[Anonymous]

I am taking AUD on 9/8. I am almost 3/4 through the material and on pretty good track to get through everything with a week to review. AUD is my last to take, and of all of them has been the smoothest and quickest to study for. I have no public experience – I’ve worked in manufacturing my whole career.

AUD has the second lowest pass rate, and I personally know a couple of people who got really tripped up on AUD (one of them never finished his CPA because of it). My fear is that I am feeling pretty good about how studying is going, so I don’t want to get to the exam and be obliterated by it.

My question is, in your opinion what makes AUD the second hardest section to pass?

[rlarivee01]

The FAR content.

hope u studied FAR

[shawn in VA]

i did not get any FAR content on the MCQs but got 2 sims that seemed very FAR like. Never taken FAR before though.

[JRM]

FAR related sims for sure!!

[Anonymous]

@Allie

So glad you posted this. I was thinking the same thing. I have been blowing through the material faster than I did on the other 3 sections.

A lot of people take AUD first because it is one of the shortest so maybe they underestimate it and that has to do with the high failure rate? Otherwise, I can't figure out what makes it more difficult than say REG or FAR, both of which I felt were a lot harder from the get-go.

[GAPilot715]

Also taking AUD on 9/8.

I'm halfway through the study material and I have a lot better scores on TBS and MCQs than I did with FAR. I think with me it boils down to understanding exactly what the question is asking for. I see a lot of questions with 2 or more choices that appear to be correct, but often it is asking for the best answer.

If the exam is similar to the Gleim MCQs, then I think a lot of people may get tripped up because they don't fully understand/read the question or they go with the first answer that looks right, and it might not be the correct (best) one.

[Wannafree]

Most difficult part of AUD is subtle points e.g. “Review of Prospective FS is not allowed ”
Now they will give options 1.review 2.compilation 3.Attestation etc . Seemingly simple question can be wrong if you don't know that “Review of Prospective FS is not allowed”.key word here is review and in exam they trick you and give you many options ( not true or true ) ,if you have not paid the attention to key words Prospective ,Review and not allowed then you are wrong.
Similarly AU 315 list how Communication Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors should happen and it has two categories 1.BEFORE successor accepts engagement 2.After successor accepts engagement.It has list and question will ask okay “Request client to authorize PA to let SA view PA's workpapers should be in before accepts the engagement or after ? .
Similarly for fraud.When Risk increases what should be done ,the list are as follows.
Assign personnel with more experience
Carefully consider significant accounting principles
Make auditing procedures less predictable
More reliable evidence
Perform tests closer to year end
Increase sample size
Perform procedures on an unannounced basis
Make more oral inquiries
Interview personnel
More detailed analysis of revenue recognition
More consideration of management estimates
More closely examine journal entries
You see all looks common sense things but this is exhaustive list and anything not in the list is not the correct answer.
Hope you get the idea what is most difficult in AUD.
While I was going for AUD ,tried to make a list of things like that where I knew they will trick me.

[Anonymous]

I LOVED seeing any FAR material on the AUD exam. I'll take simple debits and credits any day over a subjective question asking for the “best” or “least likely” answer. However, everyone is different and I am much better with technical information and number crunching. AUD has been my nemesis thus far. I hated the various Cycles and knowing which procedures to apply in scenario xyz.

Goodluck.

[industryCPA]

When I studied AUD originally I felt the same. I felt like I was going way faster than my schedule was and actually understanding everything. When I took the test, I felt pretty good about it. There were definitely some things I was unsure of, but overall felt better than I did when leaving REG and BEC. Well…. passed REG & BEC but failed AUD sooo it's hard to tell just based on how you feel when studying and taking the test how the results will end up. Retake is this Saturday so we'll see how round 2 feels.

[Anonymous]

@industryCPA – that's exactly why I posted this! I haven't gotten my REG score back yet, but this could potentially be my last exam and I want to be prepared as possible going in (and also mentally/emotionally prepared for the reality that's there's more than a 50% chance I'll fail). Good luck on your retake!

@GAPilot – You're using Gleim, too? I see you're taking REG in October. Is this your first go? Just a heads up that I just took REG and the Gleim MCQs and SIMs are ridiculously hard. Don't get discouraged! I was pleasantly surprised when I took the actual exam (at least I think so – still waiting on my score 🙂 )

Overall, everyone's responses make sense! I definitely think it has helped that I have already taken FAR (and love financial accounting) because the questions do already assume that you understand business processes and GAAP. Plus, I work at a mid-sized manufacturing company so I am able to see all the processes in action every day.

It can also be difficult to choose the “most right” of the 2 or 3 right answers they give you. I was expecting AUD to be a lot of memorization going in, but it's really been more critical thinking to apply procedures and rules to examples (which is good because I HATE memorization).

[billable_hours]

I took Audit in May and it was my first exam. Multiple choice were so easy I remember thinking to myself this is the easiest test I've ever taken.

Then the Sims hit me, and I walked out of there thinking I failed. So much FAR stuff (that I had not studied yet) and then just things I had no clue what the examiners were wanting from me. I personally thought Audit was harder than FAR.

[Anonymous]

@billable_hours – if you had taken FAR first, do you think you would've found AUD to be easier than FAR? Or were the SIMs still really difficult? Are FAR and AUD the only two sections you've taken? If so, I hope you get two passes tomorrow!!

[billable_hours]

@allie I completely wish I took FAR before AUD, would have been a little more confident. But some non-FAR Sims were difficult too. I have taken AUD, FAR, and BEC. Only find out AUD tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

The AUD exam is nearly 20% FAR related – especially in the Sims. FAR was much worse to study for due to the amount of information, but the AUD exam was more challenging for me. I think the examiners just don't let as many candidates pass AUD as well, but I could be wrong. All in all, every one of the exams is super challenging. Take short cuts and you will probably not pass.

Goodluck!

[Author]

Replies