1. 

   CPAequalsHBP
   

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   I am scheduled to take AUD on the 12th of this month; however, I have not achieved the 'comfort' level with the material I have achieved with the other two test. I have taken FAR and REG and have passed both of them, but this test seems to be different. Although I'm sure this is not the case, but its almost as if the material is more 'tricky' than the others! I'm sure I am just missing a piece of the puzzle.
   I'm useing Becker and I feel like I understand the material when it is presented to me in the lectures; however, when I go to the MCQs, I am scoreing around the 70% range. I am ok with this, as this is how I have done on the other tests I have studied for and have done fine. My biggest fear are the questions involveing 'gathering of evidence', which yield around a 60% success rate.
   Long story short, I have contemplated post-poning the test another week or so and purchaseing Yaeger Cram to see if they can explain some of the issues better than Becker. Or, should I just dive into it on the 12th and see if I was good-enough to pass!!??

   REG 83, FAR 84, AUD - 76, BEC 2/28-Waiting for Score

   Posted 2 months ago #
2. 

   stjohns796
   

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   I feel 100% the same way about audit - I am taking it this Friday, the 8th. There are some questions that seem like an absolute joke (incredibly easy), and others that are way way harder than anything I have seen in FAR, REG, or BEC.

   The evidence gathering section can be very difficult - I have to fall back on my work experience in big 4 audit to answer most of these questions. I don't think Becker does a great job on this section, but I think the point of AUD is to think for each question - there are parts that are pure memorization, but there are a lot of questions which require critical thinking and not much preparation. When I miss questions in the HW, it is usually because I am rushing through them.

   REG 78; BEC 84; FAR 94; AUDIT 1/8

   Posted 2 months ago #
3. 

   gmb
   

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   CPAequalsHBP and stjohns796,

   My advice for audit would be to use the entire 4.5 hours. You are correct that the material on AUD is not as difficult as the other 3 sections and as such the examiners are going to try to trip you up with tricky wording in their questions. Take the time to read and then re-read the questions. On my exam I changed several answers after going back and re-reading the question. A simple "not" or "except for" that you may have missed in the question could be the difference between a 74 and a 75.

   FAR-88, AUD-94, BEC-87, REG-90

   Posted 2 months ago #
4. 

   TSword7
   

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   Thanks for that advice gmb. I'll definitely use it tomorrow.

   BEC - 83 (7/09),FAR - 80 (11/09), AUD - 84 (1/10), REG (3/6/10)

   Posted 2 months ago #
5. 

   bbrowning911
   

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   @CPAequalsHBP Do not postpone your test. I took the test on the 4th, so did my friend, and both of us felt that it was much easier than the becker exams. Someone else I worked with only studied for it for 1 week. If you don't feel prepared, THEN YOU STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME, just study more. Postponing will only allow you to postpone your studying. Buckle down and GET ER DUNNNNNNNN!!!

   For those of you wondering what the test was like, or wondering if you should memorize the report... NOOOO, you don't need to know the report verbatum, but work your MCQ and pay attention to the questions that ask about the exact phrases. Like, you should know the key words like "reasonable assurance" "sufficient appropriate audit evidence" etc etc. Just know the important parts of the opinion basically.

   Hmm I can't think of any more general suggestions besides just do MCQ's, without getting too specific. GET ERRRR DUNNNNNN!

   FAR: 97 AUD: 97 BEC: TBD REG: TBD

   Posted 2 months ago #
6. 

   zena
   

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   bbrowning911, I can't wait to "get 'er done!" I am so sick of doing MCQs, specially the evidence ones (Becker chapter 4). I was surprised to see in one of Becker simulations that the written communication tab basically wanted me to finish off a management representation letter. They gave the first 6 bullet points of it in the tab and the solution just shows the remaining 6 bullet points. There is NO WAY I'm memorizing a representation letter. What's the point? Is not like in real life I can't look all this stuff up, specially formatting issues. I'm going Friday and I'm as ready as I'll ever be after today and tomorrow.

   FAR 86 | BEC 94 | AUD 90 | REG waiting (2/19/10)

   Posted 2 months ago #
7. 

   bbrowning911
   

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   Good luck Zena and good job on being prepared. The Becker simulations that have you finish a particular report are probably not that relevant and I doubt that one would be asked to do that on the actual exam. However, I would pay attention to those MCQ that say "Which one of the following would one most likely find in a (INSERT REPORT NAME)?" So for example, a review would say something about inquiries and analytics, a compilation would not say anything about an opinion, etc etc. These very well may be tested.

   Posted 2 months ago #
8. 

   zena
   

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   Thanks, bbrowning911! I agree with you on those types of MCQ. I recall coming across some like that. Good to know. It will be a long time before scores come out, "luckily" we'll be busy studying for the next exam... lol

   Posted 2 months ago #
9. 

   stjohns796
   

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   there is no need to memorize the reports - if they asked you a question on your simulation/written communication, you could look up the full report in the research tab

   Posted 2 months ago #
10. 

    CPAequalsHBP
    

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    Thanks for the advice guys! I have decided to go ahead and not post-pone the test. I hit questions in Becker chapter 4 hard last night (especially the supp quesitons) and I think I may have it figured out. For the other tests, it seems like you can memorize a bunch of formulas and be fine. But with the evidence questions in chapter 4, you have to read each WORD in each question very carefully and analyze the heck out of it and the answers! The other chapters I feel 'ok' with. So, I will just hit the 'evidence' material very hard over the next few days. Then, I should be fine.

    Plus, I post-poned the test for FAR and I didn't feel any more prepared going into it than I did when I initially took the test.

    Posted 2 months ago #
11. 

    zena
    

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    stjohns796, I tried that in the Becker simulation and it didn't work. I kept hitting "Wrong Path" dead ends. I don't know if the same holds true for the actual exam but I'm definitely keeping that in my back pocket in case it ever comes up.

    Posted 2 months ago #
12. 

    BlondeAccountant
    

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    I'm taking audit for the 3rd time on Monday. blah

    Posted 2 months ago #
13. 

    Atrus
    

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    I'm working my way through the material and will be taking Audit on Monday. So far I am feeling OK, but I do need to revisit a lot of the material again to make sure I have it nailed down and that it's fresh in my memory.

    Hopefully I can follow my standard operating procedure by taking a personal day tomorrow which gives me 3 full days to re-review the materials. Work's nuts right now though, so I don't know if I'll be able to.

    FAR - 75 (8/24/09), REG - 76 (11/16/09), AUD - 78 (1/11/2010), BEC - TBD (2/22/2010)
    
    "I'm on my way...to a CPA"

    Posted 2 months ago #
14. 

    CPAequalsHBP
    

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    Luckily, work right now is slow. Supposed to get a Cost-Seg study; however, I think it has fallen through. We also get a day off prior to the exam, and we get the day off of the exam.

    BlondeAccountant - if you don't mind me asking, what parts of Audit have been causing you the most problems? The largest benefit for me with studying for this exam has been to pound out as man MCQs as I can. You start to see a pattern. Also, they help to solidify the content where Becker did a poor job of explaining. (My personal opinion!) For the most part, if I miss something while working the MCQs, I understand WHY I missed it. But, I do come across a problem every now and then in which I have no clue why the AICPA picked the answer they picked. Very frustrating.

    Posted 2 months ago #
15. 

    zena
    

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    CPAequalsHBP, I agree with you. I am getting more frustrated with this exam than even FAR, which has so much more material, but it makes so much more sense. There are definitely patterns that emerge and sometimes you know the right answer just because it has some keyword in it. Other times, however, I can stare at a question for minutes and still don't know what exactly they are after. I'm pounding out the final exams today and remaining simulations and off I go tomorrow. It seems that whether I get a 66% or an 83% on a final exam testlet (Becker) it still takes me only about 30 minutes per testlet. It will be interesting to see how this works out tomorrow. Good luck all!

    Posted 2 months ago #

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