[LakewoodCPA]

Hey Guys,

I’m hoping someone can answer this question – I know the Elijah Watt Sells award is given to candidates with an average score of 95.5 or higher who pass all 4 parts in one calendar year. My question is, if I took AUD in November of 2014 and finished the other 3 parts in 2015, would that exclude me from the award even if I met the other criteria (average score of 95.5, all passed on the first try within 12 months)?

I passed AUD in November with a 99 and just passed FAR with a 95 so I would like to shoot for over a 95.5 average, but the extra effort required for the last 2 sections might not be worth it if I’m already excluded from the award.

Thanks!

[rumples93]

Hey there, I'm in pretty much the exact same boat as you. I took my first part at the end of October 2016 and I'm expecting I'll pass my fourth section in February or April, but everywhere I've been reading keeps saying “calendar year” but that seems like a really strange requirement that you have to take all four parts between Jan to Dec of the exact same year so I'm thinking that can't possibly right, can it? Then again, accountants are so very particular about the words we use, so it wouldn't surprise me if there was a reason that they kept saying “calendar”. Anyway, has there been any follow up on this? Does anybody know for sure if the “calendar” part makes a difference? If I get an average 96 on all four parts, first try, less than a year, would they really deny me the award because I didn't finish before December when I started in October?

Nobody ever fails the CPA; there are those who simply give up.

[livealittle]

Currently, 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 and passed all four sections of the Examination on their first attempt. Candidates are eligible for the award the calendar year following the year in which they completed testing. More than 92,000 candidates sat for the Examination in 2012. Thirty-nine candidates met the criteria.

the above from Wiki…

I think the key words here are “calendar year following the year in which they completed testing”

BEC - 8/8/16
REG - 66, 77
AUD - 81
FAR - 9/8/16

[rumples93]

Thanks @livealittle, that definitely does sound a lot more encouraging and reasonable. I'd just been reading from the AICPA website and it wasn't quite as clear as the Wikipedia page you quoted.

Nobody ever fails the CPA; there are those who simply give up.

[Author]

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