Two Walton College Alumni Honored With CPA Exam Award

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas had two of the top 75 performers in the United States last year on the certified public accountant exam.

Philip Meek and Addison Scott were named winners of the 2015 Elijah Watt Sells Award by the American Institute of CPAs. The award is given to CPA 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 2015. 

A total of 93,742 individuals sat for the examination in 2015, with 75 candidates meeting the criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award.

• Philip Meek, 2015 Walton College graduate with a B.S.B.A. in accounting, finance and economics, is employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Springdale.
• Addison Nicole Scott, a 2015 Walton graduate with a B.S.B.A. in accounting and finance, a B.S.I.B. in international economics and a master of accountancy, is employed with EY in Rogers.

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

In addition to education and experience requirements, the CPA exam plays a crucial role ensuring that individuals who earn their CPA license have demonstrated the skills and knowledge necessary to protect the public interest in an increasingly complex and ever-changing business and financial environment.