[thechapman]

On May 31st I will be taking my first CPA exam section, and will only be able to start studying on May 12th or 13th. I will only be able to study for 17 of the days in between, but I will be able to study as much as is necessary. Which exam section would you all recommend taking with that time frame? Some may say I should wait, but I really want to sit for one section before the June blackout month arrives. FAR is definitely out, and I was thinking REG probably would be too. What about AUD or BEC? I would really appreciate any advice.

If it helps at all, I will have just completed my masters degree earlier in May, so will be as fresh out of school as possible and will have had hardly any audit/tax experience. Thanks for any help!

Passed - 2014

[thechapman]

I definitely do not remember much from cost or managerial. However, I feel that I can be a pretty decent writer. Does that still seem to be advantageous when taking BEC?

Passed - 2014

[Anonymous]

I'm going to buck the trend and say AUD because you are in that class now. It's got more material to study than BEC so down the road when you are working and don't have 17 days straight to study, then BEC will be easier. Like Lilla said, go for what you are the most comfortable with. My first thought was BEC until I reread that your situation. Take AUD now while it is fresh. Not to mention that by the end of studying for this beast you'll want the “easiest” exam. I suck at writing and passed BEC with no problem so being a good writer helps, but will not ensure you pass. Knowing the material is the only way to pass this exam.

Whichever you choose, study those 17 day like there is no tomorrow and good luck.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to buck the trend and say AUD because you are in that class now. It's got more material to study than BEC so down the road when you are working and don't have 17 days straight to study, then BEC will be easier. Like Lilla said, go for what you are the most comfortable with. My first thought was BEC until I reread that your situation. Take AUD now while it is fresh. Not to mention that by the end of studying for this beast you'll want the “easiest” exam. I suck at writing and passed BEC with no problem so being a good writer helps, but will not ensure you pass. Knowing the material is the only way to pass this exam.

Whichever you choose, study those 17 day like there is no tomorrow and good luck.

[thechapman]

@bama_mom I was kinda on the same page as you earlier. Really the issue is that I will only have 17 days or so for my first section, but I will have approximately one month for the other 3 sections. Although I have heard BEC is the “easiest” I have friends and past people from internships that have said AUD was actually easier just because it was more focused on in school. I'm kind of leaning toward AUD right now. Thank you everyone for your input so far!

Passed - 2014

[thechapman]

@bama_mom I was kinda on the same page as you earlier. Really the issue is that I will only have 17 days or so for my first section, but I will have approximately one month for the other 3 sections. Although I have heard BEC is the “easiest” I have friends and past people from internships that have said AUD was actually easier just because it was more focused on in school. I'm kind of leaning toward AUD right now. Thank you everyone for your input so far!

Passed - 2014

[Gatorbates]

I studied AUD for about 15-20 days, and got an 83. And hadn't dealt with anything audit related in the 14 years since I've been out of school. Studied the least for that section, and received my highest score. Go figure.

There are no calculations … pretty much just rules and reports, etc.

BEC took me 9 months to pass, with intense studying … everyone is different. But I say, go with AUD.

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Gatorbates]

I studied AUD for about 15-20 days, and got an 83. And hadn't dealt with anything audit related in the 14 years since I've been out of school. Studied the least for that section, and received my highest score. Go figure.

There are no calculations … pretty much just rules and reports, etc.

BEC took me 9 months to pass, with intense studying … everyone is different. But I say, go with AUD.

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Kimboroni]

“What are you taking now” was one of my questions as I read this thread. Now that I know you're taking Audit, I say go with AUD. After taking audit in the summer and then advanced audit in the fall, with zero audit experience, I was able to pass AUD with an 84 in early January. I pretty much just crammed for 2 weeks.

It helps if you have a good teacher who focuses on testing the transaction cycle. I feel like ours prepared us really well.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Kimboroni]

“What are you taking now” was one of my questions as I read this thread. Now that I know you're taking Audit, I say go with AUD. After taking audit in the summer and then advanced audit in the fall, with zero audit experience, I was able to pass AUD with an 84 in early January. I pretty much just crammed for 2 weeks.

It helps if you have a good teacher who focuses on testing the transaction cycle. I feel like ours prepared us really well.

AUD 84 (1/9/14-Wiley books/TB + free materials)
FAR 83 (5/21/14-the above + NINJA 10 Pt Combo Lite)
REG 84 (7/9/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC/Notes)
BEC 76 (10/5/14-Wiley books/TB + NINJA Audio/FC)

Disclaimer: My ninja avatar is not meant to imply that I have any affiliation with this site other than being a forum member. That's a pic of a T-shirt that my daughter gave me for my birthday. 🙂

[Anonymous]

BEC… if you are a recent graduate that majored in Business, there will be familiarity with some topics. AUD if you are in the auditing field.

[Anonymous]

BEC… if you are a recent graduate that majored in Business, there will be familiarity with some topics. AUD if you are in the auditing field.

[Author]

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