[Excel14]

Question….provided I passed BEC, I am trying to decide whether to begin FAR or Audit. I may decide FAR, but if I don’t, does anyone think starting Audit first is a mistake?

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[pickanicken]

I'm taking AUD before FAR. I know a lot of people recommend taking FAR first because you gain a high understanding of financial statements and then AUD requires an understanding of how to audit those financial statements. In that sense, it seems like taking FAR first is a good idea. I decided to take FAR last because I wanted to save the hardest one for last so that I will have some extra motivation to finish.

REG - 81
BEC - 83
AUD - 86
FAR - 78 (Done!)

[Excel14]

Yeah, with these exams, I'm not sure there is a right/wrong way, as long as we get those 3 letters.

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[jcbcpa]

I did AUD before FAR, but that was mainly because I've been working as a governmental auditor for the past 2.5 years (at the time, 2 years), and I had just taken an Advanced Auditing course over the summer (in order to hit my CPA requirements), so I figured it would be the easiest section for me, and I wanted to start off strong.

Fortunately, I was right, and AUD wasn't too bad for me. The FAR based questions I got weren't too bad (at least I didn't think so), but obviously, others have claimed they were cursed with difficult FAR based questions.

I have heard the same thing that it's better to start off with FAR, since it bleeds into AUD, and you get the “hardest” (as far as amount of material) section done first before your 18-month clock starts. But obviously, it's not a rule set in stone, and I don't think the same order is right for everyone.

I ended up taking FAR immediately after AUD as my second section. Unfortunately, that was the only section I failed on my first attempt (I think had I given myself a little more time to study and not panicked at the insane SIMS I got, I would have passed). Retaking FAR tomorrow and hoping to be done with all this.

AUD - 85 (8/30/2015)
FAR - 73 (10/13/2015), 85 (2/29/2016) (AND DONE!)
BEC - 83 (11/04/2015)
REG - 81 (11/30/2015)

[Jdn9201]

It depends..there are pros and cons to any approach you take. The order of my exams have been BEC, REG, AUD, FAR. Motivation was my biggest challenge, so being a tax person I decided them in order of the ones likely to be least difficult for me to pass. I took AUD before FAR and I don't think it affected my grade, but I've also been working for almost 10 years and do alot of financial statement analysis before I prepare tax provisions. I think if someone's fresh out of school or has been working and not involved with journal entries, taking FAR first is beneficial, but there are different ways you can go about it.

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Excel14]

Thanks everyone. I have experience as a governmental auditor myself, both as a tax and internal auditor. I am not sure that it gives me any advantage, but I too have heard about FAR SIMS bleeding over into Audit (and visa versa). I just took BEC today, so here is to hoping, come March 9th.

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Author]

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