[sabrinar625]

I took aud first since that was my last class at school. I took it 4 times before I passed. I know far overlaps with aud but considering I struggled so much with aud I’m wondering if I should take reg instead. I want to leave bec for last. Any advice on what to do?

[Rob]

Congrats on passing AUD! Now the clock has started to tick for the 18 month window. You will get various opinions on the best order to take the exams and the truth is there is no right or wrong answer. I took my exams in the exact opposite order than you did: BEC, FAR, REG, AUD. There is some overlap from your AUD studies with FAR and BEC. It is really a personal decision and depends on where your strengths are. If you were to take FAR next then you can leverage off of some items you learned in your AUD studies but if you feel more comfortable with REG then go for it. No matter what you need to pass all four and need to just dig deep and go get it. Best of luck in your studies and go get it.

[April94]

My order is FAR, AUD, REG, and BEC. I noticed a lot of topics in FAR were on the other three exams. FAR is also the exam woth the most amount of info to study, so I would recommend knocking that one out next. After you pass FAR, I would take REG and then BEC. I’m studying for BEC now (my last exam!) and I am seeing topics from FAR, AUD, and REG appear in almost every chapter. Best of luck! And congrats on passing audit!

[Recked]

Agree with April. Statistically speaking, most people have the most trouble passing FAR.
Some have a hard time with AUD due to the subjectivity of the questions, but FAR has the lowest pass rate.
I'd go directly to FAR since it has a lot in common with AUD.
BEC is the catch all, so I would do that one last, but BEC/REG can be interchangeable for the last exam.
Give yourself the most opportunities to pass FAR as possible in the next 18 months so you don't have to do AUD over again.

[monikernc]

Take FAR, what you know from AUD will certainly help and no reason to have to go back and learn it again by waiting. You may struggle with FAR and better to have the one credit for AUD at risk than one or two for REG and/or BEC, at risk, too. Knock out the hardest, FAR, then do REG followed by BEC.
You are going to do great! Study to pass.

FAR 7/25/15 76!
AUD 10/30/15 93
BEC 2/27/16 82
REG 5/23/16 88!
Ninja Book and MCQ and the forum - all the way!!!
and a little thing i like to call, time and effort!
if you want things to change, you have to do something different

[Rob]

I think the above responses are all valid points. I just do not think that it is the worst thing to take it in a different order if that fits your strengths and personal preference. I personally found REG to be the most difficult to study, however, FAR does have the most material and the passing rates would support that is in general the most difficult to pass. @April94, good luck on BEC, you are almost there. You are doing great and it will feel awesome when you knock out this last part.

[sabrinar625]

Thanks for all your input. I should probably tackle far next. Reg I am expecting to be “easier” for me as I work in tax so was thinking of taking that next to boost my confidence after struggling with aud so much but I should probably push through with far and get it over with

[Rob]

Sounds like a good plan. Good luck and study hard.

[Rob]

I took BEC first so that I could dip my foot in the water and use that as a confidence booster for the remaining exams. Then FAR, REG, and now AUD.

[thunderlips]

i recommend reg first then aud then far then bec. i have yet to pass one so what do i know lol

[dyates1983]

I too went AUD first and took 4 tries to pass.. I did not go the conventional order after that with BEC next, followed by REG and then FAR which all only took 1 attempt. You got this no matter what order you go as long as you put in the work. Good luck!

[AGI]

I think everyone got a different path because of their strong & weak point, and their career path. As an auditor, I took AUD third because by the time I get thought FAR and REG, I have gained enough experience at work to be able to pass it easily (almost didn't read the book). I took BEC last because it's all about reading laws and common sense (also barely read the book).

So supposedly if you work hard on your job and got some solid experience, it will help you on REG and BEC. When I mean work hard, I mean actually go and read the IRS tax regulations, not just doing and processing the tax returns.

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

[Flash]

Went AUD, BEC, FAR, and REG (just took today). I would definitely recommend electing to not take REG as your last exam if you're not working in tax or don't have a solid foundational understanding of tax concepts. As other posters have mentioned, there's no set order necessarily as it's all personal preference. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone in the opposite order in knocking off the more challenging and content-heavy exams up front and then having an easier time on the back end.

[bmj2s]

I did mine backwards, hoping for the snowball effect due to morale. REG, BEC, AUD, and FAR is coming up. Sometimes I feel silly for doing it this way though. lol

[ixlr82day]

I went with strength and took my best subjects first which would be BEC, REG, AUD, and FAR. My only advice would be not to take FAR last…the other exams wear you down and taking FAR last is a killer.

[Author]

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