hours with Roger CPA Review and Wiley Test Bank:

FAR – 150 hrs

REG – 130 hrs

BEC – 80 hrs

AUD – 60-70 hrs

Looks like you are doing good!

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

I stopped keeping track for AUD exam because it was my last one, but I would say around 60-70 hours, including Roger lectures, reading textbook, taking notes, practicing MCQs with Wiley Test Bank x 3-4 each topic! Good luck!

My study hours with Roger CPA Review and Wiley Test Bank:

FAR – 150 hrs

REG – 130 hrs

BEC – 80 hrs

AUD – 60-70 hrs

Looks like you are doing good!

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Lindrobe]

Wow, tough_kitty! 60-70 hours and you got an 82! That is good. Thanks and congrats to you!

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Lindrobe]

Wow, tough_kitty! 60-70 hours and you got an 82! That is good. Thanks and congrats to you!

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[gt5717b]

AUD was a completely different animal than the other 3 exams, in my opinion. With the other 3, I could drill MCQs until I knew how to solve each problem. With AUD, the MCQs were much more scenario-based which required a more thorough understanding of how the rules were applied under different situations. MCQs helped reinforce what I knew, but if I didn't have a firm grasp of the underlying principles, even an MCQ on the exam that was almost identical to a practice one (with one minor change) would lead me to the completely wrong answer.

I also allowed myself 6-8 weeks study time for all exams except I tried to do AUD in just 4-5 weeks. I retook AUD 4 weeks later and did much better with the additional study time. I thought I knew it pretty well the first go round, but realized how much I didn't know when I had to re-study for it.

REG - 89
FAR - 84
AUD - 73, 86
BEC - 89

GA Licensed CPA

[gt5717b]

AUD was a completely different animal than the other 3 exams, in my opinion. With the other 3, I could drill MCQs until I knew how to solve each problem. With AUD, the MCQs were much more scenario-based which required a more thorough understanding of how the rules were applied under different situations. MCQs helped reinforce what I knew, but if I didn't have a firm grasp of the underlying principles, even an MCQ on the exam that was almost identical to a practice one (with one minor change) would lead me to the completely wrong answer.

I also allowed myself 6-8 weeks study time for all exams except I tried to do AUD in just 4-5 weeks. I retook AUD 4 weeks later and did much better with the additional study time. I thought I knew it pretty well the first go round, but realized how much I didn't know when I had to re-study for it.

REG - 89
FAR - 84
AUD - 73, 86
BEC - 89

GA Licensed CPA

[tough_kitty]

@Lindrobe: Thanks! And honestly, I have no idea how that happened! It didn't feel like I studied a lot…but I did MCQs with WTB over and over and over again, especially for the biggest topics (with the most amount of questions) and understanding GAAP helped too. And I guess I got lucky that some of the topics were tested less than others…but that's all I am allowed to say 😉

With your score on FAR, I am sure you'll do well on AUD! I honestly think I was better prepared for FAR & BEC…just proves how twisted the scoring is for this exam…..

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

@Lindrobe: Thanks! And honestly, I have no idea how that happened! It didn't feel like I studied a lot…but I did MCQs with WTB over and over and over again, especially for the biggest topics (with the most amount of questions) and understanding GAAP helped too. And I guess I got lucky that some of the topics were tested less than others…but that's all I am allowed to say 😉

With your score on FAR, I am sure you'll do well on AUD! I honestly think I was better prepared for FAR & BEC…just proves how twisted the scoring is for this exam…..

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Lindrobe]

gt5717b-thanks for the response. I have started rereading the text to get a more detailed understanding of the topics. I did not do this with FAR, but I know that the Wiley MCQs will not be updated until January, so I may as well spend this time rereading.

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Lindrobe]

gt5717b-thanks for the response. I have started rereading the text to get a more detailed understanding of the topics. I did not do this with FAR, but I know that the Wiley MCQs will not be updated until January, so I may as well spend this time rereading.

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Anonymous]

I was more like tough_kitty, but since I didn't have lectures, it was even less time. I think after the exam was done I counted up and figured I spent around 40-50 hours studying for AUD, spread over 3-4 weeks.

However, with AUD, as others have said, the key is understanding. Once AUD “clicks”, you probably only need another 20-30 hours at most to brush up on the details…but until it “clicks”, you might as well buckle in for the long haul, cause that could take 2 hours or 200 or more. It's just one of those that you have to grasp the concept before the hours count!

[Anonymous]

I was more like tough_kitty, but since I didn't have lectures, it was even less time. I think after the exam was done I counted up and figured I spent around 40-50 hours studying for AUD, spread over 3-4 weeks.

However, with AUD, as others have said, the key is understanding. Once AUD “clicks”, you probably only need another 20-30 hours at most to brush up on the details…but until it “clicks”, you might as well buckle in for the long haul, cause that could take 2 hours or 200 or more. It's just one of those that you have to grasp the concept before the hours count!

[Author]

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