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Somehow, They Figured Out 2011 Elijah Watt Sells Winners Already

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

Wait just one second… didn't they just announce the Elijah Watt Sells Award winners for 2010? I guess the AICPA wasn't kidding when they said the 2011 exam would be graded faster than ever. Somehow, we've got 2011 Elijah Watt Sells winners in record time. Here they are for your shaming.

Of 90,000 candidates who took the exam in 2011, these 37 people stood above and beyond with scores across in the board in the very, very high 90s.

Brittany Aloi (North Carolina), a graduate of Furman University who holds a Master of Accountancy from North Carolina State University, is currently employed with Reznick Group in Charlotte.

·         Andrea Betassa (Washington), a University of Washington graduate with a BA in Business Accounting and a Master of Professional Accountancy, is employed with Deloitte in Seattle.

·         Derek Bronsky (New Jersey), a graduate of Baruch College with a Bachelor of Business Administration, is presently employed with Rothstein, Kass & Co.

·         Philip Joseph Brudney (Georgia), a graduate of the University of Georgia, Athens with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is an employee of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne in Atlanta.

·         Daniel J. Busby (New York), a Syracuse University graduate with a BS in Accounting and Finance who holds a Master of Accountancy from the University of Georgia, is presently an employee of Ernst & Young in Atlanta.

·         Megan V. Cody (New York), a graduate of Lehigh University with a BS in Business and Economics, is presently employed with Ernst & Young in New York City.

·         Elliott Coor (Georgia), an Emory University graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration, is currently an employee of Deloitte & Touche in Atlanta.

·         Lauren B. Coste (Illinois), a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a BS and Pennsylvania State University with an MBA, is currently employed with Google in Mountain View, California.

·         Nick Crandall (South Carolina), a Clemson University graduate with a BS and MS in Accounting, is presently an employee of Elliott Davis in Greenville, South Carolina.

·         Ben Crowe (Texas), a Mesa State College graduate with a BS in Accounting who holds Master of Professional Accountancy, is a current employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Houston.

·         BJ Dinter (Minnesota), a graduate of St. John’s University with a BA and the University of St. Thomas with an MBA, is an employee of McGladrey & Pullen in Minneapolis.

·         Joshua J. Eikenberry (New York), a graduate of St. Olaf College with a BA and Pace University with an MBA, is presently employed with McGladrey & Pullen in New York.

·         Eric Quinby Evans (Washington), a Seattle Pacific University graduate with a double major in Accounting and Business Finance, is presently employed with Bader Martin in Seattle.

·         William Feie (Illinois), a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University with a BS in Accounting, is an employee of Jerome Wright and Associates in Skokie, Illinois.

·         Michael Gould (Illinois), a Miami University graduate with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is an employee of KPMG in Chicago.

·         Michael Hofer (New Jersey), a graduate of Business University in Vienna with an MBA and Regis University in Colorado with an MS in Accounting, is presently employed with Skidata AG in Austria.

·         Mary Elizabeth Howard (Tennessee), a Tennessee Technological University graduate with a BS and an MBA who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, is currently employed with the Department of Accounting at Tennessee Technological University.

·         Ashley Hubbard (Texas), a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy, is presently an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas.

·         David M. Johnson (Utah), a graduate of Brigham Young University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is presently employed with Ernst and Young in Salt Lake City.

·         Michael Koll (California), a Chapman University graduate with a BS in Accounting and Business Administration, is presently an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Irvine, California.

·         Simon Liang (Illinois), a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with an MS in Accounting, is employed with Apriori Solutions in Chicago.

·         Cody J. Meglio (Alaska), a graduate of Marietta College with a BA in Accounting, Finance and Economics, is presently employed by Ernst & Young LLP in Charleston, West Virginia.

·         Nguyen Thao Ngo (Alaska), a graduate of the University of Missouri – St. Louis with a BA in Accounting and Finance and a Master of Accountancy, is presently an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Francisco.

·         Christopher Perry (New Jersey), a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a BS and MS in Accounting, is currently employed with Gino Mallamaci, CPA in Morganville, New Jersey.

·         Steven Purvis (Oregon), a Washington State University graduate with a BA in Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy, is employed with Deloitte in Portland, Oregon.

·         Ekaterina Valentinova Saeva (Illinois), a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Master of Accounting Science and of the American University in Bulgaria with a BA in Business Administration and European Studies, is presently an employee of Ernst & Young in Chicago.

·         Katherine Gail Sage (Massachusetts), a graduate of Cornell University with a BS in Biological Studies, is presently employed with Deloitte Tax in Boston.

·         Tyler Steven Schehl (Illinois), a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduate with a BS in Accounting and Finance, is presently employed with CNA in Chicago.

·         Timothy Andrew Smith (Texas), a graduate of Louisiana Technical University with a BS in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, is an employee of Deloitte in Dallas.

·         Cory Mark Snyder (Kentucky), a Campbellsville University graduate with a BSBA, is presently employed by Ernst & Young in Louisville.

·         Richard L. Sohns Jr. (Texas), a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters in Professional Accounting, is employed with Deloitte in Dallas.

·         Kiely Lenore Strohmaier (Washington), who graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Business Administration and Gonzaga University with a Master of Accountancy, is currently an employee of CliftonLarsonAllen in Moses Lake, Washington.

·         L. Kyle Summerlin (Florida), a University of Central Florida graduate with a BSBA in Accounting and a MS in Accounting, is currently an employee of Ernst & Young in Orlando.

·         Han Sun (North Carolina), is a graduate of Sun Yat-sen University with a Bachelor of Management and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Master of Accountancy, is an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Charlotte.

·         Michael Triano (New Jersey), a Montclair State University graduate with a BSBA in Accounting, is presently an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York.

·         Matthew Thomas Van Buren (Pennsylvania), a graduate of Villanova University with a BS in Accounting, is an employee of Grant Thornton in Philadelphia.

·         Tracie Megan Wise (Florida), a University of West Florida graduate with a BSBA in Accounting, is presently an employee of O’Sullivan Creel in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

We can only imagine McGladrey is peeing themselves with excitement over making the list… TWICE!

Congratulations to the individuals who mastered the art of overstudying and thanks to super overachiever and 2011 winner Cody Meglio for tipping us off to the new list.

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Summer Studying: A CPA Exam Plan for Warm Months

Alright, little future CPAs, most of you are probably still recovering from the holiday weekend and if you’re lucky enough to have a job, reluctantly dragging yourselves back to the grind which sometimes means studying for the CPA exam. Taking the summer to study? Good for you! We’ve got some tips for keeping on track when the weather is nice and the work is light.


Don’t overdo it!
If you just graduated and aren’t starting at a firm until the fall, you might be one of those candidates who decides to take all four CPA exam sections in one testing window. That’s all well and good but let’s be realistic: your degree may not post to your transcripts until August and even then you’ve still got to wait for your state board to process your application. Find out how long the process takes in your state and plan accordingly! If you’ve been approved to sit for the exam and have a few months to study, we humbly suggest taking on no more than two sections per testing window. It’s a lot easier to study when you aren’t working but trust us, it’s a lot easier to pass exams when you’ve got the time to concentrate on each section and cramming all four into one window can sometimes put a damper on that process. So slow it down, killer!

Make time for fun
Listen, no one said you have to give up your life to pass the exam and it might be a good idea to retain your sanity through the process so by all means, get out and enjoy yourself in moderation. Once you’ve created a solid study plan by accounting for each hour of each day and planning study time in between, you can afford to pencil in “fun” here and there to keep yourself motivated. Moderation is key, you don’t want to be puzzling out variance analysis while nursing a hangover so save the big bashes for when you pass.

Remember you only have two testing windows left until the CPA exam changes in 2011
Amazing how motivated you can become when you remind yourself that if you don’t get FAR out of the way this year, you’ll be forced to identify differences between GAAP and IFRS. As you know, you learned one of these in school and the other is a big fat unknown not just to many accounting students in America but many of our CPAs as well. If you’ve been putting off the exam or half-assing it for the last several testing windows, now is the time to stop and get serious about your goal. It isn’t getting any easier and it isn’t going to pass itself.

Adrienne Gonzalez is the founder of Jr. Deputy Accountant, a former CPA wrangler and a Going Concern contributor. You can see more of her posts here and all posts on the CPA Exam here.