CHICAGO, April 24, 2017 – They are the best and brightest of the new CPA professionals. The Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS) is proud to honor the following recipients of the annual Excel Awards for superior achievement on the CPA Exam in 2016.

“It’s always a great honor to recognize these outstanding accounting professionals,” said Todd Shapiro, President and CEO of the Illinois CPA Society. “Achieving the highest scores on the CPA Exam is a reflection of all their hard work and dedication.  We congratulate these new CPAs and look forward to seeing them develop into the future leaders of our profession.”

The 2017 ICPAS Excel Award winners include:

Gold Medal Award

Kathleen M. Koehl
The Ohio State University
RSM US, LLP

Silver Medal Award

Michael Charles Schwarzhaupt
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Deloitte, LLP

Bronze Medal Award

Karisa D. Thelen
Indiana University
Ernst & Young, LLP

Honored Excel Award Recipients

Nicholas Reed Lucas
University of Missouri
KPMG, LLP

William Ashton Meter
University of Michigan
KPMG, LLP

Adam Michael Knaszak
Elon University
KPMG, LLP

James M. McMullan
Illinois State University
PwC, LLP

Jordan Pfeifer
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
PwC, LLP

Claire Marie Carden
College of William and Mary
RSM US, LLP

Meaghan N. Decker
University of Iowa
PwC, LLP

Justin B. Farr
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fame and Partners, Inc.

James A. Paulson
Illinois State University
RSM US, LLP

About the Excel Awards 

The Excel Awards were established in 1984 by the ICPAS Board of Directors. They are presented each year to new CPAs for outstanding performance on the Uniform CPA Examination.

Candidates must achieve a combined average score of 90 percent or above on all sections of the examination within two consecutive testing windows, and be in the top five percent of Illinois scores. Additionally, Excel Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are presented to Illinois candidates who achieve the top three examination scores in the state.

About the Illinois CPA Society

The Illinois CPA Society, with more than 24,500 members, is one of the largest state CPA societies in the nation. Our mission is dedicated to enhancing the value of the CPA profession through the strategic initiatives of advocacy, information, education and connections.