[Matt]

As seen by the title I have my first exam coming up, it’s scheduled Sept 10 for AUD. My original plan was to take it earlier but I got very sick for a little over two months and it completely derailed my plans. I will be using Becker to prepare and I’m about eight hours in as of right now.

I am wondering if those who have taken it think I have given myself enough time, ~25 days. I understand there is no one size fits all for this but I seem to be very stressed about it, and it is very unlike me to feel that way because I am usually a good test taker and am able to remain calm under time pressures.

I would love any advice o insight you can give if you found yourself in a similar position or if you just think you have anything that could help me out. For some background info I should be able to study 8hrs most days and at least 4 every day. All through college I did usually end up waiting to begin to study and it was a successful method for me, but I understand this is a different beast and hadn’t planned on being in this boat. Finally I did take Audit my spring semester and got a 4.0 which they say lays a good foundation, but that has been a couple months now….

Any advice would be appreciated, I’m mostly wondering if this is doable or if I should just pay the fee and push it back to the next testing window?

[Cruz818]

Go for it! You have enough time to study (again, give and take based on each individual), but you do appear to have enough time to do well. Coupled with the fact that you're only two months past taking audit, all the information is still relatively fresh. Just change your mindset – you know this, you got this! Don't doubt yourself!

The first test is always the hardest because of all the unknowns – what is the testing center like, how will my desk be arranged, will I hate the keyboard, what if traffic sucks that morning, was my pre-exam meal too small, etc. All the silly stuff that are unknowns, combined with it being your first test, make the first one excessively stressful. Just go in with a ‘I got this' mindset and take charge. You'll do fine!

Get your feet wet and give it a go! You got this!

[Recked]

It is possible to pass AUD with only 3 weeks of study. It's not easy, but it's possible.
I was fresh off of FAR, which plays into AUD very well, so your results may vary.

[AGI]

You surely have enough time to study. I studied for 4 hours and a month for AUD and got over with it. Focus on situational questions and train yourself to be a quick thinker will help you get through half of the questions.

New York - NYC
Passed CPA Exam (11/2014)
In search for a position in NYC that will fulfills the license requirement.

[Lnags]

My own experience with AUD – I took about 6 weeks to study for it when I was completely burned out from grad school and still working full time. Somehow, that still ended up begin more than enough time. Obviously, YMMV. I didn't have much audit experience in work and just took the two required courses in school. I focused on really getting the relationships between financial statement accounts and memorizing the relevant codes and laws. When I sat for it, I left with over an hour left and was immediately panicked that something went horribly wrong haha.

My friends experience with AUD – all about the same! We all it took in or immediately after school and most people took less time than me to study.

Everyone is different. Work through the material, identify your trouble spots while you still have plenty of time and just hammer through them until you've got them down.

I hate to say that I found AUD to be the easiest, but since it's not a very calculation heavy exam I found it much easier to prepare for than say…REG or FAR.

[Jimmy Dugan]

You can do it with that kind of schedule where you basically approach it like a full time job. Just go ahead and get through the material as quickly as possible, then use most of your time for practice questions and reviewing the material you struggle with.

[Author]

Replies