[Anonymous]

Haven’t posted on here in quite some time! I recently began working in public (about a month and a half in), and my study routine has been shot between commuting and work. I was on a tear studying this summer, but once work came along… forget it. I have AUD and REG remaining and the goal is to pass at least one before busy season, and take the other after in the spring.

Anyway, I am really struggling with AUD and trying to memorize everything. Has anyone else come across this problem? I started AUD in mid September and I am only on A3 becuase I have to go back and redo lectures and try retrace my steps. For some reason it’s not clicking..at all.

[Determined CPA]

I experienced the same thing…I even posted about it a few weeks ago!

My advice, which seems to be helping for me, is to get through all the lectures and start the MCQs. That's where I learn the most, in doing the problems and understanding why they are right/wrong.

A4 is the most challenging one, in my opinion, so you don't want to wait much longer before you get started with it.

Good luck!

A - 75
B - 78 God is good.
F - 77 Answered prayers.
R - 84! Done!!

Paperwork sent - waiting for license!!
Still on a cloud and in shock. Through God, all things will happen.

[Determined CPA]

I experienced the same thing…I even posted about it a few weeks ago!

My advice, which seems to be helping for me, is to get through all the lectures and start the MCQs. That's where I learn the most, in doing the problems and understanding why they are right/wrong.

A4 is the most challenging one, in my opinion, so you don't want to wait much longer before you get started with it.

Good luck!

A - 75
B - 78 God is good.
F - 77 Answered prayers.
R - 84! Done!!

Paperwork sent - waiting for license!!
Still on a cloud and in shock. Through God, all things will happen.

[Anonymous]

I call it the curse of the third exam. I held my momentum through the first two, but lost steam on the third. Audit is tricky. Rewriting the ninja notes helped me to understand the whole audit process instead of trying to memorize it. Also, the ninja audio connected a few of the loose concepts. When I was tired of studying, I would write down each MCQ that I missed to make a mega set of notes covering my weak topics. That really helped the details stick.

[Anonymous]

I call it the curse of the third exam. I held my momentum through the first two, but lost steam on the third. Audit is tricky. Rewriting the ninja notes helped me to understand the whole audit process instead of trying to memorize it. Also, the ninja audio connected a few of the loose concepts. When I was tired of studying, I would write down each MCQ that I missed to make a mega set of notes covering my weak topics. That really helped the details stick.

[MrsBing]

My exam is next week and I'm struggling with audit too. I'm forgetting everything and A4 just isn't clicking. I don't know what to do except keep doing mcq's and going over my notes over the next week and a half. I'm also having a hard time concentrating. The book is so boring and even doing MCQ's my mind starts wandering elsewhere after 3 questions (I've never been so bored in my life). It'll be a miracle if I pass this one the first time around.

Becker, Wiley Test Bank, and Ninja 10 Point Combo!

FAR: 89
REG: 87
AUD: 92
BEC: 75
Ethics: 90

Licensed Arizona CPA

[MrsBing]

My exam is next week and I'm struggling with audit too. I'm forgetting everything and A4 just isn't clicking. I don't know what to do except keep doing mcq's and going over my notes over the next week and a half. I'm also having a hard time concentrating. The book is so boring and even doing MCQ's my mind starts wandering elsewhere after 3 questions (I've never been so bored in my life). It'll be a miracle if I pass this one the first time around.

Becker, Wiley Test Bank, and Ninja 10 Point Combo!

FAR: 89
REG: 87
AUD: 92
BEC: 75
Ethics: 90

Licensed Arizona CPA

[W_HAMILTON]

Accounting is my LIFO, as others have said in other threads, the key to passing AUD is understanding the material, not necessarily just memorizing it.

You will most likely learn quite a bit about audit in real life over the next six months, as you progress through your first busy season. The experiences you have on the job will make it easier to learn the AUD material. Have you already scheduled your exam? If not, and AUD just isn't clicking, you may want to rethink about taking AUD now and instead focus on REG.

REG - 93 (7/30/13)
BEC - 90 (8/19/13)
AUD - 98 (8/31/13)
FAR - 84 (10/19/13)

[W_HAMILTON]

Accounting is my LIFO, as others have said in other threads, the key to passing AUD is understanding the material, not necessarily just memorizing it.

You will most likely learn quite a bit about audit in real life over the next six months, as you progress through your first busy season. The experiences you have on the job will make it easier to learn the AUD material. Have you already scheduled your exam? If not, and AUD just isn't clicking, you may want to rethink about taking AUD now and instead focus on REG.

REG - 93 (7/30/13)
BEC - 90 (8/19/13)
AUD - 98 (8/31/13)
FAR - 84 (10/19/13)

[Anonymous]

“The view from the Summit of Mt. Everest wouldn't look so incredible if it didn't almost kill you to get there.”

I struggled with AUD for the LONGEST time. Nothing was clicking, I kept forgetting things, the questions were worded tricky, etc etc etc. You have to trust in the method of MCQ, MCQ, MCQ, MCQ, MCQ until you're completely cross eyed. I promise you eventually everything clicks….the lightbulb goes on and it all sticks. It just takes a lot of repititon.

Keep at it, don't quit and know eventually it will pay off.

[Anonymous]

“The view from the Summit of Mt. Everest wouldn't look so incredible if it didn't almost kill you to get there.”

I struggled with AUD for the LONGEST time. Nothing was clicking, I kept forgetting things, the questions were worded tricky, etc etc etc. You have to trust in the method of MCQ, MCQ, MCQ, MCQ, MCQ until you're completely cross eyed. I promise you eventually everything clicks….the lightbulb goes on and it all sticks. It just takes a lot of repititon.

Keep at it, don't quit and know eventually it will pay off.

[jaclyne29]

i had similar problems with both AUD and studying after beginning to work full time. I wasted two exam fees before figuring out how to study and work. For audit, it finally clicked for me when instead of just listening to the lectures, i took notes on anything that was highlighted. It made watching the lectures take forever, but i feel like i really understood the material more because my mind wouldn't wander, which helped since i was studying it for the fourth time in a row.

AUD 59,69,71,73 76
BEC 79(LC), 80
FAR 71,59,78 (expires 1/31/14)
REG 77(LC), 88!!!

DONE 12/6/13

[jaclyne29]

i had similar problems with both AUD and studying after beginning to work full time. I wasted two exam fees before figuring out how to study and work. For audit, it finally clicked for me when instead of just listening to the lectures, i took notes on anything that was highlighted. It made watching the lectures take forever, but i feel like i really understood the material more because my mind wouldn't wander, which helped since i was studying it for the fourth time in a row.

AUD 59,69,71,73 76
BEC 79(LC), 80
FAR 71,59,78 (expires 1/31/14)
REG 77(LC), 88!!!

DONE 12/6/13

[MintsRGood]

Amen @W_HAMILTON!!!!!!!! Do. not. memorize. That's all I thought auditing was the first THREE times…check my scores to see where that got me. Each time I thought I was failing because I wasn't memorizing the right reports, cycles, etc. but I was failing because I didn't understand the theory and concepts. Once I began learning conceptually rather than memory tricks, I destroyed it.

Study the transaction cycles and diagram them out in your own words! Documenting the entire process in your own words was a huge help in understanding how and where all the pieces in the audit process fit in. At first I felt ridiculous making these crazy flow charts and diagrams, but at the end of my study schedule for audit try #4 I had the process down cold. I would ask my husband to call out items like “tests of controls” or “risk assessment” and would tell him where/what/when/how it fit into the audit cycle and explain the concept to him in my own words. I'm sure it was thrilling for him. 😉 It was a huge help to me!

Audit is too slippery and too subjective to get by on sheer memorization…at least it was for me! Keep focusing on trying understand the cycles and reports! You'll get there!!!!

Best of luck at the new job!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[MintsRGood]

Amen @W_HAMILTON!!!!!!!! Do. not. memorize. That's all I thought auditing was the first THREE times…check my scores to see where that got me. Each time I thought I was failing because I wasn't memorizing the right reports, cycles, etc. but I was failing because I didn't understand the theory and concepts. Once I began learning conceptually rather than memory tricks, I destroyed it.

Study the transaction cycles and diagram them out in your own words! Documenting the entire process in your own words was a huge help in understanding how and where all the pieces in the audit process fit in. At first I felt ridiculous making these crazy flow charts and diagrams, but at the end of my study schedule for audit try #4 I had the process down cold. I would ask my husband to call out items like “tests of controls” or “risk assessment” and would tell him where/what/when/how it fit into the audit cycle and explain the concept to him in my own words. I'm sure it was thrilling for him. 😉 It was a huge help to me!

Audit is too slippery and too subjective to get by on sheer memorization…at least it was for me! Keep focusing on trying understand the cycles and reports! You'll get there!!!!

Best of luck at the new job!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

REG: 75 DONE 🙂
AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
-Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
-The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
-You better work, b***h!
-Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

[Kls238]

I've been struggling as well (first AUD attempt, no AUD experience) I started about the time you did, but my progression was in turtle mode. I finally said forget trying to take notes from the book. I started doing the MCQs, taking notes on the explanations.. Even on the other options. It's been a royal PITA, but I'm finally learning something. I'll let you know how it works out for me next week.

One thing I can tell you is to keep going through the chapters, as the material builds. I was trying to master a chapter before I went to the next, but once I moved on I found that the material in the later chapters helped things click from the earlier chapters (hope that makes sense lol). Good luck with your studies!

Passed all sections.

[Author]

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