[Rachael]

I’m trying to figure out what exam to take next…
I took and passed AUD in November in 2017. I’ve taken and failed REG three times over the last 2 years. Trying to decide if I want to squeeze BEC in as fast as possible (maybe early October), study for FAR all fall, or take REG before the content changes in 2019…

I’ve been doing a mixture of Gleim & NINJA since starting to study for Audit last September/October. Does anyone have any advice for exam order or time frame for studying?

Some background: I worked in public accounting (mostly tax) for 3.5 years (ending April 2018) and have recently switched to corporate accounting (June 2018). I always thought REG would be my easiest section since I was a “tax person” but that obviously was proven to not be true… Since I’ve struggled with the currently tested REG material, maybe it would be better to way for the new material and to start fresh. My AUD score will expire May 2019 and I really don’t want to run out of time and lose credit. Thankfully I have a much nicer work schedule now that I’m out of public accounting, so I definitely feel like I have more hours in the week to dedicate to studying. Sadly, my new job doesn’t offer any sort of reimbursement program for study materials or exam costs.

Any and all advice would be appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

In determining whether to wait for the new material to be tested for REG would depend on how close you were getting to a 75 on the current REG exams. If you were scoring 70-74 for the current REG then I would totally just try once more and nail it square on the head. Maybe the problem was that you maybe felt a little more confident than you should have been? I don't mean to offend you but if I were in your shoes, being a tax person for a few years and then taking REG, I myself, would probably be a little over confident and just think that it should be no biggie, which would cause me to fail as well. But… maybe that is not your problem. You should go off of the report that you received after failing REG and see what the problem areas were. Again, it sort of comes down to whether you were close enough or not. If you were scoring in the 50s, then maybe just wait for the new material and hit FAR or BEC next.

BTW what review course are you using? And what features are you using? I use Becker. I noticed that as soon as I put down the book, stopped watching the lectures, and stopped doing the skills practice, I was able to study far more effectively and efficiently. I spend 80% of my study time just doing MCQs. Use the ‘explanation' section in the MCQs. The text and lectures keep it too simple, which causes you to get the wrong feeling that you understand everything… until you try the MCQs. The text is basically to build that foundation. Being a tax person you may have a pretty solid foundation of tax knowledge, but you may need to refine the details — this is where the MCQs and SIMS will aid you. Use the text when you really don't understand the subject matter. This might sound strange, but use the textbook as a supplementary aid, not as your primary source of review. MCQs and Sims should be your primary review source. It has worked for me, doesn't mean it'll work for you. All the Best

[SuperAccountingGod]

@Christophulous Damm. I spent most of my time watching the videos and doing the practice problems at the end of each lesson. I now been practicing a bunch of MCQ (like I feel I should have been in the beginning). Kind of feel like I effed up and been studying wrong the entire time. If I fail, I'm just going to retake immediately in the next test window and do nothing but MCQ and only use the course to review the areas giving me most difficulty.

[Author]

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