[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?

[cmcook]

Opposed to what most people have advised, I'd take REG first. It's not an accounting exam – it's an exam on memorizing the tax code. Ridiculous! The rest of the exams will (hopefully) touch on something you likely learned already and will have foundation in.

I thought AUD was far and away the easiest, and I had zero Audit experience. Audit is a lot about understanding language and the subtleties between words. I really didn't expect that. BEC gave me more trouble than expected, but luckily IT is second-nature to me so it wasn't so bad.

If I had it all over to do, I'd take REG, then AUD, FAR, BEC. I think it makes sense to get your monster over with first (we all have a different one, most exam prep companies have a free diagnostic tool), then one that seems easier to give you a boost, then FAR (I don't think FAR is as bad as people make it out to be, but of course talk to me tomorrow when I get my score) and then BEC.

[Wannafree]

Take FAR-AUD-TAX-BEC

[Anonymous]

Studying wise, I feel like REG is the worst, none of it makes sense. BEC was really tough to study for too, because it's like several different exams rolled into one. Now AUD was easy to study for, and was ok to take. I am studying for FAR now (yes saved that one for last) but somehow it's not awful to study for. Yes, it's a lot, but I have done accounting for 15 years and somehow at least I can find logic in it, unlike REG…For me, I had to get BEC out of the way before they added SIMS, and then I took AUD to keep things going, so basically, unlike most people here I saved the two hardest ones for last:) But I would say from easiest to hardest:

AUD-BEC-FAR-REG

[shawn in VA]

All of them are hard. I have taken all except FAR. I hear nightmares stories about FAR so I will presume that is hard as well.

If your an older candidate like myself (late 30's ) you are in for an unpleasant journey. Especially if you work FT and have kids. Being out of school for over a decade really makes you rusty.

This exam is geared towards ppl right out of school from 22-25 years old

[tskits75]

I started with AUD becuase it was what I everyday at work. If I could go back I would do FAR first. Sadly I saved FAR for last. But in terms of easiest I believe it all depends on the person and their background. I didn't work at all in tax so REG was the hardest for me by far(no pun).

AUD - 92
BEC - 79
REG - August
FAR - TBD

[mtaylo24]

Far is ruining my life, I wish I would have done it first. The other sections are laughable in comparison. I sometimes wonder if I would have struggled with the other sections if I would have just gotten the far beat down out of the way. In college, I felt auditing and the tax classes were tough, so I figured that I could start with those two. Little did I know how much overlap far has with each section

Tldr: take Far first

AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
FAR - (8/16)

[ultrarunner]

I tried FAR>AUD>REG>BEC but ended up passing AUD>FAR>BEC>REG thanks to retakes. But I am glad that I tried FAR first. Even if you won't pass on the first try, you could always go back and take it. FAR is the foundation of the CPA exams. As long as you have a good understanding of FAR, you should be fine. Like everyone else says, please do FAR first.

FAR 72,67,79 (Roger+Wiley test bank)11/15
AUD 80 (Roger)10/15
BEC 80 (Roger)4/16
REG 63,78 (Roger+Ninja MCQs)5/16

[Anonymous]

I want it to be clear that all sections are very challenging. I fell into the trap of “I passed FAR on my first attempt, so the rest of the sections will be a cakewalk.” What a LIE!! However, I do agree that passing FAR first is very smart because FAR has overlap with the other sections – especially AUD. And, FAR has a lot of material, so you do t want to be burned out trying to pass it on your last section.

In short, if you take shortcuts on any of the 4 sections you will probably fail. Study your ass off and make sacrifices like never before, you have a decent shot at passing.

Goodluck! And, let's hope for some 75+'s tonight!!!

[ixlr82day]

@mtaylo24 How did you increase your score in FAR? What changed?

For me I think REG and BEC was easier for me. I do tax for a living and when I was in college many, many years ago I took all the different core classes for Finance and MIS so I had a basis of that type of info. It helped me pass those two sections. Audit for me wasn't that bad. I did fail my first time recently but I was recovering from a friends bachelor party in Vegas. FAR is hard. Really, Really Hard.

I took BEC, REG, AUD, and FAR this last go round. I knew FAR and AUD would be hard for me but I felt I needed momentum of passing a part or two to give me the drive to continue the journey. I felt a couple hard fails in FAR and AUD would discourage me and make me quit. Passing a couple parts gave me the drive to continue. Even with the low scores in FAR and Audit I feel I went too FAR hahaha to give up now.

Anyway good luck to all of us!

[mtaylo24]

@ixlr82day by studying a full window rather than rushing

AUD - 1st - 60 (12/12), 61 (2/13), 61 (8/13), 78! (11/15)
REG - 55 (2/16) 69 (5/16) Retake(8/16)
BEC - 71(5/16) Retake (9/16)
FAR - (8/16)

[ixlr82day]

@mtaylo24 Thanks for the reply. I struggled with FAR. Hopefully we pass this part together this window.

[Teal]

Honestly, everyone has a different opinion of which test is the hardest. For me, it is actually BEC. I cannot get above a 71!! But, FAR does translate to the other tests, so I would recommend taking it first. If you had a lot of intermediate/advanced accounting, FAR should be “easy” for you (none of them are easy)!!

FAR (66,68) Aug 26
REG (66) July 25
AUD (66) December 1st
BEC - October 3rd

[Parthamis]

I attempted to study for FAR, but the material was so overwhealming I couldn't carry on with it. I eventually gave up and studied for BEC and then sat for REG 7 weeks later. This allowed me o carry on to study for AUD. I would have studied for FAR after REG but since there was a long gap in the Q2 score release I decided to study for FAR during the long GAP.

There are many that beat FAR first, and they definitely do have it easier. But no matter when you take the beast, and in which ever order, it truly gets at least slightly easier after you pass each one.. even FAR which was super long

[Parthamis]

I attempted to study for FAR, but the material was so overwhelming I couldn't carry on with it. I eventually gave up and studied for BEC and then sat for REG 7 weeks later. This allowed me o carry on to study for AUD. I would have studied for FAR after REG but since there was a long gap in the Q2 score release I decided to study for FAR during the long GAP.

There are many that beat FAR first, and they definitely do have it easier. But no matter when you take the beast, and in which ever order, it truly gets at least slightly easier after you pass each one.. even FAR which was super long

[Author]

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