[AndrewE]

I just received my first failing grade for AUD, I got a 70. I felt that I did very poorly with the MCQ on test day but did well with the sims. I know my most deficient areas are Becker A1 (Audit Reports and Opinions) and A4 (Audit Evidence).

I’m honestly not sure what to do right now. I talked to my buddy who passed all 4 tests first try, but there was only so much input he could give me seeing as he ended up on the other side of the tests.

Can someone give me some guidance please and thank you?

BEC – 10/1/16 : 77
AUD – 12/4/16 : 70
REG – TBD
FAR – TBD

[cwlanders]

Audit has been my Achilles heel, so hopefully I can shed some light. I took Audit for the first time back in June and got a 74. I then retook the test in August and got another 74. I used just Becker for both of those tests. I just passed Audit for the first time this window and the only change I made was adding the Ninja MCQ's. I still re-watched all of the Becker lectures and worked the problems but instead of reworking the questions for review, I did the Ninja MCQ's. They were only $47 and allowed me to see some questions that I did not see in my Becker materials. I would suggest looking into those and hopefully they can give you that score bump that you need. The main thing I learned in that rough patch was that you can't study the same way and expect different results. Change up your study habits, even if that means just adding the extra multiple choice questions.

BEC - 91 (2/29/16)
AUD- 74, 74

[waffle_house]

Audit is a tricky ass exam. I had to actually read the book after two failed attempts (72,68) and realized I was overlooking a lot of the material. You have to actually understand what audit is and what they are trying to teach you. Understand the theory.

[AndrewE]

@waffle_house @cwlanders I was thinking of going through all the multiple choice questions again and some sims. I see that it is a waste to go through lectures again… But I am thinking of supplementing with Ninja MCQ for review as well. I want to do a retake within the next 4 to 5 weeks.

Trying to figure how to study in these next few weeks with the holidays seems tricky but January should be just fine.

I guess I am still in a little disbelief that I failed because I never truly failed something like this before… I guess now is a good of time if any to experience failure in order to achieve greateness

[cwlanders]

@AndrewE I would put an emphasis on working the multiple choice questions. That is all I did the week leading up to my most recent exam.

It is pretty rough finding out you failed a section. I am in the same boat as you though. This is probably the first time I have “failed” something. I was a 4.0 student, but the CPA exam is just different. We all have other stuff going on in our life that we didn't in school. I started my exams with a full time job (45-50 hours a week usually), full time graduate student (thankfully done now), and planning for a wedding. Now I am going to be studying for my final 2 exams while planning a wedding and being in busy season. Life happens, don't waste too much time reflecting on your failed score. Just move on and study that much harder so you don't have that feeling again.

BEC - 91 (2/29/16)
AUD- 74, 74

[waffle_house]

Read the book front to back. You will not regret it.

[AndrewE]

@waffle_house with the exception of the first Becker chapter, I read every single one

[AndrewE]

@cwlanders wow that's a lot going on in your life for sure don't know how you do it. I'm working full time as well I studied most of BEC right before I started working and waiting almost 4 months for my NTS.

Longer hours doesn't always mean harder, I have to be more efficient. I appreciate the advice

[AndrewE]

Waiting for that email just to see if I was right whether I did better in Sims or MCQs, thinking I did better in sims

[ct0516]

Ahhh Audit. My least favorite- I thought it was so boring and that made it hard to study, and the questions were so specific. I took that one three times. Honestly, what put me over the edge with this one was doing SO many MCQs. The way questions are asked are so tricky. I used Wiley and the NINJA test bank. Hang in there, it's a tough test! Just do it again!

AUD – 85
BEC – 80
FAR – 76
REG – 78

[AndrewE]

@ct0516 I'm going to do so many mcq til my brain falls out I guess. Gonna have to go at it with a little different of an approach. I'm not gonna go through the lectures this time. I have notes that I'm gonna review and both Becker MCQs and supplement with Ninja hopefully that will get me over the edge.

[ct0516]

@AndrewE That's exactly what I did, the last time I didn't read the lessons at all. I only did questions. With this test it's so easy to get buried in the minutiae. Doing the MCQs helped solidify things for me, and understand what they were looking for. The hard thing with auditing is it seems like there really are two right answers, one is just “more right.” They way they ask questions is tricky. This is what worked for me, although everyone learns differently.

[AndrewE]

@ct0516 I did read all the chapters except for the first one. I'm going to go back this week and read chapters 1 and 4 of Becker while I figure out exactly how I'm gonna tackle this one.

I'd to pass this one and move onto another test

[Missy]

Take either your notes or the ninja notes and copy them over and over again (while pounding out the mcq). It's been well documented that the act of rewriting notes helps with memory retention. Copying the ninja notes brought my score from a 71 to 84.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Gary]

Purchase a test bank (like Ninja MCQ, it's definitly the cheapest) and use those questions to determine what your weaker areas are while still keeping what you know fresh in your head. I used Wiley and noticed a lot of Ninja Questions weren't even mentioned in the Wiley books. Maybe you're having the same issues with your primary study materials. You scored a 70, so you're not too far off. This will get you over the hump.

AUD 8/18/16
FAR 11/16
BEC 1/17
REG 2/17

[AndrewE]

@mla11692 how long did you give yourself for your retake? I was thinking of starting lightly this week and then going hard again for the next 4 to 5 weeks

[Author]

Replies