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AICPA Award Honors Outstanding CPA Exam Performers

ATLANTA (April 2015) – The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has recognized Alan Sheffield (Georgia) as winner of the 2014 Elijah Watt Sells Award.

The award is bestowed upon 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 sat for the Examination in 2014, with 60 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award.

“Recognizing the immense talent and effort required to achieve one of the top CPA exam scores in the state of Georgia, Grant Thornton celebrates Alan Sheffield’s very significant accomplishment! We are proud to have this bright, young professional as part of the Grant Thornton team and look forward to sharing many more successes during Alan’s career,” said Michael C. Stokke, Atlanta office managing partner, Grant Thornton LLP.

Alan is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy. He is a member of The Georgia Society of CPAs and currently employed with Grant Thornton in Atlanta.

“On behalf of The Georgia Society, I would like to offer my congratulations on being a recipient of the 2014 Elijah Watt Sells Award. Passing all four sections of the CPA exam on the first try is no small feat, and having one of the highest scores in the country is nothing short of a tremendous accomplishment,” said GSCPA CEO, Boyd Search.

The Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the AICPA in 1923 to recognize outstanding performance on the CPA Examination.

“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. “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.”

Sells, one of the first CPAs in the United States, was active in the establishment of the AICPA and played a key role advancing professional education within the profession.

For more information on the Uniform CPA Examination, visit https://www.aicpa.org/cpaexam. A list of previous winners is available online.

About GSCPA
GSCPA is the premier professional organization for CPAs in the state of Georgia. With almost 14,000 members throughout the state, the purpose of GSCPA is to achieve excellence by providing superior advocacy, leadership, service, lifelong learning, and personal and professional development opportunities. For more information, visit www.gscpa.org.