[Anonymous]

I retook audit today (took in Oct 2010 last time), and felt the exam was 10x harder than last year. I did put lots of efforts into studying- reading notes couple times (Becker), work on MCQs and TBS… but the exam turned out that it was way beyond what I have prepared for. I felt awful after I walked out of the testing center. :'(

Did anyone have the same feeling about the audit exam this year? The difficulty has increased this year.

[Accounting Pilot]

I took the exam in January for the first time, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I will say I thought the exam was fairly difficult. Some of the questions I was not prepared for, but everything turned out ok.

Part of the issue might be the content. Are you a REG accountant? I, personally, am more of an AUD and FAR accountant, so I am having huge problems with REG. I imagine I will be feeling the same way you are now after I take my exam for the second time tomorrow. It could simply be that you will never be comfortable with AUD no matter how much you prepare. Good luck, and try not to feel too awful. Don't count your eggs before they hatch, especially if you think they are rotten.

Wisconsin Candidate. NTS 450
BEC - 82 AUD - 85
FAR - 83 REG - 71, 86

[tri2011]

I took the exam on May 9 and I almost felt better about the SIMS compared to the MCQ, so I'm not sure what to think.

The questions never appeared to get more difficult and my second testlet was fairly easy and the third seem only slightly more challenging.

The wait is the hardest part though

[yankeeaccountant]

@tri2011,

I felt ok about the sims considering all the posts about how hard the sims were. I finished the exam with an hour left, which kinda threw me. I even went over the entire 2nd and 3rd testlets. I felt like the 2nd and 3rd testlets were wordier, which made it seem harder, although in hindsight, not really sure it that is accurate. I really feel like the whole concept of the testlets getting harder is soooo subjective. At this point, I am not sure if I can trust my judgement. My brain is mush. I will have taken 3 exams by the 30th in this window. OIY!!!

Good luck everyone!

[Anonymous]

thanks for sharing your experiences here everyone… I just feel like I have no energy left and so disencouraged by taking the exams.. really, I don't know if I could still face the failure and saying I'll keep trying.. maybe I chose a wrong profession? I know I sound just like a loser right now.. especially after thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours were already spent..

I know if it doesn't kill me, it will make me stronger.. but I just do not feel any confident at all to keep myself still running.

I appreciate all of your comments and encouragement. Should I give up? Should I keep believeing that I can do it? :'(

[Accounting Pilot]

Whether or not you chose the wrong profession is something you have to figure out. Do you enjoy accounting, but hate the CPA exam? That describes just about all of us (save perhaps, those who get a kick out of pain). If you hate accounting, then yes, maybe you should look at something else.

Have you passed any parts of the exam? Knowing that you are 25%, 50%, or 75% of the way there can be a real encourager. Before you start talking about giving up, though, at least wait until scores come out. Until then, study for the next section (if you have another to take) or do something fun and decompress…or maybe both. Let's revisit your question when the results are known. I can say from personal experience that worrying about the exam before scores are out may only serve to make you miserable for no reason at all.

And you are not a loser. Most of us feel the exact same way you do during this exam.

Wisconsin Candidate. NTS 450
BEC - 82 AUD - 85
FAR - 83 REG - 71, 86

[yankeeaccountant]

@Bliss,

I have to agree with Accounting Pilot. You are not a loser. I enjoy accounting but hate the process of the CPA exam. I hate being exiled from my family and friends—from society in general. Heck, I have even had more than a few fights here and there with my husband. It is hard for anyone outside this circus to truly understand what we go through. That being said, try to remember how you got here in the first place. Try to remember why you started this journey and keep that with you. The waiting sucks. Agreed.

So, far I haven't passed any exams–I do a great job of almost passing–but you and I know that almost doesn't cut it. I have taken 3 exams this window in hopes of feeling the success that many people here have experienced. We have a decent wait before scores are released. Take some time to relax, nothing can be accomplished by worrying ( I am trying to convince myself of the same!), so give your brain and your heart a rest for now.

Best of luck to you!!!!

[Anonymous]

@ Accounting Pilot and yankeeaccountant, thanks for your words. I def take them and hope/look for the future.

Good luck to our future.

[ak311]

Is NASBA looking to reduce the number of people that pass the CPA? I took audit monday and thought it was really tough, but if they are still passing the same percentage of people I don't feel too worried about it.

FAR - F (2011), 5/16
AUD - F(2011)
BEC -
REG -

2nd attempt at this thing. Time to get serious.

[rknight21]

i will agree with what an earlier poster said that the difficulty level is subjective and not written in stone…. mine you i havent received my grade as yet but i also felt bad after leaving the testing center but after calming down and considering everything i did i believe i passed…..

[ks99]

I just finished audit today. The testlets for me were very wordy. The questions in the last testlet were almost like reading a paragraph per question. They definitely got more difficult at the end. The sims were hard, and it was hard to find them in the Auth Lit tab. In the end there are still questions in the sims that will haunt me until I find out if I passed. Half the sims were on familiar topics, and the others were so off the wall it was hard to figure out what they wanted. I must admit that some of the questions were very subjective… I know that there is one definite answer, but the question could be interpreted in any number of different ways. I wish I could see the answers whether or not I passed…

Studied about 80 hours total, have no clue if I actually did pass. I have never done an audit before, so it was all entirely new.

I wouldnt be surprised if I ended up taking this again.

[Zizoty]

Dont worry ks99, I had the same feeling last window but end up with 83. The exam was hard but I didn't leave any question blank and make an educated guess.

AUD - 83 Feb11
REG - 75 May11
BEC - 73 July11 84 Oct11
FAR - 63 Aug11 76 Feb12 I'M DONE!!!!!

[pshustler]

I took AUD in Feb and felt pretty good. Breezed through most of the MC but the SIMS were a little harder than I expected. I felt that the Wiley test bank was a very good supplement for Becker when it came to AUD. Well worth the investment

BEC - 86
AUD - 94
REG - 88
FAR - 89

[rknight21]

i second that notion

[kobebryant168]

@ BLISS

I took AUD today and I felt absolutely awful….I would say totally diff than what we see in Becker….I m pretty sure we know which chapters are heavy weighted but guess what, none of them showed, yes, NONE.

This is disaster, I had 2 research questions on TBS and overall they are ok

, but i definitely agreed that the difficulty has increase much much more…

I think I need to switch review course, anyone have good review course suggestions besides Becker? I really hope there's a review course that can help tackle this AUD exam

[Author]

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