[MattLorenz]

I thought it was kind of tough sledding on the first module, but felt pretty good about it when I moved on. A lot of stuff didn’t come to me right away but I got it when I went back to it. There were some easy ones but I could definitively tell, for the first time out of all 4 exams, that my 2nd testlet got harder.

The sims, I don’t know how to feel about those. I probably wouldn’t have know how to determine some answers because Becker definitely doesn’t cover much of what I actually saw in my sim in their BEC study materials. I was most concerned about the memos, but those came to me fairly easily. I’m not sure if I was completely accurate, but I was able to put 3 well-written responses together. Does anyone know how much they grade on accuracy for the memos?

Overall, I don’t know how to feel about it as a whole. First module was good, 2nd module will depend on how many pre-test questions were in there. Maybe an accounting and IT double major could ace this exam? I don’t think I had a major letdown in any module on the exam, but the 2nd multiple choice would probably be the one if so. Just kind of depressed because I was really hoping this would be my last exam but it’s really up in the air the way I’m feeling. Once December 19th rolls around, I could go from having zero exams left to having AUD and BEC left.

(edit by Mod – exam disclosure)

[Ana]

thanks for sharing your experience. Do you think the sims are worth studying for? or just study material and mcq and thats it?

[jenpen]

I would love to know that answer also, @Ana. I test tomorrow and I am super nervous about the SIMs, but mostly because it's unknown territory for me on this section. I don't deal well with complete unknowns. At least the others, I had more of an idea of what to expect.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[CC]

@Matt We are in the exact same boat! I took BEC in October and took AUD today. Felt comfortable on the Audit exam today but BEC in October was the roughest version I have taken so far. It's such a unnerving feeling knowing that this whole process could potentially be over. I will say that the delays that we have had to deal in Q2/Q3/Q4 have been absurd.

[jenpen]

@CC I have been trying not to think about that! I'm afraid that if I do, I'll get my hopes up. This year has been running smoothly for me on these exams and I'm afraid that this quarter is just going to mess it all up. I'll be waiting on REG and BEC after I take it tomorrow. I'm going to be a nervous wreck on the night of the 18th, but I won't get my scores until sometime the next day thanks to not being in a NASBA state (but also thankfully not CA, so hopefully I'll have it pretty early). I'm just hoping I did enough for these sections to put this all to rest finally.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[CC]

@jennifer best of luck to you and everyone else in this situation. #wegotthis

[turo9992000]

Good Luck @jennifer

[jiji]

Yes, Good luck! Don't be nervous, you will do great!

[CoachEmUp]

@MattLorenz Yes!!! This post is the exact same as when I got out of the testing center (check my post history) a few weeks ago. First testlet was a bit harder than expected but overall felt ok. Testlet 2… my gosh what a disaster of IT questions you simply couldn't prepare for! SIMS, felt the exact same: they reminded me of my auditing SIMS: ambiguous, didn't bomb them but not sure how anyone could feel confident on them. Writing portion was fine. When you talk about the journal entry I think we may have gotten the same SIM, I know exactly what you're talking about (I think) but obviously we can't say any more about it).

After dissecting the test for a few weeks I honestly feel a bit more comfortable. A lot of us have said the same thing about the IT questions which means no one can be doing very well on them. It got harder for us so that is comforting as well. The SIMS and Writing are 50% of the test and I think I did pretty well on them. The first testlet was fine, so how many pretest and how much weight was given to that disastrous 2nd testlet?

[MattLorenz]

@CoachEmUp — Haha ironic how we posted similar reactions to the exam! I guess that makes me feel a little better. I think the memos should help me and although I can't feel confident on the sims, I know I got some points out of each sim, and the one I feel least confident on was the once I mixed up the journal entry, but there's still points for getting the correct account names, not to forget there was a part II which got me at least two more points, so at least 5 points on that sim if I'm being extremely conservative. I agree it was comforting to know the AICPA blessed us with the horrendous second multiple choice module! Like I mentioned, I felt OK about it walking out, and just need to realize that losing those 4 points shouldn't necessarily be the difference between passing and failing.

I sat down last night and thought about it more and realized I needed to stop thinking about it more. It just creates more problems for me because I don't remember the full questions I was unsure of, so there's no point in trying to figure it out in that case. A couple MC I was unsure of at first, I've figured out that I got them correct, but it might be best just to wait it out for two weeks. The only sure way to know we didn't pass is to either not finish the exam, or receive a non-passing score!

A coworker of mine told me, and this would apply to you as well, that we only know what it feels like walk out of an exam and get a score in the mid to upper 80s, we don't know what it feels like to get a 75 so when we compare exams, we are comparing out current feelings to how we felt on an exam where we got an 87 for example.

[CoachEmUp]

@MattLorenz Yea I hear you, and that's what I've been thinking about too. I'll take a 75 on the dot for this one, couldn't care less what the score is as long as it's 75 or above. I feel pretty good about REG… as in hoping to be low 80's at minimum. I'm assuming you feel good about AUD? Only a couple more weeks to wait it out!!

[MattLorenz]

@CoachEmUp — Nah I'm not sure what to expect on AUD. I felt that Becker prepared me very well for the multiple choice questions. I felt confident on both modules of multiple choice but I'm not about to try and figure out if the 2nd module got tougher or not, AUD is tricky to figure out in the first place. I did have time to fully review all the multiple choice on that exam though. The sims kind of threw me for a loop. I was caught off-guard by the judgemental/subjective nature of them, and the Becker sims prepared me for the research and 1 DRS, but I was left to fend for myself on the other 5. I think a little work experience in audit might've helped on the exam, but I'm not going to worry about it until I see I need to. A guy I talk to took the exam and felt the same way as I did when I finished, the only difference is he has 4 years of audit experience. If you read through, the general consensus is the audit sims are tough this quarter.

Overall, I want to feel optimistic about AUD, but I don't want to be on top of the mountain and then come crashing down. I know I didn't bomb and module of the exam, and got some points out of every sim so based on that approach, the odds might be in my favor. It kind of scares me that the multiple choice went relatively smoothly, but at the same time, I got 82 and 84 on the Becker mock exams, and the progress tests were in the upper 80s so that could've carried over.

Honestly, I don't know how I could prepare differently if I have to retake AUD. But I'll address that issue if it pops up in 12 days. I haven't felt good about a single exam yet, so I guess AUD and BEC are right on par with REG and FAR! If I am done after these attempts, I'm not sure I could ever get a better Christmas present!

[Williams]

From what I've heard from people who have passed the section (coworkers with CPAs). They all said they felt the worst coming out of this test thatn all the others and were surprised when they found out that they passed. I feel as though the AIXPA is generous with the curve for this one so I wouldnt't worry about it to much.

[Ana]

@jnwilliams I agree with you. Felt the absolute worst, like no way I passed and wouldn't know how to study and yet I got my highest score (78 – nothing to brag about I know lol)

[jenpen]

I completely agree with OP. I felt like I was well enough off on most of the concepts, but a lot seemed pretty foreign on the exam. What a mess. I don’t feel great about this one at all and won’t be surprised if I have to retake it.

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[CoachEmUp]

@jennifer did this test resemble anything close to the other BEC you took? I forget when you took it.

[Author]

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