CPA Audit Score Report: 5 Steps When SIMs Beat MCQs

A CPA Audit score report, officially called the Candidate Performance Report, is the feedback most jurisdictions give you when you fail the AUD section. It rates each content area and question type as weaker, comparable, or stronger than candidates who scored 75 to 80. If your simulations beat your multiple-choice questions, fix the concepts first.

That pattern is the focus of this lesson. Simulation skills do not replace knowing the material. Professor Farhat’s advice is simple: learn the concepts first, then apply them in both question formats. Use the report as a starting point for fresh practice and an honest review of your mistakes.

Watch Professor Farhat Explain This AUD Score Report

In this lesson, Professor Mansour Farhat discusses a candidate whose simulations looked better than the multiple-choice results, while the topic-level feedback showed weaknesses. He treats this as a reminder that knowing how to navigate a simulation does not replace knowing the material. He calls this pattern unusual based on his teaching experience.

Video highlights

• 0:00 The unusual pattern: simulations look better than MCQs
• 0:14 Look beyond format to weaknesses in the topics
• 0:50 Learn concepts before applying them to questions

Who Gets a CPA Audit Score Report, and Where Do You Find It?

After you sit for AUD, you can receive two different things:

• Score notice: your official score on a 0 to 99 scale. You need 75 to pass.
• Candidate Performance Report: a diagnostic page that shows how you did in each content area and on each question type compared with candidates who just passed.

AICPA issues the performance report when you fail a section. If you passed, you will usually see only your score.

In most jurisdictions, you view your score notice and any performance report in the NASBA CPA Candidate Portal. Some boards release results through their own systems, and not every jurisdiction provides a performance report. If you cannot find yours, check with your Board of Accountancy.

How Do You Read a CPA Audit Score Report?

Auditing and Attestation (AUD) is a Core section of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam. Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) ask you to select an answer; task-based simulations (TBSs, often called SIMs) require you to apply knowledge to a scenario.

The AICPA’s Candidate Performance Report guidance explains that content-area and question-type ratings compare you with candidates who scored 75–80 overall. “Weaker,” “comparable,” and “stronger” are relative categories. They are not percentages correct. The report is informational and is determined separately from your official score. Here is how the labels are set. AICPA takes candidates who scored 75 to 80 on the section, finds their average, and builds a band half a standard deviation above and below it. A result inside that band is comparable, below it is weaker, and above it is stronger.

Read this dimension	Use it to ask
Content areas: the subject matter tested	Which concepts should I investigate in fresh practice?
Item types: MCQs and TBSs	Does my practice reveal difficulty selecting answers, applying knowledge, or organizing information?

Content-area results are less reliable than the total score because they use fewer questions. AICPA also points out that every candidate sees a different set and number of questions, so content-area results should not decide what you emphasize on a retake. Treat a weak area as a lead to investigate in fresh practice, not a precise diagnosis. Do not average the rating labels or count “stronger” rows to estimate a passing score.

Why Can SIMs Look Better Than MCQs?

The two formats can expose different strengths and gaps. For example, you might be good at organizing simulation exhibits but still mix up closely related audit concepts in an MCQ. The report cannot prove that, but your practice results can.

Farhat’s advice for this candidate is to put more attention into understanding the topics. It helps to separate two skills. Handling the format means reading the requirements and finding information in the exhibits. Reasoning through the topic means deciding which principle applies and why. You need both.

For AUD, the official score combines scaled MCQ and TBS scores with 50% weighting each. AUD has 78 multiple-choice questions in two testlets of 39, plus 7 task-based simulations spread across three testlets. The passing score is 75 on a 0–99 scale, not 75% correct, and the exam is not curved. A better simulation rating alone does not establish a passing total. See AICPA’s current scoring explanation. For a plain-English breakdown, read our guide to what a CPA Exam score of 75 really means.

CPA Audit Score Report: 5 Steps for Your Retake

This routine turns the video’s “learn the concepts first” message into a practical plan. It is a study framework, not an AICPA formula or a prediction of your next score.

For context, AICPA reports a cumulative AUD pass rate of 50.03% for the first three quarters of 2026, and 48.21% for all of 2025. Failing AUD once is common. What matters is how you use the feedback. For more on pass rates, see our guide to the CPA passing percentage.

1. Turn the feedback into questions to investigate

List the topics you found difficult and the weaker content areas on your CPA Audit score report. Use the AICPA Exam Blueprints for your testing date to connect broad areas to specific tasks. AICPA has already published Blueprints effective January 1, 2027, so if your retake lands in 2027, use that version. Instead of writing “bad at audit evidence,” write “I cannot explain which evidence addresses an overstatement risk.” That is a problem you can work on.

2. Diagnose errors with unfamiliar questions

Attempt a small set of new MCQs and a related simulation without looking at solutions. Afterward, label each error: missing concept, misread requirement, wrong application, overlooked exhibit, or time pressure. A correct guess also deserves review. Record your reasoning before reading the explanation so you can identify the actual gap.

3. Relearn one concept and explain it aloud

Return to a focused lesson, your notes, or the relevant standard. Close the material and explain the rule, why it matters, and when the answer would change. If you can repeat a definition but cannot apply it, work through a simpler example first. Candidates using Becker can match a difficult module to the AUD Becker Supplemental Course for additional explanations.

4. Apply the same concept in both formats

Use an MCQ to practice distinguishing alternatives, then a simulation to apply the idea across documents and requirements. Explain why the correct choice works and why each distractor fails. The AUD CPA Test Bank offers another source of practice. Choose unfamiliar problems; recognizing an answer from yesterday does not show that you can solve a new problem.

5. Check transfer and keep a cumulative review

Revisit the topic later with different facts. Can you reach and explain the answer without prompts? Keep mixed practice in your schedule while repairing gaps. AICPA advises reviewing all content areas before a retake, including areas that previously looked stronger. Your next exam will contain different questions.

AUD Example: Test Inventory Existence and Completeness

This is a hypothetical teaching example written for this article. It is not from the video or a released CPA Exam question. Assume an audit of a U.S. public company under Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) standards. You are investigating whether recorded inventory actually exists.

An assertion is a claim management makes about the financial statements. Existence asks whether recorded assets actually exist at the balance sheet date. Completeness asks whether everything that should be recorded has been included. Nonissuer audits under AICPA standards use a slightly different list of assertions, but existence and completeness work the same way. For the full set, see the eight audit assertions made simple. PCAOB AS 1105, paragraphs .07 and .11, connects the relevance of evidence to the assertion being tested.

• MCQ application: To investigate possible overstatement of inventory quantities, start with selected items on the inventory listing and locate them physically. You are asking whether recorded items exist.
• Simulation application: Given an inventory listing and count records, match selected recorded items to physical-count evidence, identify unexplained differences, and state what follow-up is needed.
• Change the facts: If you are concerned about omitted inventory, start with physical items and trace them into the records. The direction changes because the completeness objective changes.

Simply memorizing “inspect inventory” misses the reasoning. State the risk, identify the assertion, and choose evidence that addresses it. Physical presence alone does not establish ownership or value. This simplified example illustrates one part of an audit; it is not a complete inventory audit program.

CPA Audit Score Report Mistakes to Avoid

• Dropping simulation practice: A better result in one attempt is a reason to maintain that skill while improving concepts.
• Repeating familiar MCQs without explanation: Track what you can justify, not just the number of questions completed.
• Buying another resource before diagnosing the gap: Identify the topic or skill you need help with, then choose a focused explanation.
• Treating a study target as a guarantee: A question-bank percentage, study-hour total, or favorable report label cannot promise a passing result.

CPA Audit Score Report: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I fail AUD even if my simulations look stronger?

Yes. AUD’s total uses both scaled MCQ and TBS scores. A relative simulation rating is not a separate pass result and does not show your exact contribution to the total.

Does a weaker MCQ result mean I only need more MCQs?

Not necessarily. First determine whether your errors come from missing knowledge, confusing similar ideas, misreading, or rushing. Use MCQs to reveal and check the gap, then return to instruction when the concept is unclear.

Should I stop reviewing topics rated comparable or stronger?

No. Keep them in mixed review. Use extra study time for confirmed gaps without abandoning the rest of AUD.

What if I did not receive a CPA Audit score report?

First, check whether you passed. AICPA issues the Candidate Performance Report when you fail a section, so a passing candidate usually sees only a score. If you did not pass and still have no report, your jurisdiction may not provide one, so check with your Board of Accountancy. Either way, you can build an error log from fresh practice and organize your review around the Blueprints for your testing date.

How are weaker, comparable, and stronger decided on the AUD report?

AICPA looks at candidates who scored 75 to 80 on the section, finds their average, and sets a band half a standard deviation above and below it. A result inside that band is comparable, below it is weaker, and above it is stronger.

How many questions are on the AUD section?

AUD has 78 multiple-choice questions in two testlets of 39 and 7 task-based simulations spread across three testlets. The multiple-choice and simulation portions each count for 50% of your total score.

Where do I find my CPA Audit score report?

In most jurisdictions, you log in to the NASBA CPA Candidate Portal to see your score notice and, if you did not pass, your Candidate Performance Report. Some boards release results through their own systems, so check with your Board of Accountancy if you cannot find it.

Keep Reading

• What a CPA Exam score of 75 really means
• The eight audit assertions made simple
• Which CPA Exam section is hardest?
• How hard is the CPA Exam?
• CPA Exam changes coming in 2027
• Build your audit foundation with the full Auditing course

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Use your CPA Audit score report to start a better study conversation: What do I understand, what can I apply, and what do my mistakes show? That keeps Farhat’s central lesson at the center of the retake: build understanding, then demonstrate it.

Based on Professor Farhat’s September 16, 2026 lesson. The five-step routine and inventory example are added teaching material. AICPA scoring and report guidance and the cited PCAOB standard were last checked October 28, 2026.

About the Author

Mansour Farhat, CPA, CIA, DBA, creates the lessons at Farhat Lectures and teaches accounting, auditing, and CPA Exam topics. This article is based on his September 16, 2026 lesson reviewing a candidate’s AUD score report.