[Mimine86]

Wondering which part should i take first or have you all passed at first try? Which part did you find to be the easiest?

[nalratoss]

Take the hardest one first—–FAR. Trust me. It will pay off in the long run.

[lam2848]

I would take FAR first. I think some of the concepts in FAR carry over to other sections of the exam.

[Scared-cpa]

Like the other posters, I would take FAR first. You may struggle a bit with it since I do believe there is a learning curve with these exams, but once you pass it, it's all down hill from there. That's not to say the other sections aren't difficult – they are. I'm just saying stereotypes usually exist for a reason and FAR is the hardest section, meaning you want to start with it. Easiest section I would say is AUD, but that can be more personal depending on if you prefer computational or conceptual material. I would suggest going in the order of FAR, AUD, REG, and BEC. Material overlaps between these exams and as you work through AUD and REG you will learn that material is easier to grasp as you have already familiarialzed yourself with it in previous sections. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

From most difficult to least: REG, FAR, BEC, AUD

But if I could start the journey over, I would take FAR first as others have said. Not because it's most difficult, but because some of the topics and material will carry over and help you most with other sections.

Then I would take REG which is the most difficult section in my opinion.

Then it would be a toss up between BEC and AUD.

[maj1028]

I would recommend FAR first because it has the most materials and depending on your knowledge and the time you have to study. Also, FAR covers a lot of topics which are foundational. Therefore, they would be very helpful for you in tackling the other sections. I would then follow it with AUD because it's like the reverse of FAR, i.e. checking the works of other accountants. AUD is based on FAR. Then, you can take either BEC or REG. I took BEC before REG but after my experience, I would actually recommend REG first because it is harder than BEC.

[Jigalo]

The easiest is not the best way to go. That is the road I went down( took audit first), and can say it was not the right choice. Audit had sims on it from FAR. It is best to start with Far and then go into whichever sections you want.

To answer the questions from easiest to hardest —–> Reg, Aud, Far, BEC…… Everyone is different, Reg was the funnest for me to study, so it was the easiest one, I enjoy tax codes and all that jazz. BEC was my hardest because I hate hodge podge information. Everyone will have a different opinion on easiest, but majority will tell you to take FAR first, and being that I'm waiting for my final score(FAR) I can honestly tell you I did it wrong.

[Superdude3000]

I saved FAR for last and while it definitely worked best for me with regards to study time it was A LOT trying to get through that big book last. Taking it first probably would've been less exhausting in the end. As for difficulty, I found AUD to be by far the easiest (some find AUD the most difficult though), followed by REG, BEC, then FAR.

[M123]

I think I'm seeing a trend.

Yes, FAR is first, because it's hardest, not easiest.

I had severe burnout toward the end and I'm so glad it was not FAR where I experienced that.

My perfect order was REG, FAR, AUD, BEC but if I did it over again, I'd probably due BEC 2nd to last and AUD last.

BEC and AUD have their own challenges but are no the nightmare fuel that FAR is.

[Anonymous]

I'll be brutally honest here – NONE of the 4 exams are easy. They are all very challenging in their own way. The “easiest” exams for me have been FAR and BEC because I had studied those 2 broad subjects very intensely during my Undergrad. If I had NOT studied FAR so intensely while in College, I could see how it would be the most difficult. However, I have found REG to be more difficult than FAR because REG is jampacked with random rules and exceptions.

Anyhow, I would take the exams in this order:

FAR, AUD, REG, BEC

Goodluck!

[YXH425]

Fun fact: none of the four parts are easy, nada. BEC is relatively (underline) easier but it's definitely not as easy as you thought. As everyone already said here, I would recommend you taking FAR first because it is the hardest one. Also some people have been saying that they got up to two FAR sims on their AUD test. I took FAR for my first one and it went pretty well.

Anyway, if you insist you want the “easiest” one, take BEC.

[lilac]

I'll repeat what others have said: no part is easiest and everyone is different. I started down the conventional wisdom path that says start with the hardest: FAR. But it was too much for me, the breadth of material. I talked to someone who passed each part on the first try. She said that she started with what she thought would be the easiest for her just to get one under her belt and create some momentum. I took her advice and switched to the order that I thought would be easiest: REG (I do tax), BEC, AUD and FAR. BEC has given me the most trouble, and I can't explain why. I mean, Sweet Lord, I went to school for business economics. For many people, it's the easiest. It took me numerous tries, and I finally passed with a 76. I've never taken a class in Audit, nor have I ever practiced. But I didn't have any trouble with Audit. It seemed the closest to law, which I went to school for. Just learn the rules. Don't overthink it.

[monikernc]

everything i needed to know about FAR i learned in school. i looked at ninja mcqs for a week then 9 months later i passed the exam. no one was more surpised than i was. i just took it rather than let my NTS expire

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Finally_a_CPA]

I agree with everyone else in that you shoyld take FAR first. It is just so much information to cover so it is best to study for it while not concerned about your clock running.

Also, we all have a different opinion of test difficulty depending on our own strengths and weaknesses. For me, from easiest to hardest
REG, FAR, BEC, AUD.

[Earla Riopel (NYCARE)]

Definitely FAR, then BEC! Lost credit for AUD & REG because of this two, but that's me. BEC maybe is a lot better this time around because of the extra 1hr for the new format.

FAR gotten worst with the new format, took 2017 FAR Q1 & Q3 as an experiment. My ‘failed score' for 2017 FAR Q3 is expected.

[So FAR So Good]

My order from most difficult to least difficult: REG->BEC->AUD->FAR

Personally, FAR was the easiest, but I feel like it played to my strengths very well. Either way, if I were to do it again I would STILL pick FAR as the first section, purely because of the amount of material to cover. Do yourself a favor and give yourself a big head start on studying for FAR before scheduling anything. I had studied 4 of 10 Becker chapters in detail before signing up for the exam, then gave myself nearly two more months before exam day.

I've heard of plenty of people saying to take BEC first since it's easiest and you want to get a pass out of the way, but I feel like that's a mistake. You don't want to take the longest exam last, trust me. Not only that, but it may not be as easy for you as you think.

F - 91 (6/5/2016)
A - 7/30/2016
R - 10/8/2016
B - 12/10/2016

[Author]

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