[diabloargentino]

Took FAR yesterday afternoon and figured I would share my thoughts/reaction in case it’s helpful to anyone else here in the community.

On the new format: I am not sure what the general consensus is but I really like the new format of 5 different sections with an allowed break in between. This is likely personal preference depending on what kind of test taker you are but it really helped me. I have a tough time staying concentrated for extended period of times so knocking off each section piece by piece knowing that about half way through I could take a 10 minute break felt nice. I was hoping to get the Research question in the first set of 2 questions to quickly knock it out and come back after the break with a good chunk of time but you can’t have it all. Also – TIME MANAGEMENT! For something like FAR, do yourself a favor and stick to the breakout that’s frequently discussed here. Learn how you best manage time and execute! Whether it means guessing on a few questions, being willing to pass on a question and come back to it – stick to it! I have no idea how I did on the actual scoring but I stuck to the timing and felt the test was fair to get through in the allotted time.

Also – I really like the DRS. Anyone else? I got 3 of them (within the first 2 simulation testlets) and while my initial reaction was oh crap, I actually prefer them. My gripe with traditional SIMs has always been that I never got drop downs and had to fill in so many boxes with calculated answers which could be tough. This is where I see the DRS be advantageous – it’s a various multiple choices with say 5-7 choices. If you can figure out one aspect of the question you are sure about (i.e. what the $ adjustment should be, which account should be debited or credited, etc.) you can narrow down the options by eliminating any one that doesn’t include what you know. From there, even if you can’t figure out the final answer you have at least given yourself a 33-50% chance at getting it right simply by knowing what has to be included. Also, I found that reading through the entire problem first (with the “suggested/original” responses in place) helps me understand what is being asked and what I need to look for. That way, I have the context when I begin clicking around the additional resources.

As for the actual exam – I was surprised at the limited amount of topics I felt I saw tested. Definitely a bunch of the traditional questions you would expect on the major topics but thinking back at it, I could think of some massive areas that didn’t appear once. I could/should have studied more and it’s likely that I was able to get through a lot of the MCQ because I didn’t full know it versus thinking questions are easier but that’s on me.

A few random notes:

Practice a few Research questions! This was SO silly of me but I was looking around for the answer and could only find audit related standards. I was going NUTS and almost spent TEN minutes wondering what the hell was going on. I finally realized the AL had a few different tabs and there was a separate tab for ASC and was able to find my question within a minute. I wasted valuable time on a silly oversight.
Grind out simulations! When I opened my 3rd SIM testlet and clicked around to get a feel for the 3 and decide where to start, I wanted to die right there. Literally a book’s worth of additional information. This gets into my head and I just start freaking out for a few minutes about life not being fair so don’t make the same mistake. Even if you know you won’t be able to figure out the problem entirely, grind it out and at least get the easier parts right. There may be a few zeros, there may be a few easy calcs so get those points first and come back to the tougher parts which you may get wrong anyway. How to navigate the test is just as important as the actual content!

Lastly – having the calculator button RIGHT next to the submit button is criminal! I left that feedback.

I know there are always newer candidates here starting their journey so hopefully some of this helps!

[Bluetoothray]

I think we took the same exam. I took mine on the 8th. I had 3 DRS as well. Like you I actually like the DRS. They are multiple choice questions in SIM format. I also like them because you can sometimes figure out the “Common sense” answers. Research questions can be frustrating. Unfortunately I think I missed an Audit research question because I couldn't choose between one of two paragraphs. Both paragraphs were very applicable to the question. Hopefully the AICPA considers giving partial research credit. Hopeful pass

AUD - Passed

BEC - Passed

REG - Passed

FAR - Passed

CPA - VA

[AndrewE]

Sims were info heavy but I don't think they are worse than REG sims, took the exam yesterday and I only did not feel good about 3 sims. I used to actually hate DRS's (had 2) but now they are awesome cause you don't have to spend time analyzing and doing all the application you basically just go about it as a multiple choice. I was surprised when I received an IFRS sim but didn't freak out and tried to answer as best as possible.

BEC – 77
AUD – 70, 75
REG – 73, 81
FAR – 9/10

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

- e

[Ash]

Personally I also love the DRS. I feel a lot of people freak out because there can be a lot of tabs in the resources section. However I have noticed each line where you need to change the answer only relates to one maybe two of the resources. I just take each question at a time. I look at what they are asking. Go to the resources write down the valid information and I can usually get the answers. In Becker I always did really well in the DRS practice SIMS. I prefer DRS over the old format questions any day.

FAR-70, 63, 75!!!!
AUD-72,71,75!!!!!!!!!
BEC-71, 78!!!!!!!!!!!
REG-57, 75!!!!!
I am done!!!!!

California ethics, took 3 tries passed with a 92%

AUD- 72, 71, TBD (now i am pissed no more messing around)
BEC-8/29/16
REG-10/10/16
FAR-70 retest-11/28/16

[Author]

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