watwasIthinking wrote: This is my last section and I am a bit nervous because I have a few weeks to study before my BEC credit expires.  I was just wondering if anyone in FAR has taken and passed AUD if they can explain their study technique. I really want to end this exam in 2010. Any feedback is appreciated.

I took audit at the end of August and scored a 79.  I used Becker and just studied my butt off for a week and a half.  I went through all the lectures and took my own notes. 

After each subsection I did the questions for that subsection.  For example there are 5 sections in Becker for audit and each section has 3-7 subsections. 

Any questions I got wrong I immediately went back and did them again.  I did this for the 5 sections and due to time constraints I glanced over the simulations.  I did not do the supplimental questions.  I found this approach helped drill the info into my head after seeing/doing the material 2-3 times.

 I prefer not to use the book, because highlighting does nothing for me. Writing my own notes is better for me.   I need the material to be explained.  I feel Becker does a good job in this respect. However, I found some of Beckers acronyms were over done. 

For example in my audit class we learned CEAVOP (pronounced Sea Vop)for the audit assertions. 

Completeness

Existance

Accuracy

Valuation

Obligations/rights

Presentation

I found Beckers acronyms to be over done and they repeated a lot of the assertions which I found confusing.  So what I am trying to say is that if you found something useful in your audit class in school you can very well use that instead of what Becker (or whatever material you are using) has you memorize.  Listen to everything they say because there are a lot of little things you may have forgotten, or tips they can give you, but on an overview level use whatever works for you.

I took my test at 5:30 PM and went through all the multi choice questions twice.  I felt that a lot of the questions were similiar if not exactly the same as the Becker questions.  I feel like I scored roughly a 90 on the MC, but the simulations were tough.  The nice thing about audit is that time isn't an issue for most people.

Anyways I think I over replied to your question, but since you have taken FAR you should be happy to know that audit is a lot shorter and a lot less complicated in my opinion, but it doesn't seem to be scaled.  If worse comes to worse you can try to rely on your common sense for audit questions, unlike a lot of calculation questions in FAR.

I strongly recommend that you go back through each MC testlet and review every questions.  I found a few which I read the "call" of the question wrong the first time and had to switch my answer the second time through.  Also focus on the memos.  IMO good MC and Memos = 75 or >

Best of luck!

Here's my routine for everything but FAR - FAR was tackled differently, but it was due to factors outside my control...in the end, i realized that it was the only practical way to approach FAR.

BEC/REG/AUD

Read through the text - take as much or as little time as you need.  Just read through it once.  You don't have to absorb everything...i did it while watching hockey/baseball/dexter.

10-14 days, take off work and do MCQ's non stop - 24-7.  For the ones you get wrong, make notes.  Once you finish the questions, SKIM the entire text again - by skim, i mean cover the book in 6 hours.  Then do the MCQ's again.  Make notes again if you have to (you don't even have to read your notes, but the fact that you're writing it down, commits it to memory).  If you have time, do the questions again till you reach 3 days before the exam - do the simulations (i don't really focus on sims, cuz variability is too high - what you practiced probably won't be on the exam), and then do the mock exams.  1 day before the exam, do the mock exam again, and if you can read your handwriting, you can go through your notes again.

FOR FAR -  I didn't have the luxury of taking time off.  I finished reading up to chapter 8 -  skimmed chapter 9 (but it just an extension of 8.  But becuase of time constraints i made sure i was reading to retain info.  I did the questions once (as far as chapter 6) - but i read answers and studied off them too.   I went in expecting to fail miserably, so i was all loose and one cool mofo.  I think that helped me alot by having a cool mind and not second guessing myself like you tend to do when you overstudy.  I just went with what my initial answer was, or gut feeling when i had to guess.  The questions weren't difficult by any means, when they were, it was becuase i didn't study...during the exam, i said to myself, "fawk, if i had studied seriously, instead of goofing off (cuz i didn't expect to pass anyways) i had a legitimate shot." 

So yeah, FAR definately not the same as the other 3.