NC State Jenkins MAC program graduate is among nation’s top CPA Exam performers

Sarah W. Carver, a 2014 graduate of the NC State Jenkins Master of Accounting Program in the Poole College of Management, is among the select group of individuals who qualified for the 2014 Elijah Watts Sells Award.

The award recognizes those who passed all four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination on the first attempt and obtained a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all sections of the exam. A total of 91,384 individuals sat for the Examination in 2014, with 60 candidates meeting the criteria for the Elijah Watt Sells Award.

The award recipients were announced by the American Institute of CPAs earlier this year. Carver was also recognized for her achievement during Poole College’s Department of Accounting Awards Reception on April 17, 2015, in Raleigh.

“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 in a news release about the award. “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.”

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

Carver received her bachelor’s degree accounting from the NC State Poole College of Management in May 2013 and her master’s in accounting in May 2014. When asked about the exam, she credited the Jenkins MAC program’s intensive preparation for the comprehensive CPA Examination.

“The NC State Jenkins MAC program administrators encourage students to follow a straight-forward plan for scheduling and studying for each section of the CPA exam,” Carver said. “I attribute much of my success on the entire exam to following this manageable plan of approach.

She also attributes  the MAC program with providing her “the accounting knowledge necessary to succeed on the exam. While taking each of the four sections, I would often draw upon specific classroom experiences to answer questions,” she said. “For instance, I would think back to certain financial accounting problems Dr. (Bruce) Branson solved during class or group presentations on topics ranging from auditing evidence to information technology.”

While at Poole College, Carver was a member of the student team representing Poole College at the Deloitte FanTAXtic Case Study Competition in 2012.  She is employed as a tax associate by Thomas, Judy & Tucker in Raleigh.