Seriously struggling with Audit – advice

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #183708

    Hey there everyone,

    I’ve been having a very difficult time with trying to understand Audit. I understand how to write reports, opinions, etc. However, I’m seriously hitting some brick walls when it comes to Becker A-4 which is auditing by transaction cycles. I’ve read the chapter twice however the MCQ’s are really from out of left field. It just seems that these are concepts that are learned from actually doing audits. Maybe I’m wrong. I do know that plenty of you have been in this same position with no auditing experience and have struggled in the same area; it would be impossible not to.

    I really don’t know how to go about understanding this stuff. Voucing, tracing, footing, etc. I understand the concept of testing for completeness or existence. However, it seems very difficult to understand the procedures and coming to the conclusion that is correct. In the other subjects it always seemed you could throw out 2 answers right off the bat. However, with Audit, 90% of the time all four questions seem valid.

    Anyhow, if anyone has any advice on how they conquered this section please let me know.

    Also, Becker SUCKS for this entire exam so if you’re on the fence on whether or not to buy this section through Becker, I’d reconsider.

    "If you're going through hell, keep going"
    - Winston Churchill

    "I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed, over and over and over again in my life. And that is why, I succeed."
    - Michael Jordan

    BEC: (54), (72), 80 (losing credit on 02/02/15 - nervous)
    AUD: 78
    REG: (74), 91
    FAR: (71)

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • #516136
    Study Monk
    Member

    I am having difficulty with this section as well. Someone on an older post recommended studying the flow charts in the becker book. I am planning to do all of the problems for A4 and the optional question in the next few days twice.

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

    #516175
    Study Monk
    Member

    I am having difficulty with this section as well. Someone on an older post recommended studying the flow charts in the becker book. I am planning to do all of the problems for A4 and the optional question in the next few days twice.

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

    #516138
    SpartanCPA
    Member

    A4 was definitely one of the chapters that gave many, including myself, a hard time. In the lecture, Tim does a great job explaining the concepts of tracing and vouching using the house illustration. Anytime you are tracing, essentially you are tracing the source documents up to the journal entries to ensure that the transaction(s) are included i.e.) completeness. On the other hand, vouching is the opposite, whereas you start with the journal entries and vouch your way down to the source documents to see if those entries are valid and supported, i.e.) existence.

    It helps to understand the concept at a high level/big picture perspective and think to yourself what is the most appropriate, efficient and effective way of getting things done. One of the reason Audit is a hard subject to study because a lot of the time, the answers can vary and can be subjective and it really depends on your professional judgement.

    AUD - 01/18/14 - 81
    BEC - 05/29/14 - 85
    FAR - 07/18/14 - 81
    REG - 11/18/14 - 80

    Becker CPA Review
    NINJA Audio
    Michigan State University

    #516177
    SpartanCPA
    Member

    A4 was definitely one of the chapters that gave many, including myself, a hard time. In the lecture, Tim does a great job explaining the concepts of tracing and vouching using the house illustration. Anytime you are tracing, essentially you are tracing the source documents up to the journal entries to ensure that the transaction(s) are included i.e.) completeness. On the other hand, vouching is the opposite, whereas you start with the journal entries and vouch your way down to the source documents to see if those entries are valid and supported, i.e.) existence.

    It helps to understand the concept at a high level/big picture perspective and think to yourself what is the most appropriate, efficient and effective way of getting things done. One of the reason Audit is a hard subject to study because a lot of the time, the answers can vary and can be subjective and it really depends on your professional judgement.

    AUD - 01/18/14 - 81
    BEC - 05/29/14 - 85
    FAR - 07/18/14 - 81
    REG - 11/18/14 - 80

    Becker CPA Review
    NINJA Audio
    Michigan State University

    #516140

    @Spartan

    The House example is very good and it is about the only thing I really have a firm grasp on. However, when it comes to the MCQ's I'm very stumped. How does one use “professional judgement” when they've never done anything in the world of auditing? I stayed up until 1:30 am last night reading the Wiley book on the topic. Wiley seems to go into more depth and explain the “why” and “how” whereas Becker only seems to cover the “what.” I've used Becker to study for REG and BEC and think they did a great job. However, with Audit, at least this topic, they leave far too much open for interpretation and seem to cover the material at an Umbrella level.

    "If you're going through hell, keep going"
    - Winston Churchill

    "I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed, over and over and over again in my life. And that is why, I succeed."
    - Michael Jordan

    BEC: (54), (72), 80 (losing credit on 02/02/15 - nervous)
    AUD: 78
    REG: (74), 91
    FAR: (71)

    #516179

    @Spartan

    The House example is very good and it is about the only thing I really have a firm grasp on. However, when it comes to the MCQ's I'm very stumped. How does one use “professional judgement” when they've never done anything in the world of auditing? I stayed up until 1:30 am last night reading the Wiley book on the topic. Wiley seems to go into more depth and explain the “why” and “how” whereas Becker only seems to cover the “what.” I've used Becker to study for REG and BEC and think they did a great job. However, with Audit, at least this topic, they leave far too much open for interpretation and seem to cover the material at an Umbrella level.

    "If you're going through hell, keep going"
    - Winston Churchill

    "I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed, over and over and over again in my life. And that is why, I succeed."
    - Michael Jordan

    BEC: (54), (72), 80 (losing credit on 02/02/15 - nervous)
    AUD: 78
    REG: (74), 91
    FAR: (71)

    #516142
    mystical guy
    Member

    They love to test that stuff so you have to get it down. The trick I used was to understand the pattern that was taking place. For example, if you have a doubt about any transaction, whether it occurred, you'll start from that transaction and move to the source records. I don't care how many times and in what many ways they ask that question, I just knew that was the right way to do it.

    So I came up with my song to remind me, “Occurrrenceee, start from transaction.”

    What if you doubt the existence of an asset, say a computer? Well, you clearly have to start from the records and then go find the asset in the plant/office. It's easy to remember when you think about that logic.

    Those are just examples, you can come up with your own methodologies. But you learn best by failing again and again with those MCQs.

    CPA - Since 2015
    CISA - Smashed 2012
    CIA - Passed 2015

    #516181
    mystical guy
    Member

    They love to test that stuff so you have to get it down. The trick I used was to understand the pattern that was taking place. For example, if you have a doubt about any transaction, whether it occurred, you'll start from that transaction and move to the source records. I don't care how many times and in what many ways they ask that question, I just knew that was the right way to do it.

    So I came up with my song to remind me, “Occurrrenceee, start from transaction.”

    What if you doubt the existence of an asset, say a computer? Well, you clearly have to start from the records and then go find the asset in the plant/office. It's easy to remember when you think about that logic.

    Those are just examples, you can come up with your own methodologies. But you learn best by failing again and again with those MCQs.

    CPA - Since 2015
    CISA - Smashed 2012
    CIA - Passed 2015

    #516144
    mcfly
    Participant

    I feel the exact same way about the transaction cycles! I don't understand why it's so difficult for my brain to grasp this concept, but they've been a huge struggle for me. I'm currently waiting on my Audit score, and I'm really hoping that I understood enough of the concept this time around because I don't want to have to think about transaction cycles ever again.

    I agree with the person who said the flow charts are helpful. I studied them in detail, trying to really understand where each document went to/came from, and I even re-drew them to make sure I'd really paid attention. This is one of the areas I was tempted to just memorize without really comprehending what I was memorizing, but that didn't work for me (got a 71 twice in a row on Audit). I had to force myself to really think about each transaction and each situation for it to make any sense.

    Just keep working at it and don't let it discourage you. It'll start to make more sense soon enough. Good luck! 🙂

    REG - PASSED
    BEC - PASSED
    AUD - PASSED
    FAR - PASSED

    DONE. 🙂

    #516183
    mcfly
    Participant

    I feel the exact same way about the transaction cycles! I don't understand why it's so difficult for my brain to grasp this concept, but they've been a huge struggle for me. I'm currently waiting on my Audit score, and I'm really hoping that I understood enough of the concept this time around because I don't want to have to think about transaction cycles ever again.

    I agree with the person who said the flow charts are helpful. I studied them in detail, trying to really understand where each document went to/came from, and I even re-drew them to make sure I'd really paid attention. This is one of the areas I was tempted to just memorize without really comprehending what I was memorizing, but that didn't work for me (got a 71 twice in a row on Audit). I had to force myself to really think about each transaction and each situation for it to make any sense.

    Just keep working at it and don't let it discourage you. It'll start to make more sense soon enough. Good luck! 🙂

    REG - PASSED
    BEC - PASSED
    AUD - PASSED
    FAR - PASSED

    DONE. 🙂

    #516146
    fsugirl2005
    Participant

    In my opinion, I don't think you necessarily need audit experience to grasp the material. I've been a full charge bookkeeper for several years and it makes sense to me. I know zippo about auditing. Even though I haven't started studying for Audit yet, I studied for it 3 years back and it made sense. It was just a lot of material/boring reading.

    REG - 78
    FAR - 79
    AUD - 76
    BEC - 75

    I have been on this journey off and on for over 10 years. I think it's about time that I wrap this up.

    AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
    FAR - 10/28/16
    BEC - 11/2016
    REG - 01/2017

    Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

    #516185
    fsugirl2005
    Participant

    In my opinion, I don't think you necessarily need audit experience to grasp the material. I've been a full charge bookkeeper for several years and it makes sense to me. I know zippo about auditing. Even though I haven't started studying for Audit yet, I studied for it 3 years back and it made sense. It was just a lot of material/boring reading.

    REG - 78
    FAR - 79
    AUD - 76
    BEC - 75

    I have been on this journey off and on for over 10 years. I think it's about time that I wrap this up.

    AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
    FAR - 10/28/16
    BEC - 11/2016
    REG - 01/2017

    Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

    #516148
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am really confused on this area as well.

    For example, in the Becker text it says: Examination & Inspection is for accounting records, documents, and tangible assets. This generally provides evidence about existence rather than ownership, rights, obligations, valuation.

    But shouldn't looking at the documents prove that the company (client) owns the rights/obligations?

    It seems hard for me to understand which assertion relates to what procedures.

    #516187
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am really confused on this area as well.

    For example, in the Becker text it says: Examination & Inspection is for accounting records, documents, and tangible assets. This generally provides evidence about existence rather than ownership, rights, obligations, valuation.

    But shouldn't looking at the documents prove that the company (client) owns the rights/obligations?

    It seems hard for me to understand which assertion relates to what procedures.

    #516150
    XIXIYE
    Member

    I have problem with this area too. I just finished the homework, the pass rate is only 65%. I almost cried. I only have 3 days left for the exam.

    FAR 07/30/13- 83
    REG 10/30/13- 93
    BEC 01/16/14- 79
    AUD 02/21/14- 88

    Becker self-study

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
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