[PerAsperaAdAstra]

My question is mainly for those who did not like Audit at school (which also means did not understand it) + have no experience in auditing but passed it from the first attempt.
– What review course/material did you use to study it for CPA?
– What was your studying strategy?

I took only one auditing class at school and did not learn anything from it. Passed FAR and REG, took BEC -waiting for score release. I heard BEC has some overlapping topics with AUD but those were not my strongest topics when studying BEC.

My first credit expires at the very beginning of July, i’m planning to take AUD either at the end of May (if I passed BEC) or beginning of July (If I didnt pass BEC). Need to pass it from the first attempt.

[startupcfo]

I used Ninja and got a 74 the first time. I walked out of the exam thinking I got a 75 or so. Put in 50 hrs or so.

After failing, I crammed about 1500 questions from Wiley and that gave me a lot more confidence and skills. It took probably nother 35 hours to do all the questions and SIMS. I probably had 75% on Wiley. By the time I was done, I was hitting 85% on the NINJA.

1. My strategy was to do 30 MCQ's at a time
2. look at the ones I got wrong
3. assess whether i'd get it right if i saw it again
4. if i didnt think i could reason through it, i'd post the question to the ninja forum for help, google for insights.

BEC - 87 | 02/28
REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
AUD - XX | 09/10
FAR - XX | 12/10

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

@startupcfo thanks for your input! Just to clarify-when u say Ninja and Wiley do you mean only test bank or textbook+testbank?

Judging by your AUD score, Wiley was very helpful to you

[startupcfo]

I didn't read any textbooks for Wiley, just attacked their 1500 multiple choices and they have 40 SIMS i did once, did the ones I got under 50% on a 2nd time.

BEC - 87 | 02/28
REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
AUD - XX | 09/10
FAR - XX | 12/10

[Albinorhino]

Audit was my last test in Q1 2017, and I did everything in my power to pass before the exam changes no matter how boring the material was.

I think the biggest key in audit comes down to actually understanding the audit process as a whole. I used Becker to study, and they had a crazy about of mnemonics. I kept reading on this site that you needed to know every single one like the back of your hand. It freaked me out that I knew absolutely no mnemonics for Audit because I used so many for every other part. Audit was the only test I didn't “brain dump” at the very beginning as well.

My strategy: (This was during busy season working 70ish hours a week out of my home state) I went through all the Becker chapters once in about 4 weeks, and then I bought the Ninja MCQs to review the last two weeks. The last 2 weeks is where everything came together for me, and I don't think I would've passed without Ninja MCQ. My strategy was simple- do as many MCQs as I possibly could, and then do even more. I would copy/paste the explanation in a word document if I got a question wrong, and then before bed/in the morning I would go over all the notes I copied over.

I also did not practice any simulations for audit. I believe that if you truly understand the process through MCQs, you can transfer that knowledge to the simulations without having to waste time practicing them.

[Zyx]

I'm having a difficult time with audit as well. Failed with 70 and 72. I have to pass audit in q2 before losing REG. I used ninja mcq and did every single question. I'm thinking to add Wiley mcq in addition to ninja. I still beleive that ninja is good enough to help you pass. My problem is me that I hate to remember those mnemonics!

REG: 77 x2
BEC: 81 x3
FAR: 68 retake 10/1
AUD: 8/27

[Trele6]

I used Becker exclusively. Made a 74 this first go. Walked out feeling like I had nailed it, obviously I was on the cusp but really thought I had scored in the high 80's. I guess those subjective questions really tripped me up and got more wrong than I was aware of.

Stuck with Becker for the re-take. Didn't start over from scratch, just re-focused on MCQ from all the chapters and did a little extra on the ones I knew I struggled with and it was enough to squeak out a 77 on the second try.

Not sure about others, but every time I took a test, I always wrote down on my scratch pad all the super hard or left field question/topics so once I finished my test I would try to memorize them there in the test center so I could look-up/study from memory once I got home. I always figured if I failed, knowing those left field ones or hard ones was a good place to start for studying.

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Trele6]

OH, I only took one audit class in college and made a D in it. Worse grade I made over five years and two bachelors degrees. I hate audit, and have no desire to ever work in that field!

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[NeedsA75]

Trele, on your 74 do you remember what your overall MC and SIMS rankings were? Were you comparable in the MC and weaker in the SIMS?

[Trele6]

I was weaker MCQ and comparable SIMS.

Understanding the Engagement – Comparable
Understanding the Entity – Weaker
Procedures and Evidence – Stronger
Evaluation and Reporting – Comparable
Accounting and Review Services – Weaker
Professional Responsibilities – Stronger

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[NeedsA75]

Interesting, I passed FAR with weaker MC and comparable sims.

Your score report looks like it should be comparable in the MC honestly..

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

@startupcfo, do you think that if you used only Wiley on a first try you would pass?

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

@Albinorhino thanks for sharing your experience! by Becker do you mean only a textbook? I have Becker 2014 in pdf format, wondering if its too old

[NeedsA75]

I only had the becker text (old version and updated with the print outs) and supplemented with Ninja MCQ…I did also have Gleim so I could practice the sims. I did feel prepared going into the exam…we shall see..

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

@trele6 , I hear you, I also hated AUD in school, got the worst grade compared to other accounting classes. I havent started studying yet, I wonder if I will hate AUD more than BEC ….

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

@NeedsA75 love your username! 75 is all that matters lol

[Author]

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