STUDENT RECOGNITION Accounting Alumni Earn Prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Awards Andrew Debbink (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16) and Sarah Stang (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16) were recognized by the AICPA as top 2016 CPA exam performers. The Elijah Watt Sells Award is given to candidates who have obtained a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination and passed all four sections of the examination on their first attempt. A total of 102,323 individuals took the examination in 2016, with 58 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award. Debbink is currently working as a postgraduate technical assistant at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, working on financial performance reporting, leases implementation, and fair value projects. Stang, who emphasized in taxation, is working in the state and local tax group of KPMG in their Chicago office. Named for one of the country’s first CPAs, the Elijah Watt Sells Award program was established by the AICPA in 1923. Sells was active in the establishment of the AICPA and played a key role in advancing professional education in the field.
Accounting Student Chosen for Prestigious Internship with Standards Setting Board Carolyn Lapins MAcc student Carolyn Lapins (BBA ’16, MAcc ’17) was recently selected for a postgraduate technical assistant (PTA) internship. Lapins joined the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in July 2017. PTAs have the opportunity to be assigned to major agenda projects or to short-term practice and implementation issues. PTAs are involved in all phases of their assigned projects, including analyzing written submissions received on documents issued for public comment, reviewing and analyzing published research, preparing memorandums on technical issues for board members’ information, drafting due process documents, and much more. The MAcc program has a long tradition of students being selected for these prestigious PTA positions. Recent FASB interns include Andrew Debbink (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16), Tanner Engmann (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16), Andrea Willett (BBA ’13, MAcc ’14), Alex Debbink (BBA ’12, MAcc ’13), and Kate Konetzke (BBA ’12, MAcc ’13). Recent GASB interns include Kayta Gruneberg (BBA ’15, MAcc ’16), Matt Baker (BBA ’14, MAcc ’15), and Liesl Seiser (BBA ’13, MAcc ’14).
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ACCOUNTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS | YEAR IN REVIEW