“Question for those who have taken the Ethics exam already……did you receive any kind of notice of completion from IL? I received confirmation from the AICPA that I passed but haven't heard from IL yet as to whether they've received my score.”
I took the ethics section about a month ago and have the same result as you so far. AICPA confirmation, no word from IL. I'm guessing maybe they don't send you outright notice of completion to save money/time/etc. If I find out I passed the 4th section of the exam I'm just gonna keep plugging away with the process and if there are any issues, I have my printed certificate from the AICPA so I can't imagine there will be any problems.
I purchased my CD in conjunction with becoming a member of the IL CPA Society. Membership was like $120 or something, and the CD was sold at a deep discount for about $60 or so, which I didn't think was a bad deal at all.
I did not have a book. All in all it took me about 3-4 hours to complete just using the materials and weblinks provided on the CD. I definitely think that taking the test online and getting your score instantaneously is the way to go, regardless of if you do book or CD. You can take the test up to three times online. You need to score a 90%, so if you can't do it after three tries then you must do it via snail mail.
I got an 88% on my first attempt. This was due to having the TV on in the background and the fact that I was probably only paying about 75% attention to the exam. Also, my first time through I was trying to find the answers by watching the video clips on the CD. That is NOT the way to go. At the beginning of the CD they provide links to all the PDF documentation you need for the questions, including the official study guide which I'm guessing is very similar, if not identical to what you get when you order the book. To get my 90% I just had to review the questions in more detail and figure out at least one question that I was wrong on.
Good luck! Just need to have the few hours set aside to do it. Once you start you shouldn't have any issues completing.
(IL) / BEC - 81 (2/20/10) / AUD - 94 (4/19/10) / REG - 86 (5/24/10) / FAR 96 (10/18/10) / DONE