[rahee]

I took AUD in the second testing window, and I’m positive I failed (I skipped one whole SIM, and struggled with the rest). I am scheduled to take FAR in the last week of the 3rd quarter.

When should I schedule my AUD retake? I think one of the reasons I struggled with the AUD sims is because they were related to FAR topics. Should I move FAR in the middle of 3rd quarter and then take AUD at the end? If I do that, I am scared that I will fail FAR because of the less time to study and/or I am scared that I will fail AUD because of the gap in studying.

Has anyone been in this situation? What did they do?

Side question: has anyone BOMBED the MC/Sims and STILL passed?

TIA

[ob1]

If I were you I would just keep moving forward and take FAR.

I have thought I failed so many times because of the Sims. When I passed FAR I left an entire sim blank because time was running out and I didn't understand it.

If you stop now because you are sure you failed it could be a big waste. Just keep going.

[rahee]

Thanks for the advice ob1! I just got my score, and I did not pass AUD.

I am thinking of continuing to study AUD for 2 more weeks and take the exam early july, and then focus on FAR until Sept. Would this be a waste of time? I am certain I failed AUD due to lack of preparation–I know I skipped over a few items that were tested.

[CS]

I took AUD right after FAR, and understand the sentiment when candidates talk about the FAR-related SIMs, I remember having 1-2 SIMs which I probably wouldn't have been able to do or be as confident on if not for FAR. Do you feel 2 more weeks would be enough (I don't know your schedule i.e. full-time job, kids etc.) to restudy AUD? It's always mentioned that on a retake studying should be seen as starting from scratch.

Knowing FAR material helped a lot while studying for AUD as many of the concepts regarding the reasons behind the assertions, where they apply, control activities etc. I don't know which review course you're using but ROGER's AUD is great, and opt for the CRAM if anything. NINJA's MCQs are also solid, good luck!

[rahee]

Hey @sbny2k17 ! So right now I work full time as Staff 1 audit with no kids/no distractions. I used Becker, but bought NINJA yesterday after finding out my score.

I feel like it wouldnt hurt to dedicate two weeks for AUD because my FAR exam is scheduled for Sept, and I really don't want to move it earlier to squeeze in AUD for this testing window. I feel like I might as well should try AUD this testing window, cause not doing otherwise guarantees my fail score anyway.

Am I getting too ahead of myself?

[CS]

You can't go wrong with NINJA. I would suggest blasting the MCQs, identifying your weak spots and go from there.

Regarding the FAR issues with the AUD exam itself, from what I recall it's mainly the formulas, and I think NINJA does a pretty good job of covering that. Maybe some AUD SIMs specifically related to the ratios might be of use and paint a clearer picture?

[Lucy15]

Are you running up against your 18 month window soon? I know a lot of people on this forum like to take as many exams as possible in a quarter, but that doesn't make much sense if you're going to be under-prepared for both FAR and AUD. Can you take FAR at your currently scheduled time and take AUD in Q4?

[rahee]

Hi @lucy15 , Yes I can take AUD in Q4. The first exam I passed (BEC) was in March 2018, so I have some time before it expires. I just thought I would take AUD as early as possible because the content is fresh in my brain. What do most people in this situation do?

[Lucy15]

Have you already started studying FAR? And how long ago did you take AUD? If AUD is really fresh and you haven't started studying FAR then it's probably best to move back to AUD. If you've already started studying for FAR I would stick with that and take it in September like you have planned. I took my first FAR exam last September while I was waiting to find out my first AUD score, and I think FAR feeds so much into AUD and really helped me pass it the second time around.

[asadkahloon]

@rahee,

Im sort of in the same situation. Scored a 69 on AUD this past quarter. I feel like taking it against ASAP would be far better than waiting a few months since you'd probably forget almost everything whereas right now you wouldnt have to relearn all of it since some of the material is familiar.

[rahee]

@lucy15 Oh okay that makes sense! I actually took AUD at the end of the 2nd testing window (June), which is why the material seems fresh to me. I can understand that if i took it much earlier and began started studying for FAR, I think I would be inclined to take FAR asap. But I just took audit, and I am just starting the second chapter for FAR (using becker).

@kahloon What are you planning on doing? I'm thinking of taking AUD mid July. Also, what did you think of the exam? I thought it was harder than the becker mock exams….

[asadkahloon]

@Rahee,

I think I'm going to retake on the 10th of July. Previously had scheduled REG for July 20, and im halfway through Becker for REG. Going to reschedule REG for July 30. Initially I went through Becker for AUD, did all the MCQ's, sort of neglected the SIMS and did every AICPA question I could find, went through all NINJA questions. I dont know what happened on the real exam, all but 5-6 questions were pretty straight forward, made sense. The one difficult SIM I sort of guessed on, but after seeing my score and my Candidate Performance report, apparently I dont know the material as well as I think I do. I got all “Weaker” except for ethics, which is strange since thats the one part of AUD I glossed over.

My Becker mock exam score was 65 on the first one since the exam closed halfway through due to a technical glitch, and a 71 on the second. My becker for AUD has expired and I'll be relying solely on NINJA and maybe Wiley's 14day trial.

[rahee]

@kahloon

I think I got overconfident in studying and glossed over a lot of the concepts because they “looked familiar”. I need to go back and seriously study the details. I got weaker on everything except assessing risk (comparable) and forming conclusions (stronger). I am going to take the AUD exam 7/20, which gives me about 1.5 months to prepare for FAR ( 🙁 )

[asadkahloon]

@Rahee,

yeah I think its becoming clear to me that this score report doesnt mean much. I got Weaker on all but one and 1 stonger and got 1 point higher than you? From the looks of it I should have gotten in the 50's and your score should have been low 70's.

[Gimme_a_75]

I'm kind of in the same boat. 2 attempts at AUD and 2 successive 74s. I have REG scheduled for Sept 8. My FAR pass rolls off 3/31/19. My thinking is hit AUD on 7/17 and then tackle REG. I'm hoping by banging out MCQs, I can get that magical point bump to push me over. I really don't know how else I could be any more prepared. I don't want to let yet another test window go by and only take one exam. I'd rarely just hope for a Hail Mary. I really detest the thought of having to ever think about another audit MCQ or SIM, but here I am. I have decided if I'm not finished by the time FAR rolls off, I'm calling it quits. I'm not retaking exams I've already passed.

[rahee]

@kahloon yea same, the score report isnt that helpful. I wish it was broken down more. I got “weaker” on both MC and Sims though.

[Author]

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