[TripleNetAcct]

I am debating which section to take in November. Which did you take first?

I have worked internally for a real estate company doing month-end close and consolidations for a year and half so I am thinking FAR first and then REG last.

AUD 73 (Aug 12) 77
BEC 66 71 (Nov 12) 80
REG 54 81 (May 13) 81
FAR 63 (Dec 13) 75 TEXAS

[Sequin45]

I took my exams in the order shown below. Looking back on it I wish I would have taken FAR after AUD. I felt that AUD and FAR were the hardest 2 exams and I should have finished them first.

With having quite a while before you sit for either exam you may want to do FAR next because of the mass amount of information you need to consume before your test date.

AUD - 69, 78
BEC - 80
REG - 89
FAR - 80

[thistooshallpass]

My first comment is it looks like you still have BEC to pass…I would do that again until you pass it for fear of leaving it till last and then losing credit on others that you have passed. Ignoring BEC, I would probably do FAR next, then REG. I think it would be smarter to go from AUD to FAR, sticking with financial, then transition to tax.

AUD 85 (2/12) Using Becker
FAR 81 (5/12)
BEC 79 (7/13)
REG 85 (10/1)

"It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

[FightingIllini]

I took FAR first. It has the most material and one of the lower pass rates so I took that as a sign that it would be one of the tougher exams.

B- 84 (10/21/12)
A- (4/1/13)
R- 78 (8/29/12)
F- 81 (7/10/12)

[TripleNetAcct]

Appreciate the feedback everyone. This is what I decided:

BEC – 11/2012

FAR – 2/2013

REG – TBD

AUD 73 (Aug 12) 77
BEC 66 71 (Nov 12) 80
REG 54 81 (May 13) 81
FAR 63 (Dec 13) 75 TEXAS

[futuremdcpa]

If I could go back I would take them in this order, FAR, REG, BEC, AUD.. I would do this because:

1) FAR has the most material, not the hardest, but the most!!!

2) REG is a lot of rules, exceptions .. nit picky details

3) BEC isn't so bad.. (only hated cost) the rest of the chapters are pretty fast/easy

4) AUD is the easiest so far.. Did it in 3 weeks, just did all the questions once, and only a few twice.. (by few, I mean like 1-2 chapters out of the 6).

I regret leaving FAR for last! My mind is exhausted!!!!

REG: PASS || BEC: PASS || AUD: PASS || F: SCORE PENDING..

[NoOrigins]

I'm doing exactly what futuremdcpa said. I went based on the following logic:

FAR had the most material, and covered a lot stuff I had learned in school. I wanted to take it while the concepts were still somewhat fresh in mind.

REG is the next one that people commonly say is the hardest. Since I won't be going into taxation, I felt it was appropriate to take it before I started working.

BEC next because it was supposed to be the easiest, and it had the least material, so I figured I could study for it and get it knocked it out in November.

AUD last because I'll be working as an auditor, and hopefully a lot of it will overlap with what I do.

FAR: Passed
REG: Passed
BEC: Passed
AUD: Passed

[futuremdcpa]

Im scared $hitless of FAR! Its just so much information.. Im not sure how Ill be able to do 90 questions within the 2 hrs of time i will be alotting.. Im doing everything for the second time now.. any advice NoOrgins? I also bought the Final Review.. When I go to training I plan on just doing progress tests when I can, and looking over flashcards, and then I will do the final review within 2-3 days, and take both final exams, and then take the exam… Hopefully my last!!!!

Good luck on BEC!

REG: PASS || BEC: PASS || AUD: PASS || F: SCORE PENDING..

[NoOrigins]

I was scared of FAR, but I was more scared of REG (and I hate having to wait until early November to find out how I did). For FAR, I think the material is a bit more intuitive than REG. For example, if you understand the purpose of consolidation and what it does, you can probably figure out how to do something, even if you didn't memorize it.

I did tons of practice problems and dug up notes from school on areas that CPA Excel didn't explain well enough. I'd say don't overlook IFRS. I wouldn't memorize everything about it, but definitely know the major differences. Not-for-profit and governmental are also painful, and governmental will probably boil down just memorization. Joy for fund accounting.

For the “rest” of the FAR material, I'd say practice practice practice. If you're shaky on some subjects, do some longer non-CPA Exam type questions. I had some old basic/intermediate accounting review books that I dug up to practice various scenarios. I did a few of the really long problems that involved recording various transactions and then generating the various financial statements.

Also, use and abuse the literature tab on the TBS. It saved me on FAR but was almost worthless on REG.

FAR: Passed
REG: Passed
BEC: Passed
AUD: Passed

[mmcgrad1]

I see you have made a decision already but I'd like to give some advice to help you or anyone else with the same question.

I would start with the section you think will be the most challenging for you. In my case I hated tax so I focused on REG first. I then took AUD so that I had an easier section to lighten the load rather than taking REG and then FAR. I took FAR third as I wanted to save BEC for last since it is the easiest section.

NIU CPA Review Correspondence is awesome!

I passed all four sections on the first attempt

[TripleNetAcct]

At this point, I am just deciding between REG or FAR first. I am taking BEC because I have underestimated it twice already. I wish I would have taken REG first but unfortunately, that can't happen. I am going to get BEC done and then hopefully will only have 2 left going into 2013….only problem is, they are the longest (FAR) and hardest for me (REG).

Gonna be a long next couple of months. I wish I had all of yalls brains so I could knock them out as fast as yall can. I tried that and cant do it so I am taking a different approach and just doing one section at a time. Will do FAR @ end of February and then I will go from there.

Again, thanks for the feedback everyone!

AUD 73 (Aug 12) 77
BEC 66 71 (Nov 12) 80
REG 54 81 (May 13) 81
FAR 63 (Dec 13) 75 TEXAS

[Author]

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