[Ajames]

Which section should I start with? I’ve always heard your should start with FAR since it has the most material and it feeds into the AUD material. However, I read that the exams are about to update on July 1, 2021. I saw this advice from Becker.

What is Becker’s guidance to CPA Exam students to help manage these new changes?

Given the addition of newly testable content to the AUD and BEC exams, Becker recommends that candidates focus on passing these two exams as early as possible before July 1, 2021. The FAR and REG exams will both have less content after this date, so candidates should take those two exams in the second half of the year if possible.

What do you think? Should I start with FAR or another section like AUD or BEC? Or does the advice from Becker only apply to people that have already started studying? I will be using Ninja only.

[Road2CPA]

I initially took BEC first because many people said it would be the easiest since it had the least amount of material, and that would get me motivated. I found myself struggling with it because the sections really didn't flow (in my mind). I honestly wish I would have gone with my gut and had taken AUD first since that was the area that I was most familiar with.

I've also seen many people in various forums and social media groups suggest FAR first since it has the most material and your 18 month clock doesn't start until it's passed – which absolutely makes sense to me… but.. my unpopular opinion has been to take FAR last. My reasoning is that I've met a few people (and have seen many online posts) that did not meet the 18 month window. I know we all go into this process with the idea of meeting the window, but you never know what life will throw at you in 18 months that might cause you to miss that window… marriage, illness, children, major move/job change, or even a pandemic. I personally didn't want to risk not meeting the 18 month window and losing the FAR as my first exam… on the flip side of that, I saved FAR for last and I think I was mentally drained by the time I got to it, and failed my first try (thankfully, I passed with this most recent score release); so that's something to also keep in mind.

I say all of that to say, I think you have to personally weigh your pros and cons while considering others' insight as well. If I could do it over again, I'd probably take AUD first and FAR second or third (because I personally would still be worried about not meeting the 18 month window and not want to lose a passing FAR score because of that).

I'm interested to see what others suggest.

Also, less content after July 2021 is also incentive to save FAR and REG for last 🙂

[LD-407]

Hi! I'm currently using UWorld Roger's CPA review, I had switched from Wiley. So this is what Wiley had recommended:
1. FAR
2. AUD
3. REG
4. BEC

I failed FAR twice and once I switched to UWorld Roger's CPA review I finally passed with a 17% increase, FINALLY :)! They had a slightly different recommendation:
1. FAR
2. REG
3. AUD
4. BEC

Roger's recommended that I take REG next because I work in taxation. They said they would have recommended AUD to someone who was working at an audit firm. So… I thought that was interesting, otherwise, both programs would have offered identical paths. I'm really happy that I took FAR first and got it out of the way, it took me such a long time to pass and I can't imagine having that type of pressure if I would have already passed the others first. Happy studying!

[Sam]

My approach was influenced by when I was starting work. I graduated undergrad in May of 2019; I took BEC and FAR in that order before starting work in October. Like Road2CPA said, I started with BEC hoping to have an early pass and have motivation/a study method figured out. Then I did FAR because I could take my time with it and not be stressed about work too. I did AUD third cause that's the field I'm in, so the slight overlap after I started working helped with some reinforcement of ideas/how things worked. Then REG was last, as I really didn't know what to expect; my thinking was if I had passed the first three, I'd have the determination to power through it no matter what it was like. And I definitely needed that.

This order worked well for me and if I did it again, I think I'd do it the same. But everyone is different – different strengths/weaknesses, approaches, motivators, etc. So if people are suggesting one order and you want to try another, try yours. You know yourself best and you'll figure out the best path to pass these exams. Good luck!

[accountantsteve]

Hey, I used Roger CPA instead of Becker, but my recommendation is to take FAR first since it is a beast and covers the most material. Then take either REG or AUD depending on which you find most interesting.

[Author]

Replies