AICPA Recognizes RSM's Michaela K. Christian with 2018 Elijah Watt Sells Award

CHICAGO – (April 18, 2019) – RSM US LLP (“RSM”) – the nation’s leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market – is pleased to announce that Michaela K. Christian was recently named by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) as a winner of its 2018 Elijah Watt Sells Award.

Christian, a graduate of Iowa State University, is a tax associate in the firm’s Des Moines, IA office. According to the AICPA, the award was bestowed upon 110 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 2018. A reported nearly 86,000 individuals sat for the exam in 2018, with just 110 Elijah Watt Sells Award recipients in all.   

“We are very proud of Michaela for receiving this prestigious award and happy to see her recognized with such an honor in our industry,” said Katie Lamkin, chief human resources officer at RSM US LLP. “With smart and caring professionals like her on our teams across the country, the future of our firm is bright.”

“Winning the Sells Award is an extremely impressive accomplishment for any CPA candidate,” said Mike Decker, American Institute of CPAs vice president of examinations. “The CPA Exam is a rigorous assessment and these candidates are commended for an exceptional performance that very few individuals achieve.”  

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