@ Redd In:
Hello Redd In, I am happy to share my experience and process but it would be helpful to know a few things. For example, are you currently in India or are you in the US? I am in California so I can speak to the process for that. There are certain education requirements that have to be met before being eligible to sit for the exam as well as a new set (starting January 1 2013) that will be required in order to get licensed. I would suggest visiting the following website and reading the links under the ‘Applicants' section: https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/
Timing: From those I know who have taken and passed what I can say is if you work full time and study it can take about 12-14 months to pass all for parts. If you are only studying full time, you can pass within 8-10 months. Of course you have those who knock it all out in 4-6 too. Most everyone I know has failed and retaken at least 2 sections. Overall it is a test of self discipline. It takes lots and lots of time and practice.
Important: Remember, you have 18 months to pass all four parts after you pass your first section. If you pass 3 sections and then 18 months go by before you pass the last one, you begin to lose sections in the order you took them (in other words you have a rolling 18 months to pass all four). Also remember that the test is only administered in January, February, April, May, July, August, October, and November. The months of March, June, September, and December are “black out” months. Keep that in mind when planning when to study and if you're reaching your 18 months or not.
Materials: I have used Becker and do NOT like it. I have passed BEC and found that AUD was also well taught by Yeager. Yeager uses Wiley materials too. I think the Yeager program is the best both in value and in quality.
Sections to take: The way the exams are noted:
AUD= Audit 4 hours long, 90 multiple choice and 7 simulations
BEC= Business Environment and Concepts, 3 hours with 72 multiple choice and 3 short writing assignments
FAR= Financial Accounting and Reporting, 4 hours long, 90 multiple choice, 7 simulations
REG= Regulation [Tax Rules etc] 72 multiple choice and 6 simulations
Typically you'll see people list the difficulty of exams in the following order, but everyone has different strengths and weaknesses so it can vary some: FAR, REG, BEC, AUD.
You can see more at https://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ForCandidates/FAQ/Pages/computer_faqs_2.aspx
I know it's a lot of information so please feel free to ask questions, I hope to help soon.
Cheers!
.