I just got my passing Audit score and thought I'd pop in here with some thoughts on my experience to, hopefully, help some of you out. I used Becker, exclusively, and it was all I really needed. It may have helped that my last class for my Master's degree was Attest Function form January to May so a lot was still fresh in my mind.
You really want to know the types of Risk (Inherant, Control, Detection) inside and out and be prepared for examples of all of them.
Know the components of issued reports (reports for a compilation, review and an audit) including those key words like “independent.”
I got lucky and didn't have much of Sampling but my supervisor said hers had a ton of it. So it's, definitely, a topic to be comfortable with. The questions I did have were pretty high level and conceptual.
Know the management assertions and how to test for them. Also, the terms “Vouche” and “Trace” will be used interchangibly on the exam. It's horribly annoying to learn that each one is testing a certain assertion and goes in a certain direction only to find on the exam they don't stick to that rule all the time…
Pay VERY close attention to if the question is referring to an Issuer or a Non-Issuer. Many times that will completely determine which is the correct answer.
Know the Opinions and why a certain Opinion will be issued over another one (Adverse vs. Disclaimer for example).
Management Representation Letter. Know what is included in it, when it's due and what happens if it's not received.
Subsequent Events. Another topic to know inside and out.
The types of engagement and the responsibilities of each (compilation, review, audit, attest, examination).
So when you look at my list, hopefully there aren't any surprises on it. And hopefully it will help out.
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