[Anonymous]

Ok. I just finished a Roger video where he does a really good explanation of an AUD DRS. Fantastic. But it took him a whopping FORTY-THREE MINUTES (almost 44) to get through it. Okay, let’s be generous shave off 15 minutes there, because he was explaining concepts. 30 minutes roughly. That’s twice the amount of time that they suggest you allow for a SIM.

Can someone explain to me how, on the exam, anyone except a genius is supposed to make it through a DRS with like 8 exhibits and 15 questions, in 15 minutes? You need 15 minutes to READ the damned thing!! LOL I suppose the people who came up with the idea to do DRSs didn’t quite realize that most people aren’t going to be able to finish a DRS SIM like that – or, if they do finish it, it’s going to take time away from other questions. I really have no idea how to approach something like this. The shorter, the better, I guess…1 or maybe 2 documents to review, and not a whole lot of info. But come on….is this supposed to be a test of a situation “a second year CPA” would find on the job? Even if it was, they’d have way more time to work on it, for one thing. But CPA exam candidates aren’t 2nd year CPAs! And they never have been and never will be until they’ve worked as CPAs for two years. Am I completely missing something here?

Anyway, enough whining about the illogic and my own frustrations. How do you go about approaching a monster DRS?? Yeah, take it apart piece by piece as well as you can within 15 or so minutes. And THEN tackle the multiple choice questions about it…

I’ve taken FAR thus far. I didn’t get any DRSs. If I do get any, fingers crossed that it will have one document to review, and that it will be short. I’m actually cool with reading a big long paragraph and answering questions on it but when I have to click back and forth between screens, that’s when I start to lose patience.

[jivexturk3y]

Yeah those are funny like that. Did you practice the AICPA's sample test? I definitely think the DRS is the hardest part of the exam, especially since I never even performed an audit.

I don't even know if I passed mine or not, so I probably shouldn't even be giving advice, but my strategy going in was to blast through the McQ's as fast as possible. I really feel like you need to give yourself maximum time for the SIMS. If you think you need 45 mins for the DRS sim, scan through the testlet as soon as you open it and if you see one, take your time on that. If you open 2 testlets and you still haven't encountered a SIM, you already know the last testlet is going to contain one so you better save at least 45 + I guess another 30-40 mins for the other 2 Sims in that testlet.

[RE2PECT]

I was lucky enough not to get a DRS although I took AUD and REG twice after they were implemented. I did study them and I agree that they can be very overwhelming and time consuming. Since you're studying for AUD, you should have plenty of time for the sims since you can generally move through the mcq's at a faster pace. Try using the split screen when you're practicing the DRS. It may help you navigate through the documents and save time going back and forth between screens. I also wouldn't read through all the documents before looking at the questions. Maybe just do a quick scan so you know what's on them. The questions are usually independent of each other so as you do each one, that's where you start focusing on the exhibits and searching for the answers.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Roger & Ninja

FAR: 75
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, 73, 82
REG: 68, 82

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[tg7174]

Treat each question like an MCQ. Don't read the whole prompt. Do a quick skim, split screen with the documents, and then answer each question one at a time. It isn't so bad.

AUD 83
BEC 78
FAR 78
REG 74, 79

[Anonymous]

Not all of the DRSs are that hard. But some of them can be just wicked, with their 7 multiple choice answers. I don't know. I think the solution is just to pray to whatever god you worship that you won't get a hard DRS. Or any DRSs. As I said in another post, I'd like to shove over a cliff the people who came up with the idea for those dumb questions.

[GitRDone2017]

I had a DRS on my 2nd attempt AUD exam, (passed!) anyway, it was pretty tricky but i just broke it down into sections and tackled it one section at a time. As for the documentation, after working two tax season I can honestly say that you will get a lot of documentation to go through, that is just how it works! The trick is learning what is relevant and what is not! It did take me almost 30 minutes to complete, my question is will there now be more than one DRS per exam with the new format???

AUD - 82
BEC - NINJA in Training
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

"confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you" ~ Zig Ziglar

"Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking tartar sauce with you" - Zig Ziglar
Ninja book + Ninja MCQ + Roger
AUD Oct 2016
FAR Nov 2016
BEC ?
REG?

[SiXiam]

Hey guys just took AUD exam. I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the exam format changes.
Two multiple choice testlets and three separate simulation testlets. I thought it was a lone sim testlet with all the sims. Having three really messes up the time management.
I rushed through the multiple choice (difficulty increased I think on the second) then I had 2 sims, three sims, three sims. I didn't have a multi page DRS like last time I took it. Everything was one page reference, not that my experience matters much. Lastly I had a FAR sim on it, which really messed me up and makes me mad. Finished about a half hour early.

Overall I think I did well on multiple choice and bad on sims. I know I got the research question right though.
Overall I think I failed and will lose credit for BEC and maybe REG because of the August wait.

BEC Passed
REG Passed
AUD August results
FAR August results

BEC: 80
REG: 75
FAR: __, ?/2016

[Author]

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