[DownInTheHoller]

Hello, looking to get some thoughts from some people regarding their experience/scores on FAR and Audit. I took FAR (first cpa exam I took) in June and failed with a score in mid 60s. Did not study too hard so it was not a shocker that I failed. A month or two later I re took it and got a 79. For FAR I spent a total of about 90 hours studying using Surgent.

Next exam I took was Audit and I spent only about 35-40 hrs ish of studying. Used Surgent as main course and used NINJA notes/audio as a supplement. Didn’t study as much because I didn’t have as much time as I did with FAR, but also I was doing much better with MCQs on audit than I was doing on FAR so I felt better about it… Anyway I took AUD exam a couple of weeks ago and will get score on Wednesday.

FAR exam experience: didn’t feel great about it, felt iffy about a good bit of the MCQs, 2nd set did NOT get harder but felt pretty good about most of the SIMS. Got a 79.

AUD exam experience: felt great about the MCQs, 2nd set much harder, did not feel great about the SIMS at all… Pretty tough. Afraid that I got confused on a few things.

My question: How did you feel about FAR vs. Audit? Were your scores very similar with the two exams? Just based off looking thru peoples signatures on these forums it looks like MOST (obviously not all) people score about the same on FAR and Audit. Maybe a little bit better on Audit but very comparable nonetheless. Was this true for you as well? Only seen a few that have passed FAR but bombed Audit or the scores were pretty far off from one another.

[Jex]

I would say I felt a little better coming out of Audit than I did FAR, granted AUD was my third exam. However, I honestly think it comes down to what type of exam you get. I didn't think AUD was too bad as my SIMs were mainly FAR topics. Now if I took AUD first I probably would have thought the exam was way harder. I also wouldn't base your success off of how many hours you studied, if you know the material chances are you passed. Something to remember is you don't have to get 100% of a simulation correct to earn points. One of them is always a pretested one which I always pretended was the one I thought was the “hardest”. I am sure you did great and in the off chance you need to re-take the exam it just means you took a more expensive practice test and will ace it the next go around!

[GmaxL711]

I personally found FAR to be easier than AUD, and I wished that I had taken FAR first because I think that knowing the material would have helped me on AUD. I think AUD is partially knowing financial accounting rules (FAR material), and then also knowing the rules of auditing – which involves judgment. But if you are solid on FAR material first, then you can focus on the more judgmental portions of the AUD material. Just my 2 cents. Good luck!

[Painted_Jeans]

I felt horrible after FAR and OK after audit.. turned out audit score was lower than FAR but eh, made it through

[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

CPA exam can truly be a pure game of luck. The 2nd time I failed AUD with a 70, the sims were far more difficult than than when I passed with an 89 and the score difference right there proves it. Pure speculation here but I think you need to get more correct on AUD than FAR to get the same score. I felt terrible after FAR. I don't think the mcq got harder and I only felt good on 3 sims including research. AUD when I failed with a 70, I killed it on the mcq, got the research right but the rest of sims were awful yet I was only 5 points away from a pass. So you never know.

[bigstakk]

I wouldn't say luck is involved and that it is more about adequate preparation and focus. You either know the material or you don't. You could get lucky and get a test with stuff you happen to know, but I wouldn't gamble like that since it doesn't seem to work out favorably. If you focus on the heavily tested subjects and have working knowledge of everything else you should be able to pass each exam regardless of what they throw at you. Half the battle is properly reading the questions and answering them precisely according to the instructions (particularly for SIMs).

To the original poster's question -yes I did comparable. FAR requires a lot more prep time though due to the wide range of material covered. Overall, to me AUD was not that difficult, but I started my career as an auditor, so maybe some work experience gave me an edge there. I have FAR > REG > AUD in that order from hardest to easiest from the tests I've taken. I knew I passed AUD a day after thinking about the test. FAR I felt like it was a little close. Thankfully, both worked out.

Good Luck!

[Biff Tannen]

I was surprised with the audit simulations – they were insanely difficult. I literally walked out of the audit exam with a guaranteed feeling that I had failed. I ended up passing with a 78. I feel I guessed on a good portion of the sims but yet I still magically passed.
Studying for FAR right now. I heard the sims on FAR are no joke, but I somehow passed the audit sims and the brutal BEC sims, so I at least know what to expect.

[DownInTheHoller]

Thank you all for the responses. Just gonna have to sit tight and wait until 9/18 to see what happens…

[Author]

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