NAN - GREAT SCORE IN AUDIT

HOW DID YOU STUDY FOR FAR  ANY INSIGHT WILL HELP

TYVM.

Becker FAR: F1 to F7 (GAAP) lectures as a group, F1 to F7 MCQs and sims as a group, then F8/F9 (Governmental) together, F7/F8 MCQs and sims.

After that: 2nd pass through all missed and uncertain MCQs, and concentrated review on all acronyms and memory aids.

Good luck.

1.  I studied for one part at a time.  I started working on the next part one or two days after the previous part.  Louisiana allows candidates 9 months on an NTS instead of the usual 6 months allowed by most other states.  I signed up for all 4 parts on my initial NTS, projected that I could prepare each section in 3 to 5 weeks, and expected to be done by the end of February at the latest.  WRONG!!!  Not only that, my NTS came back in only 3 weeks instead of the usual estimated 6 to 8 weeks, so it expired 10 days before the April/May window was over.

2.  I am working full time.  I studied about 4 hours per night on weekdays, most of the day on weekends, and took days off from work whenever possible to keep on track.  I also took several days off work right before each section to do a final cram.

3.  I got my review courses last August.  After several false starts I got rolling seriously with FAR at the beginning of October, and sat for the exam right before Thanksgiving.  I work for a government contractor, so FAR required more attention from me than the other sections.  I actually finished preparing everything on time, but hardly slept at all the last week.  FAR study time: 7 to 8 weeks.

4.  I didn't get much of any studying accomplished between Thanksgiving and New Years'.  I got rolling again seriously in early January.  I sat for AUD in the latter part of February.  I felt comfortably prepared.  AUD study time: 6 weeks.

5.  I jumped right into BEC.  I am the IT manager for our small office network; that helped.  I also actually enjoyed economics in college.  I sat for BEC on April 2nd.  I felt comfortably prepared.  BEC study time: 6 weeks.

6.  I jumped right into REG.  I had 7 weeks remaining until my NTS expired.  I lost the first week to studying because I was posting the Becker updates and tax law changes into my REG book before I got started.  During the tax lessons I spent a lot of time on the IRS website looking up unfamiliar forms and their instructions.  That helped me master the material, but slowed my progress down.  Business Law went fairly smoothly. However I didn't finish the basic REG material until I was a couple of days away from my test date of April 21st, and only had time to do an overview cram on the tax portion basics.  Remember that early NTS expiration I mentioned above?  I sure could have used the remaining part of the window to study.  I did NOT feel adequately prepared.  Actual REG study time: 6 weeks.  Desired REG study time: 7 to 8 weeks. 

Since FAR was my first test, and required me to re-familiarize myself with a lot of material, I left the testing center believing I had a 50/50 chance of passing.  I did reasonably well on the MCQs and the first sim, nailed the essays, and ran out of time on the 2nd sim.  I was pleasantly surprised with the 85.  [Hint: Do NOT try to use the formula functions on the exam spreadsheet.  They're no better than the primitive version of Lotus used with Windows 3.0.  That cost me 5+ minutes of exam time.  Use pencil and paper instead.] 

AUD seemed too easy when doing all 3 MCQs.  The test is supposed to give you harder questions on the 2nd and 3rd MCQ testlets if you're doing well.  But since there was no math to speak of I really couldn't tell.  I lucked out on the actual AUD sims on test day; the essay questions were right down my alley.  Still, I was shocked at the 98.

BEC seemed comfortable.  I believed I had really mastered the material, and could only think of 1 or 2 questions I messed up.  I was disappointed with the 88, then felt guilty for being disappointed.

REG was a bear.  The MCQs went very well.  The sims were awful.  Given the amount of stumbling I did on the sims, I must have made up for it by nailing the essays and the MCQs.  I was sure my score would be in the mid-70s, and the top of today's to-do list said "apply for new NTS."  I'm still staring at the 90 like a deer staring into headlights, but I'm not going to challenge it.

Good luck on your exams!