[Jzjac]

First let me start off by saying that I just took the audit exam for my THIRD time last weekend and after my first two failures… I was determined to pass this test and be finished with my CPA. To study for this exam, I focused mainly on my weak areas and touched up briefly on the areas where I was strong. After countless hours reading this forum, I saw that there was a common tip that many people “preached”. I kept reading “USE THE AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE” during your simulations it will help!

I can honestly say this is the best advice anyone can give you for taking the actual exam. During my exam I was very comfortable/confident. I thought I did well on the MCQ and was ready to concur the hardest part in my opinion of the exam. Firstly, I looked through each simulation to see what I was up against and saw that I had 2 research questions so I knew the other 5 were going to be counted toward my score. I found 6 out of the 7 simulations word for word in the AL!!! I know I got both research questions right and the only question I had where I couldn’t use the AL was writing out adjusting journal entries.

I don’t want to make this seem “easy” because as most people know… the AL is not easy to navigate. But if you put your time in and study the material and understand the concepts, you should be able to narrow down your search within the search bar to find what you are looking for.

I just thought I would share my experience and I hope this tells everyone to utilize the AL!

Best of luck on all your exams.

BEC - Passed!
FAR - Passed!
AUD - Passed!
REG - Passed!

[Getting a CPA]

So just to be clear. You should use AL for SIMs only…not MCQs? And you use the AL the same way you would for a research question? Just do a word search until hopefully you end up landing on the area being questioned?

How much time did you have for SIMs? I am thinking 30-35 min per MCQ testlet, which would leave 2 1/4 hours to 2 1/2 hours for SIMs…

I am only studying for 6 weeks with CPAExcel and CPAReviewForFree…

[LSNYC]

@jzjac you go! This is what saved me on audit! Hope you are done now!

@Gettingacpa AL is not available during MCQ only during the sims if you have about 2 hours for sims you should have time to look up the using the AL.

Good luck!

A - 61, 91!!
B - 78!
F - 76!!!
R - 71, 73, 74, 69, 77!!!!

Finally done!

This is my 2nd attempt at the exam, I had two parts passed (failed many) and I stupidly quit, big mistake. Now I'm back and with a vengeance!

[ORcpaHOPEFUL]

AL is only available for the SIMs- you cannot access it for MC. I personally answered all of the SIMs (except for the research problem obviously) without the AL to the best of my ability then went back and checked my answers using the AL! I completed each MC section in about 30 mins even know my review course allocated 45 mins for each section- I didn't feel I needed it as there are no calculations or anything like in FAR! Other people say 30 mins isn't enough time so I guess it depends on the luck of the draw on questions and how prepared you are. I had two and a half hours for my SIMs and I left with 28 mins on the clock- I had reviewed and compared with the AL for over an hour at that point and didn't think there was anymore I could do! If you can get through the MCQs in 30/section without feeling rushed then go for it so you have tons of time to search the AL for the SIMs 🙂 good luck!

FAR: PASSED!! 64, 68, 79 on 2/27/13!
AUD: PASSED!! 73, 93 on 4/5/13!!!
BEC: PASSED!! 75 (phew) on 5/24/13!
REG: PASSED!!! 77 on 8/7/13 I AM DONE!!!!!

Experience: got it!
Ethics Exam: PASSED on first try (what a waste of money)

[Jzjac]

Well you can't use the AL during the MCQs.. To answer your question about how you use the AL, I would first try to search for the topic similar to a research tab but then get more detailed when each simulation goes into deeper thought questions/situations.

Each time I took the Audit exam I usually took around 25-40 minutes per MCQ testlet. During my last take at the exam, I had around 2 1/4 hours for the simulations but since I found almost all of my simulations I was able to finish the exam with an hour left on the clock. I know it is not good practice to have extra time when taking the exam but I had nothing else to review.

BEC - Passed!
FAR - Passed!
AUD - Passed!
REG - Passed!

[Getting a CPA]

Ok that's what I thought! I feel like AUD should be 3 hours as others have mentioned. I will use every minute of the 4 hours though.

The AL is not that bad to use actually. It just takes time word searching…

Jzjac – I hope this is it for you. I feel like people only fail AUD because of wording confusion. It doesn't have much to do with knowing accounting or a proper audit procedure…

[Jzjac]

@Getting a CPA… Thank you 🙂 I hope this is it for me as well.

BEC - Passed!
FAR - Passed!
AUD - Passed!
REG - Passed!

[jnnthom]

I love this site! Thanks to all who have said “use the AL” – I take my test in two days and will definitely make time to check my work to ensure I PASS auditing.

I'm pretty good at finding what I need in the AL, but would like to know if anyone has any recommendations for time allotment for the simulations in order to properly check one's answers. How much time is enough for simulations? 2 hours? I don't want to rush through the MCQs and not read something correctly.

[Anonymous]

when you search for words in the AL, are you all clicking through each link to find the exact wording that matches up to the question and if you don't see it, go to the next search result?

also, on the exam, are you given all 7 SIMs at once so if you are struggling on one you can come back to it or do you have to complete it before going to the next like on the MCQs?

[gobias]

You may complete the sims in whatever order you like.

F - 86
R - 90
A - 97
B - 91

[jsmithsae]

I for one propose the AICPA get rid of the AL and substitute it with google. The latter being much more intuitive, easy to use and provides better search results…what do ya think?

BEC-75!
AUD-84!
REG-78!
FAR-83!
Ethics-Passed!
Experience-Got that too

Used Becker 2013 Self-Study & NINJA 10pt Combo Lite(AUD)

[D]

@DC…. don't need to copy/paste sentences but do phrases and you will usually find them highlighted in the results. You may have to sort through a couple links that are returned but out of one of those links you are usually bound to find your phrase/phrases.

**************************
AUD: 77  (Jan 2016)
BEC: 80  (May 2016)
REG: (rematch May 2017)
FAR: (rematch Apr 2017)
**************************

----------
AUD - 74, 77! (1/2016)
BEC - 80! (5/2016)
REG - tbd (8/2016)
FAR - tbd

Study materials: NINJA MCQ/Audio/Notes

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!"
----------

[Getting a CPA]

Are there two functions – a “Search” and “Search Within” function? Search to get to the topic, Search Within to get to the exact wording within the topic.

I took FAR already, but I forget how the AL worked.

CPAExcel has a nice version of the AL with a Search/Search Within function. I believe it is slightly different from the official AL used during the exam….

[Zaq]

Yes, there are two functions. Search and Search Within.

“Search” is really good for narrowing down subject areas to find the initial “tree” (AU, etc.) and it's “branches”.

“Search Within” is absolutely vital. Once you've found a general topic that relates to your question start plugging in key words from your AL question. If you find something that “kinda” looks what you're looking for PICK it and just move on.

Once you've finished up and completed all the SIM's sections to the best of your ability, start proofreading your SIMS via the AL to check for consistency. And lastly, spend as much time as possible last confirming that you've chosen the best response for your AL research question. You'll be surprised that if you keep navigating down the page you might find an excerpt that directly and exactly answers the question.

FAR: 50, 76!
REG: 74... (ouch baby, very ouch), 76!
AUD: 65, 91!?
BEC: 80! Aaaand doneskies!

May 2012 to August 2013. Can't believe it's over.

[Getting a CPA]

@InfernoOMNI – thanks for the info. That's what I thought. BTW – how did you improve your FAR score by 26 points?!?!?

[Author]

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