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Attention Overachievers: AICPA Announces 2009 Elijah Watt Sells Award Winners

For those of you who pride yourselves on being better than everyone else, the Elijah Watt Sells Award is just about as prestigious an acknowledgment as they come for future CPAs. The award, founded in 1923 and named after one of New York’s first CPAs, recognizes the top CPA exam scores in the country and means honor, recognition and sometimes a massive bonus for those talented enough at variances and constructing statements of cash flows under a time crunch to score in the way high 90s on all four parts of the exam.

The 2009 award is unique as multiple candidates managed the same exact exceptionally high scores so this timinners. Out of 93,000 CPA exam candidates in 2009, these 15 can say they are truly special.

We doubt any of the following winners spend their time trolling Going Concern but if they do, please accept our congratulations for a job well-done!

Kimberly Anne Brant (Minnesota), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters of Accounting, is currently employed with Deloitte & Touche LLP, in Minneapolis.

Michelle Elizabeth Burket (Virginia), a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration and a Masters of Accounting is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in McLean, Va.

Maria M. Goto (Hawaii), a graduate of the University of Washington with a BA in Accounting, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Kay J. Hashimoto (New York), a graduate of Harvard University with a BA in Economics and a MBA in Accounting from Canisius College, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.

Jeremy J. Hurwitch (Florida), a graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Accounting and Masters of Accounting, is currently employed with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Boca Raton, Fla.

Matthew Saje Kult (Wisconsin), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a Bachelors in Accounting and Masters of Science in Public Accounting, is currently employed at Ernst & Young LLP in Milwaukee.

Isaiah L. Massey (Texas), a graduate of Wichita State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accountancy, and a Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas, is currently employed by Deloitte & Touche LLP in Houston.

Luke T. Olson (Georgia), a graduate of Brigham Young University with a BS in Accounting and Master of Accountancy, is currently employed with Ernst & Young in Atlanta.

Ryan Christopher Ossowski (Florida), a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a BS in Business Administration – Accounting, and BS in Computer Science, is currently employed with James Moore & Co., P.L. in Daytona Beach.

Andrew N. Rebstock (Wisconsin), a graduate of Marquette University with a BS in Business Administration and Master of Science in Accounting, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Milwaukee.

Abigail Lindsay Richards (North Carolina), a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, and Masters of Accountancy from the University of North Carolina, is currently employed with Duke Energy in Charlotte, N.C.

Peter William Rogers (New York), a graduate of Babson College with a BS and Master of Science in Accounting, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in New York City.

Ryan Malcolm Scadding (Massachusetts), a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Business Administration and Masters of Professional Accountancy, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston.

Jessie D. Wagner (Oklahoma), a graduate of Oklahoma State University – Stillwater with a BS in Business Administration and Master of Science in Accounting, is currently employed with Ernst & Young LLP in Tulsa, Okla.

Ryan F. Williamson (Illinois), a graduate of Governors State University with a BS in Accounting, a BA in Mathematics and Music from Illinois Wesleyan University, and an MS in Mathematics from Illinois State University, is currently employed with Groskreutz, Schmidt, Abraham, Eshleman & Gerretse in Kankakee, Ill.

For those of you who didn’t even come close, don’t worry, no one cares anyway.

The Right (and Wrong) Way to Save Money on CPA Exam Review Materials

As anybody who has done even remedial research on CPA review materials knows, exam prep doesn’t come cheap. The major review programs run from $1,500 to $3,000, and usually come with access limits anywhere from 9 months to a year. The larger review courses don’t guarantee a pass and often include hidden fees for administrative costs (what is that, anyway?), so-called free repeats and updates to books. There’s no doubt that CPA review is a big business, and you can trust me on that because I used to be in it.

That being said, CPA review doesn’t have to cost you a metric shitton of cash you don’t have. Here are a few ways to save some money if you’re not one of the lucky few getting your course paid for by either your employent parents.


Look for discount codes – CPAnet often has discount codes posted on CPA Exam Club, whether you are looking for cram courses, a full review or just Wiley materials. Check out their discount page for more details.

Avoid supplemental products like flash cards – Flash cards are an easy way for review courses to make a few extra bucks. Save the $100 or more dollars, buy a $2 pack of index cards and make your own. You’ll learn more that way and have more money your pocket when all’s said and done, which you might need if you end up having to retake any exam parts.

Call or email the review course to ask about discounts – They’ll probably tell you no and try to sell you into their bundle CPA review/masters program for $125,000 but hey, can’t hurt, right? Like any other business, CPA review programs sometimes run special deals so pick up the phone and ask.

Order through someone other than the review course – CPA Review Materials sells verified products at a discount and includes free shipping on orders over $400 – something you can’t get if you buy from the review course directly. As a trusted vendor, you know you’re getting what you’re paying for since the site deals directly with the review courses to provide products to candidates. But this brings us to our next point which is…

Do NOT buy from unsavory sellers – When you buy second-hand CPA review materials through eBay or Craigslist-type sites, remember you are taking a risk that the “book” you think you are buying is really just a photocopied binder full of outdated, pirated material. Products you purchase from individual sellers are not covered under review courses’ policies, and in many cases it is a direct violation of these courses’ copyrights to buy or sell materials. But CPAs would never dream of breaking the rules, right? If you are absolutely broke and in need of second-hand materials, you can usually find the Wiley CPA Exam Review books on Amazon for cheaper than retail and won’t be violating any rules by buying them that way.

Do NOT buy materials from your friend who passed four years ago We won’t suggest that you buy materials from your friend who passed just last quarter since that would also be against most review courses’ rules and we would highly recommend you stay away from materials any older than one year. The CPA exam changes twice a year and especially with the implementation of CBT-e, you will want to make sure you have the most up-to-date information available, even if you need to spend a little more to get it.

Lastly, a money-saving suggestion is to do a cost-benefit analysis of cheaping out on a review course over having to pay additional retake fees if you do not pass the first, second or third time out. There’s no reason why you have to spend a lot of money to get through the exam (plenty have passed using just the Wiley books, which are usually around $50 a piece), just make sure to analyze your own needs and plan accordingly. And remember: you can’t buy your way to a 75, all the money in the world does you no good if you don’t actually use the materials and study!