AICPA recognizes top 2014 CPA Exam performers with Elijah Watt Sells Award

On Monday, the AICPA announced the winners of the 2014 Elijah Watt Sells Award, given to candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, passed all four sections of the Examination on their first attempt and completed testing in 2014.

A total of 91,384 individuals took the Examination in 2014, with 60 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award.

“The CPA Examination, along with education and experience requirements, ensures that only qualified individuals with the knowledge and skills to play a role in protecting the public interest earn the CPA license,” said Michael Decker, AICPA vice president of examinations, in a statement. “On behalf of the AICPA, I would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s Elijah Watt Sells Award for their exceptional performance on the CPA Examination.”

The Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the AICPA in 1923 to recognize outstanding performance on the CPA Examination. Sells was one of the first CPAs in the United States, active in the establishment of the AICPA, and played a key role in advancing professional education within the profession.

The 2014 Sells Award winners are listed below in alphabetical order, followed by their state board of accountancy affiliation, education, and present employer:

• Nathan M. Anderson (North Dakota), a graduate of North Dakota State University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is employed with Deloitte in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• Taylor Alexandra Atsalis (Texas), a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master in Professional Accounting, is employed with EY in Houston.
• Jessica Banitt (Indiana), a graduate of the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Business Administration, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Houston, Texas.
• Thomas W. Barber (Colorado), a graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver with a BS in Accounting, is employed with Tenbar, Inc. in Denver.
• Megan Elizabeth Baumgartner (New York), a graduate of Tulane University with a BS in Management and a Master of Accounting, is employed with EY in McLean, Virginia.
• John Karl Buntz (Maryland), a graduate of Salisbury University with a BS in Accounting and a BS in Corporate Finance, is employed with McGladrey in Baltimore.
• Neal F. Burk (Ohio), a graduate of Cleveland State University with a Master of Accountancy, is employed with EY in Cleveland.
• Elizabeth Campbell (Illinois), a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago.
• Sarah Watkins Carver (North Carolina), a graduate of North Carolina State University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accounting, is employed with Thomas, Judy & Tucker in Raleigh.
• William Chandler (Washington), a graduate of the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Professional Accounting, is employed with EY in Seattle.
• Cheng Chen (Michigan), a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Economics, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
• Ashlyn Lane Congdon (North Carolina), a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting, is employed with Grant Thornton in Raleigh.
• Mark Connolly (Connecticut), a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a BA in Economics, BS in Accounting and BS in Resource Economics, is employed with McGladrey in New Haven.
• Katie Ann Copouls (Minnesota), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration, is employed with EY in Minneapolis.
• Nicholas Dollar (Oregon), a graduate of Portland State University with a Certificate in Accounting, is employed with McDonald Jacobs in Portland.
• Yen T. Duong (California), a graduate of Santa Clara University with a Certificate of Advanced Accounting Proficiency, is employed with EY in San Jose.
• Matthew Robert Durette (Arizona), a graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Accountancy and a Master of Taxation, is employed with McGladrey in Phoenix.
• Lora Beth Dust (Illinois), a graduate of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a BS in Accountancy, is employed with McGladrey in Chicago.
• Chelsey C. Enderle (North Dakota), a graduate of the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Business Administration, is employed with Brady, Martz & Associates in Grand Forks.
• Patrick J. Fink (Missouri), a graduate of Truman State University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is employed with EY in St. Louis.
• Kristen Jeanne Fleet (Maryland), a graduate of Towson University with an MS in Accounting and Business Advisory Services, is employed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C.
• Margaret E. Freeland (Washington), a graduate of Hillsdale College with a BA in Accounting, is employed with Moss Adams in the Puget Sound region.
• David G. Gordon (Massachusetts), a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MS in Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston.
• Spencer J. Graczyk (Wisconsin), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration, is employed with Dell in Austin, Texas.
• Joanna Hladky (Wisconsin), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a Master of Professional Accountancy, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Milwaukee.
• Scott Huff (Texas), a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master in Professional Accounting, is employed with Dell in Round Rock.
• Amanda Isken (Wisconsin), a graduate of Marquette University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MS in Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Milwaukee.
• Rebecca Kernodle (Colorado), a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a Master of Accountancy, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Denver.
• Alka Vikas Khetan (California), a graduate of Calcutta University with a Bachelor of Commerce, is employed with Kaar Technologies in India.
• Chongho Kim (Massachusetts), a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Master in Professional Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston.
• Michael Joseph Kovacich (Texas), a graduate of Purdue University with a BS in Accounting and the University of Texas at Austin with a Master in Professional Accounting, is employed with BDO in Houston.
• Charles Lederer (Illinois), a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Accountancy and the University of Illinois at Chicago with an MS in Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago.
• Kelcie Lyons (Indiana), a graduate of Butler University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Professional Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Indianapolis.
• Nathan A. Lyons (Indiana), a graduate of Purdue University with a BS in Accounting, is employed with BKD in Indianapolis.
• Matthew Mburu (Washington), a graduate of Grand Valley State University with an MS in Accounting, is employed with Tacoma Community College in Tacoma.
• Hannah R. Miles (Missouri), a graduate of the University of Missouri with a BS in Accountancy and a Master of Accountancy, is employed with EY in Clayton.
• Weston Davis Moore (South Carolina), a graduate of Clemson University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Professional Accountancy, is employed with Elliott Davis Decosimo in Greenville.
• Arden Hoang Nguyen (California), a graduate of San Jose State University with an MS in Accounting, is employed with Deloitte in San Jose.
• John Norcio (North Carolina), a graduate of Wake Forest University with a BS in Finance and a Master in Accountancy, is employed with EY in McLean, Virginia.
• John Christopher Owsley (New York), a graduate of Cornell University with a PhD in Economics, is employed with EY in New York City.
• Joo Young Park (North Carolina), a graduate of the University of Virginia with a BS in Commerce and a BA in Economics, is employed with Deloitte in Raleigh.
• Katie Marie Poffenberger (Illinois), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Accounting and International Business, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago.
• Christopher Thomas Pumo (Florida), a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with an MS in Accounting, is employed with EY in Boca Raton.
• Kevin E. Rezzetano (Pennsylvania), a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park with a BS in Accounting and BS in Finance, is employed with Deloitte in McLean, Virginia.
• Alec Roberts (Florida), a graduate of Florida International University with a Bachelor of Accounting and the University of Central Florida with a Master of Accounting, is employed with Deloitte in Miami.
• Shulem Rosenbaum (New York), a graduate of Touro College with a BS in Accounting, is employed with Roth & Company in Brooklyn.
• Christina Seymour (New York), a graduate of the State University of New York College at Geneseo with a BS in Accounting, is employed with Berdon in New York City.
• Alan Sheffield (Georgia), a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy, is employed with Grant Thornton in Atlanta.
• Ophair Silver (Maryland), a graduate of Ner Israel Rabbinical College with accounting education from Louisiana State University and Community College of Baltimore County.
• Skyler Stensrud (Minnesota), a graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato with a BS in Accounting and Finance, is employed with KPMG in Minneapolis.
• Corrine J. Sudbury (Utah), a graduate of the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Accounting and Master of Accounting, is employed with KPMG in Salt Lake City.
• Kyle Ray Swenson (Utah), a graduate of Brigham Young University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is employed with Grant Thornton in Salt Lake City.
• Alex Vilchynskaya (New York), a graduate of Bernard M. Baruch College with an MS in Accountancy, is employed with EY in New York City.
• Joe Viraldo (Washington), a graduate of Michigan State University with a BA in Accounting and an MS in Taxation, is employed with Pendrell Corporation in Kirkland.
• Robert F. Waldbillig (Florida), a graduate of the University of Florida with a BS in Accounting and Florida Atlantic University with a Master of Taxation, is employed with Crowe Horwath in Fort Lauderdale.
• Amanda Michelle Welsh (Virginia), a graduate of West Virginia University with a BS in Accounting, is employed with Cherry Bekaert in Tysons Corner.
• Kenneth Wilbur (Florida), a graduate of the University of Florida with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accounting, is employed with EY in Boca Raton.
• Benjamin David Wilson (Michigan), a graduate of Michigan State University with a Bachelor in Accounting and a Master in Accounting, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
• Muyi (George) Zhu (New York), a graduate of Bernard M. Baruch College with an MS in Accountancy, is employed with EY in New York City.

For a list of previous winners, head to the AICPA's site here.