[TBone]

Took FAR on Saturday. I went into this one feeling much more prepared than my last attempt and even more so than when I originally passed FAR…didn’t matter.

MCQ were straight forward but wordy so it took longer than I budgeted leaving only about 2 hours and 15 min left for sims.

The first two sims seemed ok. They took a while since each had several documents to use in answering each question. That took about 40 minutes.

The bad part began with testlet 4. Those 3 sims were very long and involved a lot of supplemental material. I pretty much got to the point where I had to put in 0’s and bail on half of two of them so I could save 30 minutes for the remaining 3 sims in testlet 5.

The final sims in testlet 5 weren’t bad and I didn’t need all 30 minutes. I wish I was able to see all sims at once to better allocate my time. There simply wasn’t enough time to feel confident in any sim answers. Between reading the question, figuring out what they want, reviewing the supplemental documents, and answering the questions its way too much.

I may just sound like I’m bitching, which I am, but I think FAR needs 5 hours instead of 4.

FAR: 66, 75
AUD: 67, 69, 70, 74, 74
REG: 71, 79
BEC: 73

[Anthony]

You had 5 sims with supporting docs? That is terrible luck. I took it a month ago had 3 sims with supporting docs.

[TBone]

I don't remember for sure but I think aside from the research question there was only one other sim that didn't have supporting docs. Killed my time budget.

FAR: 66, 75
AUD: 67, 69, 70, 74, 74
REG: 71, 79
BEC: 73

[slugger73]

For what this is worth, I took REG in February and scored a 73. I took it again in April and am obviously waiting on my scores. The biggest issue I had under the new format was time budgeting. Under the old format, I had all of my sims in front of me at one time. Now, they are broken up into the 3 testlets.

The reason I mention this was because I rushed through the first two simulations so that I had enough time for the remaining six, but ended up with about 25-30 minutes left at the end of the exam. The first two simulations were definitely the hardest and longest. I have seen a few posts that hint at this. I wonder if this is actually so and if it makes sense to not rush through these as you know the final six will not take as long?

Any opinions?

What does the AICPA gain by separating the simulations now?

[nickmk06]

If it makes you feel any better, all of my SIMS were DRS except one which was completely random and not even covered in Becker.

[Anonymous]

@slugger what does the AICPA have to gain from any of this exam? They are doing it to add an additional challenge. It's clearly important to them to continue to change the exam every couple years and this year the focused on the time management.

I find it interesting that you write two paragraphs about how the new test set up is throwing off your time management, but then go on to say “What do they have to gain?” You answer your question before you even ask it.

[Anonymous]

That's wicked, about so many SIMs being DRS's. Not fair. Seriously man, some people get lucky with these exams and get all/mostly easy SIMs and some just don't.
There's no rhyme or reason to much of what happens on these exams. All anyone can do is just keep taking them until they pass. I've been at this for nearly a year now
and people around me are saying “Aren't you done yet? Wow, it sure takes a long time…”

[slugger73]

@cpa In my opinion the CPA exam as I have known it is already testing your time management skills. I say “what do they have to gain?” because I think it is more applicable to real life knowing what you have to accomplish and budgeting your time from there so you can appropriately expend the correct levels of energy on each task.

Can you really argue that this method is an effective way to test time management? Why not make each simulation its own testlet?

[Anonymous]

I do think it tests time management. You need to decide how much time to dedicate to each testlet. If you are going to head down the path of this isn't what it's like in the real world, you can start with Multiple Choice Questions. Working in accounting for over 5 years, I have received 0 MCQs…why test them?

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what either of us think. We can debate all we want but at the end of the day, we have to take to test as the examiners issue it. It sucks, I agree..but it is what it is….

[Wannafree]

Thank Tony for sharing your experience.

[Author]

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