[jeff]

Any feedback to give the AICPA on Q2 Testing?

– Are you delaying taking the exam in Q2 for any particular reason?

– Any software change/tax law/etc concerns?

[Anonymous]

Yes, the wait sucks and anyone who has an existing credit and is subject to score delays should have their 18 month window extended at least 3 months. It negatively affects preparation if say you just took your last exam but wind up failing. This is 2 years in a row of score delays which is a bit ridiculous.

[Steph]

I just sat a couple weeks ago. The bigger monitors are great and I really like the way they set up the simulations. The UX upgrade in this regard was long overdue. DRSs aren't as much of a pain to navigate now.

What is with the three-month wait for scores this year? They didn't change the content of the exam in a significant way like last year. What gives? Like the person above me, I'm annoyed with this as well.

REG: 60, RETAKE MAY 2016
FAR: AUG 2016
AUD: APR 2016
BEC: 68, RETAKE PENDING

[sacpa]

Thanks for providing the opportunity to give our feedback, Jeff!

1. Why the long delay in score release all over again?
2. Will the possibility of candidates taking a failed section in the same window be considered starting from next year? But with the trend of delayed scores two years in a row, we will be relieved if there are multiple score releases in a window, let alone allowing to take failed sections in same window.
3. Are there any changes to other sections in addition to REG next year?

FAR - < than 75, 10/2013, 2/2015
BEC - < than 75, 10/2013
AUD - < than 75, 8/2015, 1/2016

~ Winners fail until they succeed. Losers quit when they fail. - Robert Kiyosaki
~ I survived because the fire inside burned brighter than the fire around me.
~ Something will grow from all you are going through. And it will be YOU.
~ Right now you may not be where you intend to be, but it's where you need to be in order to get where you want to go.

[cpabound]

I delayed taking any new exams after passing my 1st section last year in order to hopefully get way from the delayed score releases. They are having a negative impact on preparation and scores! I try to wait to schedule until the end of the window so I don't have to wait so long for a score in case I fail. Then I get caught in a loop of “oh I have time” and the next thing I know I am cramming at T minus 3 weeks.

It is working somewhat, but I would prefer to pass them on the 1st try. Haha

Had I known they were going to delay score releases again this year, I would had waited until next year to start (like many of my co-workers).

Maybe this part is more for the test prep programs, but AICPA needs to put out more/new material for the REG exam. I know that I am not the only one that feels like our study materials do not convey the depth of material we should know for REG. The “nuances” seem to be tested with REG. I was trending more than 30 points higher and more comfortable with the REG material by a lot, over the other sections and still felt I had not even skimmed the surface of what I actually needed to know.

[fblessed777]

I don't see any particular reason to delay the score release. In addition, AICPA should coordinate with NASBA to adjust the credit we got for all passed sections accordingly.

Thanks,

[mabel]

This is the second score delay I have sat through during my 18 month window and two of my exams will expire before I receive the score for my last test.. So due to the score delays, I may need to essentially start over if I don’t pass this testing window.

Credit should be automatically extended in these cases. How is it fair that I have 3 less testing windows than prior and future candidates? The CA Board of Accountancy has already stated that they will not be extending credit due to the score delays.

[Anonymous]

Much like everyone else is saying… the score delay is brutal. I don't know whether to keep the material fresh in my mind or to study for the other sections or what! Other than that though, the new software and interface is much better. It feels like an actual program from this decade!

[Defo]

Kudos for the exam redesign. The new look is a HUGE improvement over the old software.

[famh110]

The delayed score release is unfair. They could have waited for these interface changes and append them next year when the new regulation content was going to roll out. I am sure there will a massive wait time next year as well as they will need time to statistically validate the scores etc.

It has caused tremendous amount of stress and impacts the scheduling of the CPA exams. The 2018 score release didn’t impact just one quarter. It’s for the entire year so they need to be a little considerate and compensate by granting credit extension. I contacted the TX Board and they are not granting any extensions. So if NASBA approves it, the states will probably follow suit.

[turo9992000]

Score delays are too long.

[Anonymous]

Please

[Broken Toy]

Bad
1. Like everyone the waiting period is ridiculous, there should not be a delayed score release to evaluate how people handle a new user interface.
2. My biggest issue with the AICPA is this crazy 150 credit hour rule. If you finish college with 125 total credit hours with 24 in accounting (BS in accounting) you can’t take the exam in most states. However if you add a masters in puppetry studies (yes this is a real major) you are now eligible to sit for the exam. This causes student to waste money and time obtaining extra credit hours when they should be studying for the exam. If you want to ensure students are prepared for the exam make the rule 30 accounting credit hours instead of 150 in total. This will allow more people to take the exam and reduce financial stress on students.

Suggestions
1. When there are changes made to the exam provide more sample questions to the exam prep providers. I am currently studying for BEC with Gleim and supplementing with the Wiley test bank yet I am having a hard time finding many questions on the new COSO ERM changes and given the low scores for FAR in Q1 I image many people had issues finding enough sample questions on the new lease and revenue reconciliation standards.

Good
1. I like the new interface it makes SIMs much easier to navigate
2. I also like that the updated exam includes more SIMs. SIMs help to prepare you for real life more than MCQs.

[Anonymous]

@jeff @ another71.com any response on this feedback yet? And do you think it's even possible that they would make it more of a mandatory thing to grant extensions? 2017 and 2018 have been rough for people wanting to find out if they passed or if they should keep studying. That's the biggest issue – keep the material fresh or move on and risk having to start from scratch if failed since the wait for scores is so long?

[Anonymous]

The AICPA exam writers are largely a bunch of cloth-eared bints (go to the UK if you aren't familiar with the slang…) but here goes anyway…

Do away with those terrible DRS's that have like six supporting documents to sift through. In the workplace, we have hours or days to go through supporting documents and solve a problem. It makes no sense to give six PDFs of fakey email communications and snippets of financial statements/reports with lots of numbers in them and expect that someone can get through it in 15 minutes. In other words, this type of SIM does not reflect real-world, real-time situations.

And, those SIMs with paragraphs of text with portions underlined and then like 8 multiple choices including “Keep the text as is” “delete text” and like 5 other modified forms of the underlined text have got to go too. They are irritating, they take way too much time, they make you feel like you're Samwise Gamgee in Shelob's Lair. And they don't test knowledge of accounting concepts.
You need to replace questions like that with more written communications. There should be WC's on at least one other part of the exam in addition to BEC.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

The DRS's are lengthy and intimidating, but if you stay calm and actually read what the questions are asking they aren't that hard. The info is right there. The TBS I struggle with are the ones that require you to recall certain goofy rules and formulas off the top of your head.

I also hate the underline memos where you have to pick between multiple lines.

[Author]

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