Here, finally, are the audit study and exam tips I can think of (in response to cpayesican's post on the BEC board but put here in case any of you studying for AUD here find them useful).

AUD was my first section, my first score of 99.  Audit is really about memorizing a lot of information and then understanding how it all fits together.  There are no calculations in the MCQs and minimal, if any calculations in the sims.  This means that if you know the material well and practice doing a lot of MCQs, you will be able to answer the actual MCQs very quickly.

Time is on your side on this exam.  Allow 1 hour per simulation, and that still leaves you 2.5 hours for the MCQs, or an average of 50 minutes per MCQ testlet.  You don’t have that kind of luxury for the FAR or REG MCQs.  On BEC you do, but audit questions can be answered much more quickly because there are no calculations.  They are just conceptual.  You either know the subject of the question or you don’t.

When you know the material well, the MCQs will be pretty easy.  The simulations, however, will probably be tough and require a decent accounting background.  I had to do quite a few journal entries and many accounting tasks for my sims.  For this reason, unless you are fresh out of school or have a great accounting background, I recommend taking FAR first and then AUD right after if possible.

If you put in the time and go through your review materials at least twice, you will learn the material well.  I did each practice MCQ and each practice sim twice, although the practice MCQs are most important if you’re short on time.  I kept a document of notes that I would add to whenever I got a problem wrong or felt the least bit shaky.  I used Bisk current version as my main review material and Becker 2006 as a supplement.  AUD is the only exam where no question was on a topic not covered by my review materials, even though it was my first section, before I knew about Wiley and cpareviewforfree that I used as supplements on the other 3 sections.  This is not to say that AUD was easy, but at least I felt that my review materials prepared me very well.

After you have made the first pass through the review material, memorize the standard audit, review and compilation reports, as well as the modifications.  The standard reports give a very general overview of the main purposes of audits, reviews and compilations and what they involve and don't involve.  They succinctly describe, at a high level, what an audit, review or compilation is all about.  As you keep re-reading and reciting reports, think about how each key word relates to other topics and concepts.  Pay attention to the exact wording.  Think about how they relate to the GAAS, and other topics and concepts such as sampling, testing, purposes of audit procedures, reasonable assurance, responsibilities of auditor and management, internal control, etc.  When you get questions not directly on reports, sometimes if you think about the section of the standard audit report that addresses the issue, you will be able to hit the right answer.

I studied AUD during the previous very busy and exhausting April tax season, a significant portion of the time of which was on the train, and sometimes would recite audit, review and compilation reports in my head while walking to and from the subway stations.  That helped me a lot.