Can someone please guide me through auditing?

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    Topic
  • #1474179
    Scared-cpa
    Participant

    Hey, everyone!

    I have been studying auditing for a couple weeks now and while I am moving along pretty nicely and understanding the sections for the most part (CPAexcel), I feel like I’m not gaining a deeper understanding of the auditing process and how everything ties together. I know this is crucial to me passing because I did the same thing with FAR. The first time I knew general information and the second time through had a much better understanding of the material.Are there any resources or guidance on AUD like there is FAR so I can increase my chances of passing on the first try?

    I’d love to have some charts, pictures, or something to help me to better understand auditing. There were plenty of external resources like this for FAR so I’m hoping someone on here can provide links or point me in the right direction for extra sources. I’m scheduled to finish studying AUD on the 3rd of MArch and with my exam on the 8th, that doesn’t give me hardly any time to review, so I’m hoping to review through the studying process.

    Also, does anyone have tips on utilizing the AL? I’ve never been good at browsing it and didn’t have a firm comprehension on it during FAR, either, but I know a lot of people say to use the AUD for all the sims. So I’d really love to be able to do this.

    Finally, does anyone else notice going through AUD questions a lot faster than other sections? I’ve only done FAR but I was averaging around a minute per question in my exam there, but so far I am doing 10 questions in 7 minutes or less and getting good scores. That’s with reading each question twice. Is this normal for AUD? Won’t that leave all the time in the world for the sims? If so, I’m hoping I can learn to use the AL to crush the sims.

    Thanks, everyone 🙂

    "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

    FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
    AUD - 68, 79
    REG - 75
    BEC - 82

    Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

    I cannot believe I am done.

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • #1474210
    tatorhead328
    Participant

    Have you made it through everything in AUD yet? For me, everything didn't look clear and cohesive until I'd gone through the entire book. After that, I went through the book again, skimming and making notes and suddenly it all made WAY more sense and tied together.

    I also moved much faster doing AUD questions. I flew through them when I studied at home, but it still took me the entire time to take the test because I was trying to move slowly and make sure I didn't miss any details in the questions.

    For the AL, I really wasn't able to use it for any of my SIMs for the most part. None of mine ended up being anything that AL would have helped with.

    Is it over yet?

    AUD- 77
    BEC- 76
    FAR- 83
    REG- 78

    #1474216
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Do not overthink AUD.it is conceptual with a few rules. Tell yourself a story, you're playing the role of a detective.

    Their assertions are in the financial statements (COVERU). Your job is to figure out if they are reasonable by gathering evidence (FIVECARROTCARS).

    #1474227
    Scared-cpa
    Participant

    I'm currently at 30% completed (51 out of 173 assignments). Seems like a lot still to do within a short period of time. I just wish I had more time to review.

    I'm hoping everything will come together at the end for me, but I hoped the same thing for FAR the first time around and it never did. I don't want the same thing to happen with AUD. I'm going to try my best to get this one out of the way on the first try.

    The research questions in CPAexcel seem pretty easy. Usually the first section I click on has the answer in it. I wish they were more similar to the actual format of the exam. Not trying to divulge information about your AUD exam, but are a lot of the sims like the practice sims (drop down menus, multiple choice options, etc.)? If so, it seems like they're a walk in the park compared to FAR questions which have to all be filled in pretty much.

    "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

    FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
    AUD - 68, 79
    REG - 75
    BEC - 82

    Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

    I cannot believe I am done.

    #1474230
    Scared-cpa
    Participant

    @cessnapilot30 I tend to overthink things and freak myself out lol. This is definitely easier than FAR, but I'm just worried about keeping everything straight and knowing how to apply it. What exactly are COVERU and FIVECARROTCARS? The only mnemonics I have learned is SCARE for concentrations. S-Segregation of duties, C – Control (physical), A – authorization, R – Review (performance), E – EDP/IT (information processing)

    "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

    FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
    AUD - 68, 79
    REG - 75
    BEC - 82

    Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

    I cannot believe I am done.

    #1474240
    NotYourAverageCPA
    Participant

    Out of all of the exams, AUD is the one that has the most “choose the best answer” not choose the correct answer. That being so, keep practicing multiple choice questions until you're about to pinpoint key words in questions and answers that point you to the correct answer.

    I flew through the MCQ on AUD since there is no computation. I think my split on the exam was 1.5 hours MCQ and 2.5 sims.

    For the AL, practice using keywords and “” in order to narrow down your search. I was able to find much of the necessary information needed for the sims (I did this for all sections and it really helped me pass).

    • BEC - Pass Feb 2014
    • AUD - Pass Feb 2014
    • REG - Pass April 2014
    • FAR- Pass May 2014

    Licensed CPA - Jan 2016

    • CISA - Pass June 2016
    • CRISC - Pass December 2016

     

    FAR - PASS
    AUD - PASS
    REG - PASS
    BEC - PASS

    NY CPA- Licensed Jan 2016
    CISA Exam - Passed June 2016

    #1474255
    Vee
    Participant

    The AL really helps if you have a Document Review Simulation (DRS). For example, on my retake a couple weeks ago my DRS was about the engagement letter for an exam. I just searched through the AL til I found the section on what goes in the engagement letter and then it has an example.

    A lot of times if you forget a definition of a term or phrase or how something relates to the entire audit, you can do some searching through the AL and it will help jog your memory.

    AUD - 71
    BEC - 78
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - 61
    "This, too, shall pass"

    Audit - 63 (Dec 2016), 71 (Jan 2017)

    BEC - 78 (Oct 2016)

    REG - 61 (March 2017)

    FAR - ???

    #1474263
    Scared-cpa
    Participant

    I've learned to catch keywords and be nit-picky. Even CPAexcel talks about how the questions are often splitting hairs. I've learned to use keywords in AL, too, which is very helpful. I've never used “”” though, what are those supposed to help?

    And I HATE DRS's! I had one on my last FAR exam. They just confuse me for some reason. Especially with sims, I've had a problem narrowing it down to the exact number. I can usually figure out the section, but there are often a few paragraphs I have to guess between. In CPAexcel and Ninja, the sims seem to be word for word what's in the AL, but I haven't experienced finding answers like that on the actual exam.

    "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

    FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
    AUD - 68, 79
    REG - 75
    BEC - 82

    Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

    I cannot believe I am done.

    #1474269
    NotYourAverageCPA
    Participant

    @scaredCPA – similar to using “” in google, it will only search for that group of words instead of having hits for each time a word from the sentence is somewhere. For example it would only search “qualified opinion” instead of having hits for both “qualified” and “opinion” where “opinion” would have a ton of returned matches. It allows you to narrow your search down significantly.

    • BEC - Pass Feb 2014
    • AUD - Pass Feb 2014
    • REG - Pass April 2014
    • FAR- Pass May 2014

    Licensed CPA - Jan 2016

    • CISA - Pass June 2016
    • CRISC - Pass December 2016

     

    FAR - PASS
    AUD - PASS
    REG - PASS
    BEC - PASS

    NY CPA- Licensed Jan 2016
    CISA Exam - Passed June 2016

    #1474273
    Scared-cpa
    Participant

    Ohhh, see I never knew that. That can be extremely helpful. I appreciate it!

    "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

    FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
    AUD - 68, 79
    REG - 75
    BEC - 82

    Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

    I cannot believe I am done.

    #1474359
    NotYourAverageCPA
    Participant

    At least that's what I believe to be the case…but its been 3 years since I took the exam so don't rely on it before testing it out in Becker!

    Though I'm 100% sure that you can use the “search within” function once you find the AU-C section and can narrow it that way too!

    • BEC - Pass Feb 2014
    • AUD - Pass Feb 2014
    • REG - Pass April 2014
    • FAR- Pass May 2014

    Licensed CPA - Jan 2016

    • CISA - Pass June 2016
    • CRISC - Pass December 2016

     

    FAR - PASS
    AUD - PASS
    REG - PASS
    BEC - PASS

    NY CPA- Licensed Jan 2016
    CISA Exam - Passed June 2016

    #1474363
    Scared-cpa
    Participant

    I'm using CPAexcel. The problem I have with its AL is that when you search or search within, it doesn't highlight the words you searched for. It did before they switched to the new format so I don't know if it is something they're trying to get fixed or what. But when you search for something, it just brings up the sections those words are mentioned in – nothing is highlighted like it is in the real AL.

    "The more I practice, the luckier I get."

    FAR - 67, 82 (Expires 07/31/18)
    AUD - 68, 79
    REG - 75
    BEC - 82

    Wiley CPAexcel + Ninja

    I cannot believe I am done.

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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