[Anonymous]

I took it today, it was my first CPA exam experience. It was seriously the weirdest exam I have ever taken. Not the hardest, but the weirdest.

I think the SIMs went far better for me than the MCQ did. I did leave one of them blank but the other ones were surprisingly not that complicated – but they were just very odd questions, including the research-related one. I found myself guessing on about one-third of the MCQs which were very, very dense on government/NPO, which I thought I knew pretty well but I guessed on most of them because they were really difficult (ironic, as most of us are not working in govt. jobs and will never do govt. accounting). I found that the test was almost exactly enough time to complete all the questions – the SIM I left blank was the hardest question on the whole exam and I’d have needed about 45 minutes to do it. Hopefully that will be the one that doesn’t get graded. I left myself some time to come back to some MCQs before submitting each testlet – and I caught errors in a few of them. I’ve heard that the next version of the exam isn’t allowing for going back and forth between SIM questions…that’s going to hurt some people, including me. If I hadn’t been able to do that today, I’d have really been screwed on a few of them that required me to think more about the questions while working on other questions. But, good that the test will now only have 72 MCQ and not 90. I was really sick of MCQ by the time I got to the SIMs.

I was able to get rid of my nerves before starting – SUPER important. Nerves can kill an exam score in even the most prepared test takers. But, there were a few other minor obstacles. The Prometric room I was in had the air conditioner blowing directly on me for about half of the test…I had to do my best to ignore that but it wasn’t comfortable. Thankfully, the noise-cancelling headphones were available but they were not a good fit and were also uncomfortable. If nothing else, the exam pretty much spelled out for me everything I need to do, and change, about my studying and approach to this whole thing, in the future. Hoping for a pass, but definitely $193.00 well spent either way.

[martimann]

Hopefully first time was the charm. If you kill it you'll get yourself a huge boost of confidence. Especially since its the lengthiest one. Anything you can get out of the way before the changes its a win, perhaps you can get another out of the way before april, If I were you I would at least try my luck on BEC.

AUD - 76
BEC - 80
FAR - 73
REG - 82

Be all in or get out, there is no half way.

[Anonymous]

@martimann – I was going to do BEC before April but now I know I'm not going to be able to, as I'm trying to find a permanent job. I'm doing AUD in April or May though, with the 3-4 month score release!! The new BEC format actually appeals to me somewhat…I am no good at MCQ and the less of them there are, the better. I always pick the wrong one after I eliminate 2 of the 4 choices. Yeah, a 75 on FAR this time would be grand but I'm thinking it's probably not going to happen since the testlets I got didn't get any harder. They actually got easier. It's ok though. I'd rather retake FAR and have more SIMs and fewer MCQs, as I say. It all does start with that magical 75……….it's out there, somewhere, waiting for me!

[mschnei42]

After taking the first one, preparation always becomes easier! My experience (i.e., getting my hands dirty for the first time) mirrored yours. I, too, thought the exam was weird…not hard…but indeed weird. You crack me up! Good luck on the rest of your exams!

AUD - 98
BEC - 93
FAR - 95
REG - 92

Peter Olinto bought me a beer, and it was glorious.

AUD: 98
FAR: 95
REG: July 11, 2016
BEC: August 8, 2016

[Anonymous]

The whole CPA exam experience is just weird. I don't think FAR in particular bears much resemblance to what hardly anyone does in their jobs…. The closest thing I can tie the exam to, as far as my own jobs, is probably bank rec. What really surprised me is that there was nothing easy on the test at all. And, while some of the questions were straightforward, most were just rather strange. But after it was over, I definitely had a better sense of direction. A lot of the mysteries and question marks that I'd wondered about forever were suddenly gone. Well, for the moment anyway. The new version of the test is probably going to have a few roadblocks. One thing I didn't get on the test I took today was a DRS. I thought those were on all exams now? Maybe not. I'm sure I'll get one sometime in the future!

[CPA so close, so far away]

crazyleon, did you use any review course? If so, which one?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I used Roger. I should make that more prominent in my signature.

[CPA so close, so far away]

Oh, okay. Thank you. I did not see it down at the bottom of your signature. Thanks for sharing your FAR experience. I sit for FAR on the 12th. So nervous!

[Anonymous]

@CPA so far – best of wishes for a great FAR experience! Don't be nervous. Just forge on through!!

[cpac]

Sitting for FAR for the THIRD time tomorrow… I know I will pass this time! 🙂 Best of luck!

Working hard...

AUD: 74, 91 1/18

BEC: 78 12/16

FAR: 65, 73, 66, 83 8/17

REG: 64, 80 1/18

[Author]

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