AUD Chap 4 kicking my butt!!!

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  • #1454593
    Summie
    Participant

    So my exams next week and I still dont understand AUD Chap4. The MCQs and ESP THOSE DANG SIMS are kicking my butt!!!! I get that its common sense, but I cant seen to figure it out.

    Anyone have any suggestions on how I can grasp this? Or any tips on knowing the links between the assertions and related procedures?

Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • #1454613
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Chapter 4 was definitely the hardest chapter for me while studying for AUD. Work the MCQ's and Sims and try to understand why one answer is correct while the others are wrong. Don't just Memorize the answers – that isn't actually learning and u freestanding the material. Also, I tried putting myself in the place of the Auditor by picturing what he/she was performing. Visualizing helped me understand some of my incorrect answers. Just keep at it and do your Best! I Hated that chapter!!

    #1454812
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Here's some of my notes: I use the mnemonic COVERU to remember the 6 main assertions: Completeness, cutOff, Valuation, Existence, Rights and obligations, and Understandability.

    Completeness Procedures: Tracing and Analytical review (CAT)
    Completeness is the concern when you are testing something that is more likely to be understated, like liabilities and expenses. So if I wanted to catch someone leaving out expenses to make their net income look better, then I would trace documents. I'd gather a sample of bills and see if they made it into the accounting system or if they were left out. A lot of times analytical procedures are used on expenses to see if certain costs are unusually high. For example, I might compare all the expense accounts to the last 3 years and then go inquire of management ie, “office supplies expense is unusually low this year – is there any reason for that?” They might have a good reason, like they changed to a cheaper supplier. Or, management might be surprised, in which case I would trace more documents in that expense category.

    Existence Procedures: Confirmation, Observation/inspection, and Vouching (COVE)
    Existence is the concern when you are testing something that is more likely to be overstated, like assets and revenues. So if I wanted to catch someone recording fake sales to make their net income look better, then I would vouch transactions. I'd select a sample of sales entered into the system and then see if they have the paper back up to prove that those sales actually happened, like sales order forms or cash deposits into the bank account. I might even sample some sales orders and contact the customer directly to see if they really placed that order for that amount on that date (confirmation). A good example of observation would be inventory observations – since inventory is an asset, it is at risk of being overstated.

    I hope that helps?

    #1457788
    Wannafree
    Participant

    @ChynaBlue saw your signature ,I can feel for your expired sections ,which section was show stopper which started the expiry ? REG ?

    WannaB
    #1465701
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @Nath the show stopper was that I was in a toxic work environment. I had no time to study or do anything other than work and sleep. When I finally got some time to study my weakest section REG, I was so exhausted that I couldn't make much progress! I was just showing up to Reg exams and winging it, hoping to get lucky.

    Finally, I was able to quit my toxic job and got an awesome new job with less hours, no stress, a better title, and a $30k raise. But my Aud, Far, and Bec credits expired.

    No problem, tho! I passed them once, so I can pass them again. The key is not to be a genius, there's no special prize if you pass it all on the first shot, you just have to not give up 🙂

    #1465717
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    You can do it chynablue. Good luck with Audit!

    #1465753
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I too have had two expired sections – AUD and FAR. You're right. If we passed a section, we could pass it again. We just have to put in the time to prepare. Definitely no short cuts. I prepared for AUD like I had never seen it before. I read the Becker book again and wrote good notes. Dang, the phasing was very slow. It took me forever. I’ve done only about 5/6 of the materials. I ran out of time when I got to A4 & A5. So I just browsed the highlighted portions, wrote, and mastered the standards, assertions, procedures, samplings, etc. I covered the entire A4 & A5 chapters from my old final review Becker book. Plus, I listened to Jeff’s NINJA audio on my every day commute. Jeff’s audio is really good when you know the materials well. I find it easier to relate when I already studied the topics which Jeff talks about on his audio. But if I hear something that I had no idea about, it’s pointless for me to listen to, just adding more confusion. Anyway, I was ready for a retake after December since the notes I wrote were very comprehensive. But somehow I passed AUD again. So again here I am attacking the beast – FAR.

    There are days that I feel like pulling my hair because I keep looking back what went wrong, why do I have to repeat FAR when I already passed it? But then, I dust it off and say to myself: This all shall pass! And I will pass FAR again, LOL.

    @Chynablue, can you share with us how do you plan to tackle FAR again with less than a month to spare after AUD?

    #1472123
    CPA788
    Participant

    This thread is from 2011 but recently surfaced. Still applies and is an awesome recap. I recommend. I literally took notes from this thread. I think I even said that as a response haha.

    Substantive Testings and Analytical Procedures…

    BEC - 74, 77 (Becker only)

    FAR - 72, 71, 78 (Becker+NINJA)

    REG - 69, 59, 69, 72, 76 (Becker+a private tutor+NINJA+Gleim free trial+seriously anything else I could review)

    AUD - 77 (Becker only)

    CA candidate

    BEC - 74, 77
    FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
    REG - 69
    AUD - Q4 '16

    CA Candidate

    #1472129
    CPA788
    Participant

    Wow. Pretty sure you weren't even asking about analytical proc vs subst testing. Sorry – embarrassed. But in case you need to brush up, well there ya go.

    Regarding your assertions. What kind of office environment/company do you work in/for? I work for a public software company and am fortunate enough to see a lot of the applications each day in real life. I identified what process in my office applied to what I was reading, then it made sense.

    BEC - 74, 77 (Becker only)

    FAR - 72, 71, 78 (Becker+NINJA)

    REG - 69, 59, 69, 72, 76 (Becker+a private tutor+NINJA+Gleim free trial+seriously anything else I could review)

    AUD - 77 (Becker only)

    CA candidate

    BEC - 74, 77
    FAR - 72, 71 (retake 7/29)
    REG - 69
    AUD - Q4 '16

    CA Candidate

    #1472955
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    @Amor D I have 3 weeks to study and pass FAR (again). It's my strongest area, since this is what I do for a living – journal entries, reporting, etc. I have Becker fast pass, so I plan on doing 4 hours of lecture per night, which is 1 FAR section per night. That's 10 days of lecture as a good review of the material. Then, they have a practice MCQ test that breaks down your results by section. I will work practice MCQ's focusing mainly on my weakest sections and also on not-for-profit accounting, governmental accounting, and accounting for bonds because I already know those were my problem areas last time I took the exam. Governmental is pretty heavily tested.

    I also have FAR Ninja Notes. There is a 3 week plan that if I review approximately 80 pages per day, then I will have reviewed the notes 5 times by the time 3 weeks are up. I might do that in the mornings and save the lectures and MCQ for the evenings.

    Its a long shot, but I have a fair chance of re-earning my FAR credit before they change the exam. Good luck to us both!

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