[big K]

Looking for some honest, even if may be hard to hear, feedback.

As a way of some background – I am career tax guy. It’s a specialty tax service that barely deals with any of the topics on any of the four CPA parts. I have been in this field for ten years, and have never worked in “accounting” or “auditing”.

Early this morning I got my AUD score – a 71. I have taken the exam five times, two of those times I didn’t get to study (took it because I paid for it and NTS was set to expire). I put a decent amount of effort the last three times and the last time because I took off a few days from work. I lost my credit for FAR (as of 5/30) and will be losing credit for BEC (on 8/31 and REG (on 11/30).

Even if I pass AUD the next time that I take it, the odds that I pass FAR after not having looked at the material in 18 months is pretty slim since it took me five tries each with decent amount of studying. So here I almost four years in and basically have to start all over.

Honestly strongly considering giving up at this point. I have been on this journey for almost four years almost nonstop (had to take off six months in between due to some health issues which is how I lost BEC and REG). I have gone back and forth in my head a few times about what to do, and there are a ton of reasons both for and against quitting.

Here are core reasons for and against quitting:

GIVE UP:

1) I really don’t need the credential; I make a really good living right now in my current position. If I had to look for a new job I could get a secondary credential (EA, CMI, etc.), which most firms now accept. If anything it is limiting my earning potential – my boss has acutally said “you can pursue this as long as you want, but you know you would be making more money if you give up”.

2) It’s just plain embarrassing to tell people that I am still studying for exams at this point. A lot of friends and family now just think that I just use “studying” as a ruse to avoid doing things. I recently received a verbal invite to an event where the guy asked would I be coming or will I be “studying”? He actually used air quotes when saying the word “studying”.

3) I have two young children, tired of missing out on watching them grow up.

DON’T GIVE UP

1) I am not a quitter. This would be the first thing in my life that I really wanted that I am giving up on.

Thanks for the feedback

[Broag]

Hey.

I'm feeling a lot of the same feelings you are at the moment. I have a 15 month old boy at home and it kills me to miss out on quality time with him on the weekends. I haven't lost any credits yet, so I can't relate to you completely, but I have failed FAR four times so I know a little what it's like.

I'm taking a few days and probably the weekend to regroup. You should do the same. Go do something fun with your kids. I guess one piece of advice to you is view this sacrifice as a commitment to make a better future for your little ones. So it's not all for nothing.

Best of luck to you.

REG - 79
FAR - ?
AUD - ?
BEC - ?

[maylin]

@big K: I also did not receive happy news for the last score release. But I say DO NOT GIVE UP! Yes you are right, you are not a quitter and you can do this!! Getting the credential is something you will always have, maybe you don't need it right now, but isn't it nice to have just in case, as a nice cushion, besides the pure feeling of accomplishment.

I know it is discouraging to continually not pass, but maybe you just need to revise your study plan. Will you regret not getting the credential if you give up? It's maybe going to be something that you constantly look back on and regret. No doubt it would always be in the back of my mind. I think you should give it another go. What study software are you using?

AUD - 76
BEC - 80
FAR - 83
REG - 77

you can do it!

A - 76
B - 80
F - 74 🙁

[mabancroft]

Whether or not to give up is your call.

I think you used the phrase “decent amount of effort” a few times. These exams require copious amounts of effort. It is designed to weed out the “decent” candidates. If you choose to stick with it, then you need to consider spending appropriate amounts of time studying for these things. They are hard, they require a TON of effort and time.

Also focus on one step at a time. I cannot imagine the difficulty of trying to juggle multiple exams at once just to beat the clock. One at a time, Copious effort, and it can be done.

REG: 90
FAR: 76
AUD: 88
BEC: 89

[big K]

Thanks for the feedback – much appreciated.

@maylin – I started off using Becker exclusively, when I got stuck on FAR I switched to Ninja (book, mcqs) and then when I got stock on AUD I switched to Roger.

@mabancroft – You are correct that these exams require copious effort. My work is project based so sometimes I have a project where I have to work 80 – 90 hours a week and other weeks I have like 10 – 20 hours of work. Between that and home life I thought I put in enough time. This last time I watched all the Roger lectures twice, did @2,500 MCQs, took notes, wrote my own notes, reread those notes a bunch of times, and listened to Roger Audio a few times.

I am leaning towards trudging ahead. Now the hard part – should I just come to terms with the fact that I am going to redo all the parts or try and take AUD and FAR before August 31st (when I lose BEC).

[mabancroft]

Taking two parts between now and 8/31 is definitely doable. Especially if your work schedule is down rather than up.

For Audit, since it is so memorization based, I'd review your notes and lectures once and pound out about 150 MCQ a day for about 30 days (that gives you 4500 MCQ). focus on why the answers are what they are and why the others are wrong (maybe a word here or there or a totally different topic altogether). Take it topic by topic. Master Management Assertions and your attest/non-audit functions, brush up on your basic accounting rules for your SIMS and go knock it out.

Give yourself as close to 6 weeks as possible for FAR, and you should be able to give yourself a shot.

REG: 90
FAR: 76
AUD: 88
BEC: 89

[Anonymous]

dont watch the lectures. utilize your study time wisely at this point, and watching lectures a second time (or even for the first time to be honest) will do more harm than good.

[big K]

Thanks for the response folks – much appreciated.

Took a few days off to think about some things, in the meanwhile I received my score report from NASBA. Out of the six categories, i did stronger than people who scored between 75 and 80 in three of the categories, and comparable in the other three. I also did stronger on the MCQs, but apparently weaker on the SIMS. Right after the exam I was sure the opposite was the case.

The report solidified what I was already leaning towards. Time to get back to the studying.

[Montiel68]

Hey bigK, have you figured out how to study for the Sims? I've also failed AUD this past window. I've been trying to pass this section since last year, but it looks like what I'm doing is not enough. My scores are very similar to yours. I've gotten a 61,59 and a 68 last time. I changed review courses last time and that helped increase my scores but it wasn't enough. I got “comparable” in mcqs and “weaker” in Sims. I need to improve in the Sims area, but don't know how. That's why I'm asking if you have a plan, also what review course are you using?

FAR- Passed
AUD- **F,F,F,** Retake TBD
REG- Passed
BEC- Passed

[Anonymous]

hey Big K give it another solid go. thats what i'm trying to do. as for supplementals i use ninja notes and the 500 questions for mcgrawhill book for each section. i think they really helped me pick up some extra points for REG, BEC, and AUD. best of luck man

[Ginja_CPA]

Why give up honestly? I mean, you've been at this for 4 years you said, you could have given up years ago!

You can pass every exam, I would recommend buckling down and studying for AUD again. Just nail those MCQ, get the Ninja MCQ and Notes. For AUD I did over 4,000 MCQ and wrote the Ninja notes. I read part of the Wiley book about 3 weeks before my test because I realized I messed up by not reading that first.

This test is endurance driven, you might fail, but you just need to get up, take a breath and keep going. The Sims really test how well you know the material. I was sure my Sims made me fail AUD because they were just ridiculous. I left plenty of time, almost 2 full hours, and used the AI for almost every question. I also used resources from other questions on different sims.

@Montel, do you have the Ninja MCQ? It comes with the Sims for 3 months of access and it only costs $49. That is the best money I've spent on these exams.

AUD - 83
BEC - 78
FAR - 80
REG - 80

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried!

REG: 80 (02/19/16)
AUD: 83 (04/11/16)
BEC: 78 (05/28/16)
FAR: ?

[Runklug]

I haven't passed FAR (failed twice and moved on to other sections), but I passed AUD on my second try and it was all because I pounded out MCQ tests for basically two months straight. Used GLEIM and the content specific outline noted a lot of weight on chapters 3 and 19, which deal with the characteristics of the different engagements (compilation, preparation, audit, and review), so I would come back to those often to keep the concepts fresh. My advice would be to take four weeks of AUD study, then use the rest of your time to study for FAR.

AUD - 86
BEC - 76
FAR - 78
REG - 75

There's nothing that can't be achieved with brute force and ignorance.

[Tuthegreat]

AUD is more about picking up on the verbiage. Make sure you read the question carefully. Ask yourself what kind of engagement you are doing in the question. Just by knowing what kind of engagement you are doing will eliminate certain audit procedures.

Don't worry about the 4 year deal. Once you get the certification, it will mean much more to you than those who got it on their first try.

[iwana_PASS]

Don't give up!!!! I think you are very smart that you were able to passed 3 exams you can definitely pass them again!!!! I was the opposite I actually took AUD first because I struggled to pass. I think I took 5 times too. I think if u put in ur time and effort you can do this. Don't worry about what other said I do. Don't compare yourself to others cuz it might stress u out. Focus on your own study and come up w a study schedule.

AUD - 77
BEC - 78
FAR - 79
REG - 82

[ultrarunner]

Please do not give up. When I did my multiple retakes, I did nonstop MCQs from various CPA reviews. Since you already know the subject, all you need to do is to tackle MCQs. Njnja and Wiley MCQs offer good MCQs.

CPA/ MST/ Roger CPA Review

FAR 72,67,79 (Roger+Wiley test bank)11/15
AUD 80 (Roger)10/15
BEC 80 (Roger)4/16
REG 63,78 (Roger+Ninja MCQs)5/16

[monikernc]

read through this thread for help with AUD…

https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/suggestion-for-aud-tester

and just remember, you can do this. it's bootstraps time. now buckle down and get it done…

ask for help when you need it. posting to the study threads to both ask and answer questions really helps with grasping the material and aid with motivation.

good luck!!!

AUD - 93
BEC - 82
FAR - 76
REG - 88

How have you been?
Ninja book and MCQs and the forum, all first try! 2016
Licensed State of Montana April Fool’s Day 2020
State of Colorado June 2020 - AICPA Ethics 93
Experience was the worst part of the journey for me. You?
If you want things to change you have to do something different.

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

[Author]

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