The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has announced the winners of the 2006 Elijah Watt Sells Awards. The award is presented annually to the 10 candidates earning the highest cumulative scores on the four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination. These candidates must have completed testing during the previous calendar year and passed each exam section on their first attempt.
The 2006 award winners (in alphabetical order, followed by their State Board affiliation) are:
• Irene Altman, (CA), a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, who is currently employed by KPMG, LLP in San Francisco.
• Jeffrey P. Barrows, (NC), a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is currently working at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP in Charlotte, NC.
• Jonathan Patrick Booth, (LA), a graduate of Louisiana State University, is employed by KPMG, LLP in Baton Rouge, LA.
• Lina Ginan Dimachkieh, (TX), a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, is currently working toward her JD from Harvard Law School.
• Robert W. Hybiak, (CO), is a graduate of the University of Denver, and is currently employed by Deloitte & Touche, LLP in Denver, CO.
• Jason B. Jiskoot, (IA), a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa is currently working at the Pella Corporation in Pella, IA.
• Keith A. Piwko, (MI), graduated from Michigan State University and is working for Plante & Moran, PLLC in Auburn Hills, MI.
• Kurt B. Piwko, (MI), is a graduate of Michigan State University and is employed by Plante & Moran, PLLC in Clinton Township, MI.
• Svetlana Rodinskaya, (AK), is a graduate of St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Russia and is currently working at Ernst & Young in St. Petersburg, Russia.
• Wendee Mariko Shinsato, (CA), is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University, who is currently employed at the Defense Contract Audit Agency in Los Angeles.
The award was created to honor Elijah Watt Sells in 1923, the year prior to his death. Sells was one of the country’s first CPAs under the provision of a New York State law enacted in 1896 and a leader in advancing professional education. He was active in the establishment of the AICPA and was a founder of New York University’s School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. -AICPA
