Chapter 1 - Overview and Audit Reports
Chapter 1 of BOOST covers audit reports. Forming conclusions and reporting account for about 10 to 20% of the audit section of the CPA exam (we do not expect it to be 20%). If 15% of your actual exam is from this topic, we expect that 10% of that 15% will come from Chapter 1 of BOOST. Overall, Chapter 1 topics are tested more through multiple choice than simulations because the topics in Chapter 1 are more factual in nature. So, compared to other topics on the audit section of the CPA exam, Chapter 1 is more straightforward. However, there are a lot of rules to memorize in Chapter 1 but these rules are fairly straightforward.
As a reminder, these are the steps you should be following:
1. Listen to the BOOST video below with the outline in the BOOST CPA Review textbook (remember, you do not use the textbook or listen to the videos from your other review course). Listen to the BOOST videos to understand and be an active learner!
2. Consider reading/studying the BOOST outline again to ensure you are "fairly" comfortable with the material.
3. Using the BOOST "Content Comparison of BOOST Material and Related Becker” document, determine which multiple choice and simulations to complete in Becker.
4. If you are using Becker, also use the BOOST "Notes on Becker Simulations" to determine the appropriate strategy with the simulations in Becker.
5. Complete the multiple choice and simulations in that section of Becker.
6. Move to the next video (FYI - you will be repeating these steps over and over again.)
Please don't rush through this material and take your time to understand it. Remember, an additional week of studying (if needed) will be well worth it if the additional time is the difference between passing and failing the audit section of the CPA exam! Overall, we believe that it is significantly more effective and efficient to address weaknesses in a specific topic when working on that topic rather than waiting until final review to address those weaknesses (Why? because the topic is fresh in your mind and you know exactly what those weaknesses are). At BOOST, we believe this is a really important step in creating a successful study plan.
Related to not rushing, the Audit BOOST material is organized by chapter based on topics rather than an equal amount of material in each chapter. Thus, when assessing your progress, the following summary of the number of minutes of lecture for each chapter (from longest to shortest) may be helpful:
Chapter 4 (423 minutes)
Chapter 2 (377 minutes)
Chapter 3 (241 minutes)
Chapter 1 (228 minutes)
Chapter 6 (198 minutes)
Chapter 5 (156 minutes)
A few of the videos for the units in the Audit BOOST program are 75 to 90 minutes long. You should consider taking a short break in the middle of these longer videos to ensure you are fully comprehending the material. The quality of your studies is as important, if not more important, than how long you study.
The BOOST CPA Review textbook has a number of flowcharts and illustrations in the various appendices. Often students prefer to have these separate from the textbook so they don't need to go back and forward in the textbook and they can have the textbook and related appendix visible at the same time. Overall, we do not believe you will need to print out all of them. The following pdf file includes all of the appendices in the BOOST CPA Review audit textbook to print out separately. We hope this is helpful! AUD BOOST-pdf of appendices
Good luck as you begin your studies of Chapter 1! Some of the page numbers in the videos are not the same as the page numbers in the BOOST textbook. Please use the page numbers in the BOOST textbook.
AFTER WATCHING EACH VIDEO BELOW, please complete the appropriate multiple choice and simulations related to each of these videos. Please refer to the document "Content Comparison of BOOST and Becker" to determine which multiple choice and simulations to complete.
Here are the six videos for Chapter 1 of BOOST:
Should you create a subset of the BOOST outlines or flashcards? Given that you have worked through a number of BOOST videos and outlines, you now have a better idea of the BOOST material and are in a better position to assess this questions. Please download the following file which provides guidance regarding this question. Meeting Goal 3