I decided to find this thread again since I just spent the morning taking the ethics exam. I thought I'd give a little recap about my experience in case it is useful for anyone.
I got the CD version rather than the book version of the course. I ordered it through my state's CPA society website since it was about $50 cheaper than buying from the AICPA. I took the test on the AICPA's website listed in the course material. It was easy to sign up and navigate through the AICPA website. You'll need to put in two codes. The first code is at the top of the piece of scantron paper that comes with the course. The second code is on the back of the CD case.
Overall, it took me about 4 hours from when I first sat down at the computer til I had my score. That included a snack break, some time messing around on facebook, and wandering around the house once or twice. If I had been completely focused, it would have probably taken around 3 hours. I saw someone on an old thread saying he had done this test in an hour. I am sure some people are capable of that, but I wanted to make sure I passed the first time, so I took my time researching things.
Thoughts on the CD course: you can't “search” it like you would a website or pdf. The search button links to a list of topics. You must pick one of those topics to search within. Sometimes I found it difficult to decide how to categorize my search into one of the prepackaged topics, so I did most of my searching for answers by looking up stuff on the AICPA website (or SEC, PCAOB, etc). When you do use the CD, the information is a series of short videos, and not all the information that is spoken is written on the slides, so you have to both read and listen. I found that to be time consuming and a little annoying, which is one of the reasons I switched to just searching the AICPA website.
The test itself: 40 multiple choice questions. The test is open book and isn't timed. You must make above 90% to pass. Some of the questions are tricky, and there were one or two where I didn't think I had enough information to choose an answer. Some of the questions are really easy and basic, and stuff you've practiced a million times if you've taken REG or AUD.
Overall, it was a pain in the butt, but a good way to distract myself from waiting to find out about AUD tomorrow.
@kreibsom08 — I got becker. My first two tries (62 & 53) I was just using a couple of bisk books (no video or anything). After the 53 on REG, I decided to suck it up and get Becker. My last three scores (91, 88, 85) have all be using Becker exclusively with no supplemental materials besides the ninja notes. I tried to get through two chapters a week, and then reviewed for about 3 weeks at the end. I spent a total of 8 week studying for FAR the second time. I didn't feel that great going into it or coming out of it, but apparently I did fine.
REG- 53, 91
BEC- 88
FAR- 62, 85
AUD- 85
Ethics- 93
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