This is for people taking their exams in the July/August 2010 testing window.

This is for people taking their exams in the July/August 2010 testing window.
I am planning on taking my test the end of August. I have yet to start studying for it and will not until after I take the BEC section in the middle of July. I am using Becker materials. I would love to be able to share ideas and useful study tips that anyone has found.
Ness - Looks like we're together this testing window. I am taking BEC on 7/9 and hoping to sit for AUD end of August. We can do it!!! =)
nycegurl,
I am doing the same thing BEC at the beginning and Auditing in August. I will probably have to take my BEC test later though since I still have not received my NTS and then have to sign up at the testing site. I hope to have it scheduled for the middle of July and then that will allow me 6 weeks to study for Auditing. If that does not work out I will take a week or 2 off of BEC and study Auditing and then go back to it the 2 weeks before the exam and cram to make sure I know all of the info.
I am using Becker as my study guide, what are you using? I have went through all the lectures and almost all the questions except for probably the last 200 in Ch. 5. I also got Jeff's IT and Econ notes, I created my own notes for everything except for Ch. 5 and Econ since Jeff had already created that one. I am super glad that Jeff got the IT notes out, I am struggling with that section. I have not read through Jeff's notes, but will when I start cramming.
I need some advice. I am taking REG on July 23 and will be retaking AUD in August. I am going to use Becker again since I've had pretty good luck with it so far. If I plan to take the exam at the end of August do you all think that is enough time? Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) I am going on a cruise Aug 2 - Aug 6 for my 10 year anniversary and then we have a family vacation planned for the 3rd week in August (it's a couple of days out of town).
Am I setting myself up to fail again? I'm pretty disciplined and will stay focused and study the needed hours.
BEC 77; FAR 81; AUD 70 (TBD in August); REG 7/23
Impinky,
Since i just got off the boat on Saturday June 26, let me say....i brought my laptop, bec book and notebook. Ask me how many times i opened them NONE!!! After studying all year, yelling at my son all the time to be quiet...I needed that break....my baby turned 8 on the cruise and all we did was party, swim, drank (adults only) and visit the ports. After the second day on the cruise i put my backpack in the closet and didnt take it out until we returned to the states. I was desperate to see my AUD score...pfft glad my cricket didnt work out on the seas because I probably would have ignored my son once again and wasted thousands of dollars because I definitely would have been in my room studying.
Now If you take two days off after the 23 and begin hard and heavy on the 25. I think you could do it but you have to know if you are totally disciplined. Will you be able to get thru 2 chapters a week so you will have time to review??? You have already taken it once and your score is decent so hopefully will be able to build on top of what you already know. But if you know that you will be distracted then i say dont waste your money
MAGIC BALL,
what happened, how did you end up with a 53? I know youre very serious about aud. YOu must have skipped the third testlet or done something like that? Sorry I am asking like that but I really wanted to see if you passed since I gave you advice to memorize the reports and had a stake in your performance. Oh well, there is next time for us...
Magic, I am glad you enjoyed your cruise. I spent our entire week of vacation fussing at my kids because they wouldn't let me study. My laptop has the Pavlov's effect on my kids. As soon as I opened it, someone was in need of a snack or needed my attention. I really hope that is my last vacation being the mean mommy. Sometimes no internet is a very good thing!
Good luck to everyone here at another71!
This forum was a lot of help in April when I studied (and passed!) BEC, especially when to expect my score. Thanks to Jeff and all the posters for great info.
As for my studies, I must have an accounting job by September so the July/August testing window is going to be a BEAST for me:
AUD: 7/7
REG: 7/27
FAR: 8/31
Used Becker 2009 self-study to pass BEC in April with an 88. The Becker materials sat in my closet for 8 months before I finally got going this March; crammed my studying into three weeks. That BEC result gave me the confidence to go all out on these next three exams. My social life will be non-existent for two months, but I can see the finish line.
My one piece of advice for success:
WORK OUT!
Working out before you study has been proven to increase your memory retention. I get in a good 30 minutes of cardio every other day. I alternate between the Elliptical, swimming, cycling, and running. After a five minute warm-up, I keep my heart rate at 60-70% of max BPM. Its amazing how good I feel only 9 days away from my AUD exam (compared to MAJOR! stressing before BEC).
so is anyone else taking AUD towards the end of July? Where do you stand with studying?
I could use a swift kick in the butt to get studying. I'm in the middle of an audit with a fast deadline approaching so work is taking up most of my time and then there are weddings in the next couple weeks so i just havent found/made the time to study. this forum rocks just knowing that there are so many others out there that are giving up family/friends/personal time, not to mention lots of $$ for this exam. It's very motivating.
Should I memorize the ratios? I really don't want to!
@Bryn333,
I'm taking AUD July 31st. However, since REG is July 7th, I have yet to start my AUD studying. Where are you at? How many hours are you putting in?
bryn333
i am taking aud in 2 days on the 2nd of july... i am retaking bec july 31st.
i am doing and re-doing and re-doing the becker questions as many times as i can... pretty much to the point where i want to vomit on my screen because i hate looking at my computer now.. lol.
i hope and pray to god that i do well on this exam and get it out of the way!!
good luck to everybody who is taking their aud and bec in july.
AlmostThere,
Yes, memorize all the ratios now. They can pop up on any of the 4 exams.
hopeful cpa - good luck on your exam next week!
cpajd - good luck on REG, i'm so miserable i failed by three points. for AUD - i'm only through chapter one and 1/2 through chapter two but i havent been able to pick it up for a few weeks bc of work. I plan on going through all the lectures and all the mcq and then going through it a second time by skimming the chapters and focusing on mcq. the scary thing is, i never have enough time towards the end to actually do the practice exams! lol.
are the becker questions harder than the actual exam?
AUD Internal Control Quick Hits now available
Hey christian2823 -
The Becker questions were harder than exam questions based on my experience with BEC. It seemed like Becker covered much more content and in much greater detail than what was found on the exam, however I am not sure if the same conclusion can be applied to the AUD exam.
It looks like you took AUD today... were the Becker questions harder?
I think that the AUDIT test was 10x harder than FAR
Can you explain why you feel that way?
I disagree. I've taken both audit and financial, and I thought financial was the hardest test I've ever taken in my life even though I did pass financial (78) and fail audit (74). That was only because I was much more prepared for financial. To be honest, they were both very difficult. Mainly, the audit mc seemed more doable to me.
Hi GSU Josh:
Your experience wil FAR and AUD is giving the idea which is unpredictable, FAR was difficult, you worked hard and passed. AUD was doable, you obtained 74. Same story with all of us.
AUD is easy in preparation, and seems easy in completing the exam but can give you expected or unexpected result. All candidates are completing 100 % of exam and they need to score 75 % in each area. Majority of candidates in FAR can't complete entire exam., and they can pass by scoring less than 75% in its each area ( even without completing the simulations). I found such students who obtained 78 % in AUD but still failed due to their less than 75 % performance in one or two areas,
In AUD, you may expect no calculation in entire exam., in my July 2, 2010 exam., I did not need any calculator in all exam. All exam. and simulation tabs other that written communication were only to pick one answer.
Syed, I think I see what you're saying. It sounds like you're suggesting that FAR may have more of a curve applied than AUD. This seems very possible to me considering I felt like I made about a 60 on FAR. It could have helped me on FAR in the fact that I did complete the entire exam and felt like I did well on the simulations. For AUD, I just got unlucky. I had a couple of simulation tabs on FAR topics and bombed those. Unless something goes drastically wrong this next try, I should pass AUD. I seem to be understanding everything a little better and am scoring above 80% on almost all questions. I will be quite upset if I don't pass these tests this window (July/August). It took complete devotion to pass FAR and REG.
Hi GSU Josh:
You will not be surprised to see high jumps in AUD. I know the examples of improvement from 54 to 75, 67 to 88, 74 to 86
Good lick
My point is that the AUD test does not involve any calculations. My university in Puerto Rico prepares you to break into pieces the Financial exam. I passed FAR with 92. I took audit on July 2 and I can say that it is hard to pick one method of detecting fraud or fixing internal controls, when you are not an experienced auditor. You just pick whatever you think is the best method. What guarantees you that you did it? Nothing. I am better at calculating things than having theoretical information in my mind as a bottle. I didn't like the test. Let's see what happens. I finished the test with 6 minutes left on the clock. My first testlet was easy. The second one was a bomb. The third one was like an in between.
I see. I can appreciate that. I think the Audit MC is a bit easier, but I think the simulations will be tougher for me when I take it, especially the communication.
Cristian2823-
Do you consider that the actual exam MCQ's and simulation were harder than Becker ones?
I use Gleim and for BEC and FAR I believe that the actual exam questions were easier than Gleim practice questions. Simulations were harder.
I scheduled audit for 08/31, it seems to be easier than FAR but now after reading all the posts I'm concern that the actual test is going to be harder and the scoring stricter.
I thought that the Becker MCQS were a little bit easier than the actual test. The simulations were monsters. Right now I have a doubt, has anyone seen a score that it has surprised you and you left the center feeling like you bombed the test?
Well, I felt like I had more or less bombed the sims, and was sure that if I failed, it would be because of the sims. I felt good about the mcq's though, but worried endlessly that being my first exam.
I take Audit on Wednesday I am worried I might not pass because of the simulations. It looks like if you get a tough topic in the simulation, you can lose a bunch of points. The written communication seems to be fairly straightforward, but the research and other non communication/research tabs are just horrendous.
On the research tabs, it seems like multiple selections all provide the answer to the question! Which one to choose?
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