[BoyNextDoor]

Just took FAR today.

I paid for FAR and AUD together months ago.

Should I start studying for AUD now or hold off on studying until I find out if I passed/failed FAR on March 20?

If I failed FAR, not sure if I should just study and take AUD or hold off on AUD and try to immediately retake FAR.

I would have to pay again for FAR.

Anyone have a rough idea of how long it would take for me to get a new NTS for FAR in California if I have to retake it?

[PDiddy2000]

I ordered my NTS with FAR and AUD at the same time too. My plan is to take FAR early April then immediately starting studying for AUD to take in early to mid May. I won't know if I pass either of them until mid to late June because of the late scoring this year but there's know way I'm sitting on my hands until June to see if I passed FAR before taking AUD. That would be 2 or more wasted months.

[BoyNextDoor]

@PDiddy2000
I agree that if I had to wait 2 months for score releases I would go ahead and start studying for AUD immediately.

In my case, score releases are scheduled for only 10 days, thus my dilemma.

If I decide to study for AUD now, I need to schedule an appointment date ASAP because many of the times I want at my Prometric site are already taken for April 2018 🙁

[PDiddy2000]

Yeah, that's a tough call. Most people would tell you to start studying for AUD but 10 days isn't that long to be idle. However, I would study for AUD just in case you passed FAR then you won't feel like those 10 days were wasted just in case you passed. Again, that is a tough call and not exactly sure how I would handle that if I were in your situation. Good Luck on FAR though!! You never know.

[loveandbeloved]

@BoyNextDoor – I'm in a similar situation. I just took FAR on Wednesday and I'll get my score on March 20th. I'm personally sticking with studying for FAR just in case I didn't pass because I need to sit for 2 sections in the next testing window – one at the beginning and one at the end. So if I failed FAR, I'm ahead of the game and could sit for it again early April. If I passed, then I “wasted” 10 days of my life. I would feel A LOT worse about my use of the next 10 days if I moved onto REG and FAILED FAR, than I would about sticking with FAR and finding out I passed. How do you feel about moving onto AUD and finding out you failed? How would you feel if you stuck with FAR and found out you passed? It's only 10 days. If it was 2 months, that's a different story. I would go ahead and schedule your AUD exam now for the END of the testing window. If you find out you passed FAR, you can reschedule for an earlier date if you need to. If you have to sit for FAR again and have to reschedule AUD for a later date, then that's an option too. As long as you do it within 30 days to avoid rescheduling fees. I usually get an NTS 3 weeks after the day I create an application and mail it (in CA). So if you have to retake FAR, then I'm sure you'll be able to sit for it at the end of April (granted that you find a testing center with an availability near you.) I drove all the way to San Diego in December and stayed overnight cause I'm in the I.E. and there wasn't a testing center near me with available seating.

[loveandbeloved]

@BoyNextDoor – The signatures aren't showing, so I don't know where you are at in your exam process. But if you don't have any exams expiring, and if you haven't passed any sections yet, then I wouldn't rush studying for AUD yet. Just wait for your score. In CA we have 9 months to sit for our sections, so you still have Q2 and Q3 to sit for AUD.

[Anonymous]

Lol I remember hoping to pass all four sections on first try, before my dream was quickly and brutally crushed.

[Allsheneededwassome]

Do some light studying for AUD so you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time for the next ten days. You’ll remember it when you pick it back up. But since score release is just 10 days away I’d retake FAR of you fail while everything is still fresh in your mind. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I have not taken any parts yet, but I am schedule to take FAR on April 16th. So it's coming up. Are you saying I won't know my score for two months? If so, wow! I don't know what to do if this is the case. Hopefully once I take FAR I will know how I did. If there is doubt then I will study, if I feel confident then I will move on..

[BoyNextDoor]

@loveandbeloved

Thanks for the info about the 3 week turnaround in CA for an NTS.

My AUD expires May 31 and I haven't passed any sections yet of the CPA exam.

[Jen-J]

@von – yes, scores for all of Q2 (April through June 10th) are scheduled to be released on June 27th (FAR/AUD/REG) and June 29th (BEC). (Note – Q3 is scheduled to release September 19th and Q4 is scheduled to release December 19th.)

Also, you couldn't sit the same exam twice in one testing window anyway, so even if you failed FAR and knew faster, you'd be waiting until July at the earliest to take it again. With a 4/16 testing date for FAR, I'd recommend to start studying AUD immediately after FAR no matter how you think you did on FAR. It's a smaller amount of material and you could still test on AUD by June 10th so you'd have 2 exams this quarter. If you pass FAR you start your 18 month window to pass the other 3 (which counts from April 16th for you, not score release), so it makes sense to keep moving.

[Anonymous]

@Jen J

Okay I will pursue AUD after. Thanks for the help.

[Anonymous]

I was in this same situation a year ago. Took FAR Jan 17 and took AUD in April. I didn't wait for the score. I moved on to AUD. I walked out of FAR kinda suspecting that I'd failed, but not by much….and that's what happened. But, I took a chance and moved on to AUD. Sometimes I surprise myself on tests, and do much better than I suspected. It wasn't a good move though. I should have gone back and immediately cleaned up what I hadn't really mastered for FAR. Again though, it all depends on the person. That's just what happened to me. Some people will tell you to move on, some people will say “don't move off a section until you pass.” But the issue with the latter is the lag time – do you waste 30 days or more not studying for anything while you wait for the score?

[loveandbeloved]

@BoyNextDoor – Okay, since you have til May 31st to sit for AUD, then I would go ahead and start studying for AUD then. AUD was the only section I passed on the first try. It was super easy for me since it was so conceptual, and I don't even work in audit or public accounting. If you start studying for AUD now. You could probably sit at the beginning of May, and then retake FAR June 10th (if you need to)??? Then once you get both scores June 27th, then you can proceed with paying for a new NTS. Or you can wait til July 1st to retake FAR (if you need to) and take another section at the end of the testing window. I hate when they only release scores once per testing window. So you'll want to plan to take two sections per testing window.

[Anonymous]

Just went through this situation personally. Took FAR on 2/20, scores released on 3/8. After the exam, I took 3-4 days off to relax and immediately picked up AUD. By the time the scores were released, I was already 2/3 through Wiley's AUD course (roughly 10 days following the ELL schedule). It's up to you on how to use that down time. I just committed to focusing on the next section, regardless of score. Ended up passing and surprised myself. My mind was all over the place on release day, studied maybe 2 lessons tops. Currently about 75% done with AUD and will use the rest of this blackout month to cram & review

[BoyNextDoor]

@loveandbeloved – Thanks for the followup advice about taking FAR vs. AUD. Really appreciate it.

@Ben_H – I'm praying for a passing score on FAR! I will be using Wiley for AUD like you. I'm hoping the material is a lot easier than FAR. There are around 75 less lessons so it should take less time to get through the material.

[Author]

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